And angels' happiness resign,
The bliss of brutes to gain.
3 The pleasures that allure the sense Are dang'rous to us all;
Sweet at the first, how soon succeeds
The bitterness of gall.
4 God is mine all-sufficient good,
My portion and my choice;
In him my vast desires are fill'd,
And all my powers rejoice.
5 In vain the world accosts my ear,
And tempts my heart anew;
I cannot buy your bliss so dear,
Nor part with heaven for you.
1 Man has a soul of vast desires,
He burns within with restless fires;
Tost to and fro, his passions fly,
Through all the scenes below the sky.
2 In vain on earth we hope to find
Some solid good to fill the mind;
We try new pleasures, but we feel
The inward thirst and torment still.
3 So when a raging fever burns,
We shift from side to side by turns;
And 'tis a poor relief we gain,
To change the place, but keep the pain. 4 Great God! subdue this vicious thirst, This love to vanity and dust;
Cure the vile fever of the mind,
And feed our souls with joys refin'd.
HYMN CCLXVI. C. M.
Instability of worldly enjoyments.
1 The evils that beset our path,
Who can prevent or cure?
We stand upon the brink of death,
When most we seem secure.
2 If we to-day sweet peace possess,
It soon may be withdrawn;
Some change may plunge us in distress
Before to-morrow's dawn.
3 Disease and pain invade our health,
And find an easy prey;
And oft, when least expected, wealth
Takes wings and flies away.
4 The gourds from which we look for fruit, Produce us often pain;
A worm unseen attacks the root,
And all our hopes are vain.
5 Since sin has fill'd the earth with woe, And creatures fade and die,
Lord! wean our hearts from things below,
And fix our hopes on high.
1 Like shadows gliding o'er the plain, Or clouds that roll successive on, Man's busy generations pass,
And while we gaze, their forms are gone. 2 Vain was the boast of lengthen'd years, The patriarch's full maturity;
"Twas but a larger drop to swell The ocean of eternity.
3 He liv'd-he died;' behold the sum,
The abstract of th' historian's page!
Alike, in God's all-seeing eye,
The infant's day, the patriarch's age.
4 O Father! in whose mighty hand,
The boundless years and ages lie;
Teach us thy boon of life to prize,
And use the moments as they fly;
5 To crowd the narrow span of life
With wise designs and virtuous deeds;
So shall we wake from death's dark night,
To share the glory that succeeds.
HYMN CCLXVIII. L. M.
The day of life declining.
1 The short-lived day declines in haste; The night of death approaches fast;
With rapid speed the moments run ;
In which the work of life is done.
2 With willing hearts, and active hands,
Lord! may we practise thy commands,
Improve the moments as they fly,
And live as we would wish to die.
HYMN CCLXIX. 7s M.
The shortness of life.
1 While, with careless course, the sun
Hasted through the closing year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here.
2 Finish'd is probation's day,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer stay,
But how little, none can know.
3 As the winged arrow flies
Speedily, the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind;
4 Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.
5 Thanks, for mercies past, receive;
Pardon for our sins renew;
Teach us henceforth how to live,
With eternity in view.
6 Bless thy word to young and old;
Fill our hearts with filial love;
And, when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with thee above,
HYMN CCLXX. L. M.
Time flying; death approaching.
1 That awful hour will soon appear,
Swift on the wings of time it flies,
When all that pains or pleases here,
Will vanish from my closing eyes.
2 Think, O my soul! how much depends On the short period of to-day;
Shall time, which Heaven in mercy lends,
Be negligently thrown away?
3 Thy remnant minutes strive to use;
Awake! rouse every active power;
And not in dreams and trifles lose
This little, this important hour!
4 Lord of my life! inspire my heart
With heavenly ardour, grace divine;
Nor let thy presence e'er depart,
For strength, and life, and death are thine.
5 O teach me the celestial skill,
Each awful warning to improve!
And while my days are short'ning still,
Prepare me for the joys above!
|