2 Through a long night of griefs and fears, With gloom and sorrow compass'd round, I drop my uncomplaining tears,

Nor yet the radiant dawn have found;
Still towards the chambers of the day,
With eyes intent, expecting there,
With patient hope, thy promis'd ray,
I long for thee, sweet morning star.
3 Increasing clouds announce thee nigh,
Slumber my weary eyes invades ;
Death spreads his horrors o'er the sky,
And thickens all the gather'd shades;
I yield, I bow my drooping head,

1

Resign, at length, my anxious care;
I sink awhile among the dead,

To wake and hail my Morning Star.

ΤΗ

HYMN DCCCCXXIII.

Abide with us. Luke xxiv. 29.

W. B. C.

HE day is far spent, the evening is nigh, When we must lay down the body and die; Great God we surrender our dust to thy care, But oh, for the summons, our spirit prepare. 2 The hours that remain, oh, with us abide, And in the dark vale of death be our guide; Through life's weary journey thou still hast been near,

And in our last moments, Lord, for us appear! 3 We die to obtain, a seat with the blest, A freedom from pain, a mansion of rest;

We see, not regretting, the shadows arise, The sun of life setting, and night on the skies. 4 Though rayless the night, though starless the skies,

Extinguish'd all light, and death on our eyes;
An unclouded morning shall rise on the tomb,
Before whose bright dawning shall vanish it's
gloom.

5 O day long foretold! when wilt thou appear? Thy approach we behold with hope and with

fear!

O righteous Judge, spare us, from sin set us free,

And daily prepare us to stand before Thee!

HYMN DCCCCXXIV.

The same.

1 THE day is far spent,

Which goodness hath lent,

W. B. C.

And night is o'erspreading the pilgrim's dark tent;

I now soon shall lie,

Screen'd from life's stormy sky:

I wait for thy summons to call me to die.

2 O Saviour abide

By this fearful side,

Till in thy pavillion for ever I hide;

The hours that remain,

Of sorrow and pain,

Are few, when compar'd with the bliss I shall

gain.

3 The ills that I fear

Will blessings appear,

If thou but walk with me, while I sojourn here ; And when I am led

To the cells of the dead,

On thy tender bosom I'll pillow my head.

4

While low this flesh lies

Till thou bid it rise,

The spirit exulting shall spring to the skies;
There wait that great day

Which thy power shall display,

When this earth and these heavens shall both f away.

HYMN DCCCCXXV.

The Bible.-O how I love thy Law.

BY

Ps. cxix. 97.

Y the thoughtless world derided,
Still I love the word of God;
"Tis the crook by which I'm guided,
Often 'tis a chastening rod :
"Tis a sword that cuts asunder
All my pride and vanity,
When abas'd I lie and wonder
That he spares a wretch like me.
2 This confirms me when I waver,
Sets my trembling judgment right;
When I stray, how much so ever,
This is my restoring light:
Satan oft, and sin, assail me,
With temptations ever new;

W. B. C.

Then, O nothing can avail me,
'Till my bleeding Lord I view.

8 Faith I need, O Lord bestow it,
Give my labouring mind relief;
Oft, alas! I doubt, I know it,
Help, O help my unbelief:
Dearest Saviour, by thy merit
May I gain a future crown;
Guide, O guide me by thy Spirit,
"Till these storms are overblown!

HYMN DCCCCXXVI.

To live is Christ, to die is Gain.
Phil. i, 21.

1 WH

W. B. C.

WHEN I tread the mortal vale,
Where the shades of death prevail,
Saviour guide my trembling feet,
Through this last, this still retreat;
Let thy glory chase it's gloom,
Light the feeble traveller home,
Never leave me till I stand
Safe in yonder heavenly land.

2 When I bow my sinking head,
Seeking rest among the dead;
When my pulses throbbing slow,
Tell the tide of life runs low:
Hear me, my Almighty Friend,
Watch, sustain me, to the end,
Smiling through my dying tears,
I will then dismiss my fears.

3 Thee, Redeemer, I pursue,
All life's weary journey through,
Other interests I resign,

Only tell me Thou art mine;
And when mortal agonies

Break my heartstrings, glaze mine eyes,
Let me but this prize obtain

I shall prove "to die is gain."

HYMN DCCCCXXVII.

Surely the bitterness of Death is past.
1 Sam. xv. 32.

W. B. C.

WHEN bending o'er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand;

Waiting to pass death's awful flood,
Great God, at thy command:

2 When weeping friends surround my bed,
And close my sightless eyes;

When laden with the weight of years,
This broken body lies:

3 When every long-lov'd scene of life,
Stands ready to depart;

When the last sigh that shakes the frame,
Shall rend this bursting heart:

4 O thou great Source of joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave!

5 Lay thy supporting, gentle hand,
Beneath my sinking head;