Our spirits too are closely bound
To earth's delusive toys;

Poor baubles we are loth to lose,
For everlasting joys.

It needs our hearts be weaned from earth,
It needs that we be driven,

By loss of every earthly stay,
To seek our joys in heaven.

Yes; we must follow in the path
Our Lord and Saviour run;
We must not seek a resting place
Where He we love had none.

CAROLINE FRY.

THE HOLY SPIRIT SUPPLICATED.

Oн, come with thy olive branch, Spirit of love! With all thy sweet graces descend from above: Bring with Thee the purity, concord, repose, Thy peaceful and permanent presence bestows.

As days of "clear shining" that follow the rain,
Thy heart-soothing presence can cheer me again;
In tenderness visit this sorrowing breast,
And make it for ever the seat of thy rest.

CUNNINGHAM.

THE HEAVENLY SEED.

OH God! by whom the seed is given;
By whom the harvest blest,

Whose word, like manna, showered from heaven,
Is planted in the breast.

Preserve it from the passing feet,

And plunderers of the air;
The sultry sun's destructive heat,
And weeds of worldly care.

Though buried deep, or thinly strewn,
Do thou thy grace supply;

The hope in earthly furrows sown,

Shall ripen for the sky!

BISHOP HEBER.

THE VOYAGE OF LIFE.

BOUND on a voyage of awful length,
And dangers little known,
A stranger to superior strength,
Man vainly trusts his own.

But oars alone can ne'er prevail
To reach the distant coast,

The breath of heaven must swell the sail,
Or all the toil is lost.

CowPER.

THE LAND WHICH NO MORTAL MAY
KNOW.

THOUGH earth has full many a beautiful spot,
As a poet or painter might show;

Yet more lovely and beautiful, holy and bright,
To the hopes of the heart, and the spirit's glad sight,
Is the land which no mortal may know.

There the water of life bursting forth from the throne,
Flows on, and for ever will flow;

Its waves, as they roll, are with melody rife,
And its waters are sparkling, with beauty and life,
In the land which no mortal may know.

Oh! who but must pine in this dark vale of tears,
From its clouds and its shadows to go,

To walk in the light of the glory above,

And to share in the peace, and the joy, and the love, Of the land which no mortal may know.

BARTON.

CHRISTIAN LOVE.

'Tis not enough that we with sorrow sigh-
That we the wants of pleading man supply;
That we a sympathy with sufferers feel,
Nor hear a grief without a wish to heal :
Not these suffice-to sickness, pain, and woe,
The Christian spirit loves with aid to go;
Will not be sought, waits not for Want to plead,
But seeks the duty-nay, prevents the need.
CRABBE.

THE WORM.

TURN, turn thy hasty foot aside,
Nor crush that helpless worm :
The frame thy wayward looks deride
Required a God to form.

The common Lord of all that move,
From whom thy being flowed,
A portion of his boundless love
On that poor worm bestowed.

The sun, the moon, the stars He made,
To all his creatures free;

And spreads o'er earth the grassy blade,
For worms as well as thee.

Let them enjoy their little day,
Their lowly bliss receive;

Oh! do not lightly take away
The life thou can'st not give.

GISBORNE.

GOD IS LOVE.

GOD is love-his mercy brightens
All the way in which we move;
Bliss he forms and woe he lightens,
God is light, and God is love.

E'en the hour that darkest seemeth,
Shall his ceaseless goodness prove:
Through the mist his glory streameth,
God is light, and God is love.

THE MEMORY OF THE JUST.

HE was one whose open face
Did his inmost heart reveal;
One who wore, with meekest grace,
On his forehead heaven's broad seal.

Kindness all his looks expressed,
Charity was every word;
Him the eye beheld and blessed;
And the ear rejoiced that heard.

Wealth, which prodigals had deemed
Worth the soul's uncounted cost;
Wealth, which misers had esteemed
Cheap, though heaven itself were lost;

This with an unsparing hand,

To the poorest child of need, This he threw around the land, Like the sower's precious seed.

As the earth puts forth her flowers, Heavenward breathing from below; As the clouds descend in showers, When the southern breezes blow;

Thus his renovated mind,

Warm with pure celestial love, Shed its influence on mankind, While its hopes aspired above.