4 The world is managed by thy hands;
Thy saints are ruled by love:
And thine eternal kingdom stands,
Though rocks and hills remove.

294 October 20. C. M.

ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP.

Warwick.

"Bring no more vain oblations: wash ye, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings: cease to do evil, learn to do well: seek judgment; relieve the oppressed."-Isa. i. 13, 16.

1

W

WHEREWITH shall we approach the Lord, And bow before his throne? Oh! how procure his kind regard, And for our guilt atone?

2 Shall altars flame, and victims bleed,
And spicy fumes ascend?

Will these our earnest wish succeed?
Will these make God our friend?

3 Oh! no, 'twere vain and fruitless all,
Such offerings to give:

No presents from the field or stall
His favor can receive.

4 To men their rights we must allow,
And proofs of kindness give;

To God with humble reverence bow,
And to his glory live.

5 Hands that are clean, and hearts sincere,

He never will despise;
And cheerful duty he'll prefer

To costly sacrifice.

295 October 21.

L.M.

Ward.

CHOOSING THE BETTER PART.

"But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."-Luke x. 42.

1 BESET with snares on every hand,

In life's uncertain path I stand;

Father divine, diffuse thy light,
And guide my doubtful footsteps right.

2 Engage this weak and erring heart
Early to choose the better part;
To scorn the trifles of a day,
For joys that none can take away.

3 Then, should the wildest storms arise,
And tempests mingle earth and skies,—
No fatal shipwreck shall I fear,

But all my treasures with me bear.

4 If thou, my Father, still art nigh,
Cheerful I'll live, and cheerful die;
Secure, when human comforts flee,
To find ten thousand worlds in thee.

296 October 22. C. M.

MAN FRAIL-BUT GOD ETERNAL.

Medfield.

"Our soul waiteth for the Lord; he is our help and our shield."-Ps. xxxiii. 20.

O GOD, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come;

Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

2 Beneath the shadow of thy throne,
Thy children dwell secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

3 A thousand ages, in thy sight,

Are like an evening gone;

Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.

4 Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

5 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,

Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.

297 October 23.

7s.

Pleyel's Hymn.

WORSHIP.

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”—John iv. 24.

1

ORD of Hosts, what heavenly bliss,

Lo

E'en on earth, thy worship is!

Here may we, thy children, see
Much of heaven and much of thee.

2 From thy gracious presence flows
Bliss that softens all our woes,
While thy Spirit's holy fire

Warms our hearts with pure desire.
3 Here we supplicate thy throne,—
Here make thou thy glories known,—
Here we learn thy righteous ways,
Taste thy love and sing thy praise.

4 Thus with festive songs of joy
We our happy lives employ;
Love, and long to love thee more,
Till from earth to heaven we soar.

298 October 24. C. M.

CHILDREN OF LIGHT.

Rochester.

"For ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light."-Eph. v. 8.

1

WA

ALK in the light! so shalt thou know
That fellowship of love

His Spirit only can bestow

Who reigns in light above.

2 Walk in the light! and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly his,

Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined,
In whom no darkness is.

8 Walk in the light! and thou shalt own
Thy darkness passed away,

Because that light on thee hath shone
In which is perfect day.

4 Walk in the light! and e'en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear;
Glory shall chase away its gloom,

For Christ hath conquered there.

5 Walk in the light! and thou shalt be
A path, though thorny, bright;
For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee,
And God himself is light!

299

October 25. C. M.

St. Martin's.

A MORNING PSALM.

"For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield."-Ps. v. 12.

1 LORD, in the morning thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;

To thee will I direct my prayer,
To thee lift up mine eye.

2 Thou art a God, before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand:
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.

30 may thy Spirit guide my feet
In ways of righteousness!
Make every path of duty straight
And plain before my face.

4 The men who love and fear thy name,
Shall see their hopes fulfilled;
The mighty God will compass them
With favor as a shield.

300 October 26.

C. M.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Lanesborough.

"And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."-Matt. xxi. 22.

1

OUR Father, God, to thee alone

May all subjection yield;

Here, as in heaven, thy will be known;

Here, as in heaven, fulfilled.

2 With bread sufficient for the day,
Our mortal frame supply:

And feed our souls along their way,
With manna from on high.

3 While, conscious of the debt we owe,
We bow the humble knee;
That mercy we to others show,
Descend on us from thee.

4 Do thou our erring feet secure,—
Oh, lead us far from ill!
And keep us upright, just, and pure,
In act, in word, and will.

301 October 27. L. M. 6 lines.

FAITH.

Eaton.

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."-John xx. 29.

1

HAT though we never saw thee tread

WHA

This bright and cheerful world of ours;

Nor heard thy voice recall the dead

Again to life's reviving powers: Yet we believe-for all things are The gift of thy almighty care.

2 We did not see thee tread the wave;

We did not hear the voice from heaven,
Which once the joyful tidings gave,

That God's own Son for us was given!
But we believe-oh, strengthen thou
The faith which to thy name we owe.

3 We were not with the chosen few

Who saw thee through the clouds ascend;
Who gazed, and wished to follow too;
And then to earth did prostrate bend:
But we believe that mortal eyes
Beheld that journey to the skies.
4 Chase every shade of doubt away;

"Light of the world," in mercy shine, Illume with faith our darksome way,

And make us through life's pathway, thine: Then bring us to that heavenly light

Where faith at once is lost in sight.