2 Doth thy right hand, which formed the earth,
And bears up all the skies,
Stretch from on high its friendly aid,
When dangers round us rise?

3 On this support our souls shall lean,
And banish every care;

The gloomy vale of death will smile,
If God be with us there.

4 While we his gracious succor prove, 'Midst all our various ways,

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629.

The darkest shades, through which we pass,
Shall echo with his praise.

1 WAIT, O my soul, thy Maker's will!
Tumultuous passions, all be still!
Nor let one murmuring thought arise;
His ways are just, his counsels wise.
2 He in the thickest darkness dwells,
Performs his work, -the cause conceals;
But though his methods are unknown,
Judgment and truth support his throne.

3 In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas,
He executes his firm decrees;

And by his saints it stands confessed
That what he does is ever best.

C. M.

Rejoicing in Adversity.

BURDER'S COLL.

1 WHAT though no flowers the fig-tree clothe,

Though vines their fruit deny,

The labor of the olive fail,

And fields no meat supply ;

630.

2 Though from the fold, with sad surprise,
My flock cut off I see;

Though famine reign in empty stalls,
Where herds were wont to be;

3 Yet in the Lord will I be glad,
And glory in his love;

In him I'll joy, who will the God
Of my salvation prove.

4 God is the treasure of my soul,
The source of lasting joy—
A joy which want shall not impair,
Nor death itself destroy.

C. M.

"Blessed are they that mourn."

ANONYMOUS.

1 IN trouble and in grief, O God,
Thy smile hath cheered my way;
And joy hath budded from each thorn
That round my footsteps lay.

2 The hours of pain have yielded good,
Which prosperous days refused;
As herbs, though scentless when entire,
Spread fragrance when they 're bruised.

3 The oak strikes deeper as its boughs
By furious blasts are driven;
So life's vicissitudes the more
Have fixed my heart in heaven.

4 All-gracious Lord! whate'er my lot
In other times may be,

I'll welcome still the heaviest grief,
That brings me near to thee.

God Merciful in Affliction.

1 MYSTERIOUS are the ways of God,
And fear and blindness oft repine;
We murmur 'neath his chastening rod,
Because we read not his design.

BOWRING.

2 Impending clouds his love has spread
O'er this low vale where mortals dwell;
And oft we mourn his spirit fled,

When adverse tempests round us swell.
3 But in those storms that sometimes roll,
Our mortal dwellings dark above,
Whose threatening shades dismay the soul,
Dwells the bright presence of his love.

4 We cannot see him—not a ray
Of all his glory there appears,
And oft we thread our darkened way,
Trembling with anxious doubts and fears.

5 Yet faith still looks beyond the gloom,
While hope's bright star illumes our night;
Pilgrims of earth! though dark the tomb,
It leads to scenes of bliss and light.

632.

C. M.

Moore.

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."

1 0 THOU who driest the mourner's tear,
How dark this world would be,

If, when deceived and wounded here,
We could not fly to thee!

2 But thou wilt heal that broken heart,
Which like the plants that throw
Their fragrance from the wounded part,
Breathes sweetness out of woe.

3 When joy no longer soothes or cheers,
And e'en the hope that threw
A moment's sparkle o'er our tears
Is dimmed and vanished too;

4 O, who would bear life's stormy doom,
Did not thy wing of love

Come, brightly wafting through the gloom
Our peace-branch from above?

5 Then sorrow touched by thee grows bright,
With more than rapture's ray;

The darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day.

633.

C. M.

DRUMMOND

"God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in

trouble."

1 BEREFT of all, when hopeless care
Would sink us to the tomb,
O what can save us from despair?
What dissipate the gloom?

2 No balm that earthly plants distil
Can soothe the mourner's smart;
No mortal hand with lenient skill
Bind up the broken heart.

3 But One alone, who reigns above,
Our woe to peace can turn,
And light the lamp of joy and love
That long has ceased to burn.

4 Then, O my soul, to that One flee,
To God thy woes reveal;

His eye alone thy wounds can see,
His hand alone can heal.

634.

L. M.

The Same.

MONTGOMERY

1 GOD is our refuge and defence, In trouble our unfailing aid; Secure in his omnipotence,

What foe can make our soul afraid?

2 Yea, though the earth's foundations rock, And mountains down the gulf be hured, His people smile amid the shock,

They look beyond this transient world.

3 There is a river pure and bright,

Whose streams make glad the heavenly plains; Where, in eternity of light,

The city of our God remains.

4 Built by the word of his command,
With his unclouded presence blessed,
Firm as his throne the bulwarks stand;
There is our home, our hope, our rest.

635.

C. M.

ANONYMOUS.

Trust amid the Severities of God.

1 THOU Power supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfil,

Here, firm, I rest; they must be best,
Because they are thy will.

2 Then all I want,-O do thou grant
This one request of mine,—
Since to enjoy thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.

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