They who have trod that hopeless path,
Beneath that rayless sky,

Have known the hour of righteous wrath
These metaphors imply.

These know how God's most holy will

Can mar creation's face,

And leave the disobedient, still,

No pleasant resting place.

One only hope for such remains;
Repent, return, and live;
He who no penitent disdains,

New heavens, new earth can give.

Simple obedience shall restore

Green fields, and sunny skies;

And hearkening to his voice bring more
Than Eden's Paradise.

THE SPIRITUAL LAW.

"But the word is very nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it."-Deuteronomy, xxx. 14.

Say not The law divine

Is hidden from thee, or afar remov'd;

That law within would shine,

If there its glorious light were sought and lov'd.

Soar not on high,

Nor ask who thence shall bring it down to earth; That vaulted sky

Hath no such star, didst thou but know its worth.

Nor launch thy bark

In search thereof upon a shoreless sea
Which has no ark,

No dove to bring this olive-branch to thee.

Then do not roam

In search of that which wandering cannot win;
At home! At home!

That word is plac'd, thy mouth, thy heart within.

Oh! seek it there,

Turn to its teachings with devoted will;

Watch unto prayer,

And in the power of faith this law fulfil.

THE LOST FOUND.

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye."-Deuteronomy, xxxii. 10.

THUS didst thou, Lord, for Israel then,
Thus dost thou now for guilty men ;
Yet, yet compassionate, and kind,
Thy love vouchsafes the lost to find.

What numbers, in this gospel day,
Have wander❜d widely from thy way,
Into the desert's lone distress,

Sin's waste and howling wilderness.

But thou hast mark'd their footsteps there, Hast seen their anguish, heard their prayer, Thy mercy aid has interpos'd,

Thy hand deliverance has disclos'd.

Thou, in that land of fear and doubt,
Hast led the wanderers far about;
Thy grace instructed such to see
That help could only come from thee.

Like to the apple of thine eye

Thy love has kept them from on high,
And from that waste and desert strand
Has brought them to the promis'd land.

May these thy mercies ne'er forget,
But honour, love, and serve thee yet;
And sing HIS praise by Jordan's wave,
Who came the lost to seek, and save!

THE SAINTS' REFUGE.

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."-Deuteronomy, xxxiii. 27.

ALL language must be faint

The blessedness to paint

Of those who place their trust, O Lord! in thee; Whose spirits upward soar

To Thee, who evermore

The refuge of the righteous deign'st to be.

These in the hour of woe,

Which all on earth must know,

Look up to Thee through thy incarnate Son,
And by thy Spirit's grace

On Thee reliance place

Rememb'ring what thine outstretch'd arm has done.

Thou art their refuge still,

In every time of ill,

Beneath are thy eternal arms of love;

On earth they sing thy praise,

And songs more sweet shall raise

To Thee and to the Lamb in realms above.

There waves of conflict loudly roar, Rocks of temptation there are found, The winds of pride sweep fiercely o'er, And fogs of doubt oft hover round.

And many a once triumphant bark, Strew'd on its shore a shapeless mass, Denotes what countless dangers mark The Jordan which the soul must pass.

Yet christian pilgrim, thou to whom
That land of promis'd rest is dear,
Let not despondency and gloom

Excite distrust and chilling fear.

Go on in hope and faith like those
Who bore that hallow'd ark on high,
At whose approach the waters rose,
And wave-less stood-'till they were by!

He who hath call'd thee by his love,
Can guard thee safely by his power,
By grace can guide thee from above,
In peril's and temptation's hour.

His word of promise is as true

As when the Jordan backward turn'd, ' His arm can lead thee safely through The deeper tide by thee discern'd.