O Saviour! till I take my happy flight,
To stand and bless thee with the blest above;
Throughout that heart diffuse thy Spirit's light,
The light of life, the life of holiest love.

PSALM lxxi.

Jesus! my Lord!-the holy and the just!
In thee, and thee alone, I put my trust:
Save and deliver me!-be my defence,

IOTA.

My tower of strength; and none shall pluck me thence.
Thou rock of my salvation! lo! I plead
Thy promised help, in every time of need;
Thou art my confidence, from early youth,
And thou art all my hope, Lord God of truth!
From thee my life and all its blessings came
And to its close I magnify thy name;
"A wonder unto many!" Thou, my God!
Art my strong refuge and my safe abode.

Thy praise shall be my soul's supreme delight;
In daily praise shall all my powers unite;

Be thou my strength, when nature's powers decay,
My crown of glory! when they fade away.

Those who observe me with no friendly eye,
Think me of God forsaken ;-Lord! be nigh!
When they cry "persecute!" draw near and prove,
My soul is safe in thine unchanging love.

My hope is stedfast; cast within the veil ;
Nor will I cease, till heart and flesh shall fail,
To bless the Lord my God, whose righteous ways
And richer grace transcend all human praise.

In weakness, this shall still my glory be,
Thy power, LORD JEHOVAH ! rests on me;
Thou! my Redeemer! at whose feet I fall;

My Wisdom! Righteousness! my Strength! my All!
Taught from my earliest youth to seek thy face;
Thus far, my God, thy wondrous works I trace;
When age or weakness shake this mortal frame,
Still be it mine to magnify thy Name.

Thy judgments are a vast unfathomed sea:
O thou most Holy! who is like to thee?
Thou, from the troubles of this mortal state,
Shall raise my soul, and make my glory great.

There shall high heaven with thy praise resound; There thy" sure mercies' shall my soul surround; There shall my grateful heart thy ways review, Whose name is FAITHFUL, and whose words are TRUE.

My joyful lips shall tune the solemn song,
And to the harp, the glorious theme prolong;
Wake chords of praise from each harmonious string;
To Thee! my Holy One! my God! my King!

Yes! with exceeding joy my soul shall bless
My Saviour Lord! my peace and righteousness!
In life, in death, and then in heaven above,
Set forth thy praise, and sing Redeeming Love!

THE FRIENDLY VISITOR.

No. 224.]

MAY, 1837.

[VOL. 19.

"COMMIT THY WAY UNTO THE LORD."

"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day."-PSALM XXXvii. 5, 6.

It is a great comfort to a tempted believer to meditate on the wisdom, mercy, and power of God, as displayed towards his children. It often happens that he is brought into great difficulties: He can neither see the finger of divine providence pointing out the path of duty, nor hear "a word behind him saying, this is the way, walk ye in it." Is. xxx. 21. Happy is it for him then to know,

"That all the downward tracts of time,
God's watchful eye surveys."

And as no event can occur without the knowledge or permission, yea, the appointment of him, "who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," Eph. i. 11. and "sees the end from the beginning," it is the Christian's privilege to "commit his way unto the Lord," and to give up himself to the wise government and tender care of his heavenly Father, who has most graciously declared, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Heb. xiii. 5, 6. When faith can take hold of this precious promise, and plead it in believing prayer, the soul is enabled to acquiesce in the will of God, whether the request is immediately granted or wisely delayed; and the resigned spirit concludes,

Thy ways, O Lord, with wise design,
Åre framed upon thy throne above;
And every dark and bending line
-Meets in the centre of thy love.
With feeble light, and half obscure,

Poor mortals thy arrangements view;

Not knowing that the least are sure,
And the mysterious just and true."

The recollection of his past experience of the love of God, when divine grace disposed the believer to trust when and

E

where he could not trace the Lord, dispels misgiving fear from his doubting breast-warms his heart with the glow of hope-brightens his prospects in the darkest seasonsand quickens his lingering footsteps in the way of life. Then he can take down his harp, which unbelief suspended on the weeping willow, and tune it to the praise and glory of his faithful God, and accompany its soothing notes with the warmest expressions of grateful joy. If the desire of his heart is for the glory of God and the good of his soul, and he is enabled to trust in the Lord, he knows that in the best time and manner God will

"bring it to pass. In looking back, he sees wisdom and love in every dispensation; in looking forward, he believes that "goodness and mercy shall follow" him all the days of his life. The language of the grateful heart is,

"God of my life, how good, how wise,
Thy judgments on my soul have been ;
They were but blessings in disguise—
The painful remedies of sin :

How different now thy ways appear-
Most merciful when most severe."

Thus the eternal God brings forth the righteousness or
spiritual integrity of his servants, to convince the waver-
ing, confound the sceptic, and comfort his people; and
he exhibits, before the eyes of an astonished world, the
judgment which his children form of his dealings with
men, so that his enemies may discover, as in the light of
noon-day," the reality and blessedness of the privileges
of his saints. And though God may sometimes lead his
child in a way which he has not before known, or hide
his face in the shade of a frowning providence, his faith
perceives the bow of promise brighten as the cloud darkens,
which reminds him of one who says,
66 I will remember
my covenant which is between me and you." Gen. ix. 13,
16. And the Holy Spirit applies this precious promise
with power to his soul: "The mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."
Is. liv. 10.

ADJUTOR.

WHAT SEEK YE?

Heart searching question! How shall I reply to it? Something I have been ever in quest of since the moment of earliest thought and feeling-something I am still pursuing. Have my researches hitherto brought peace? Have I learned, by past experience, what is the good which will truly yield it; and am I now steadily pursuing it, whithersoever the pursuit may lead me? This foolish heart has indeed often gone far astray, and lost repose when it has seemed most likely to enjoy the good it courted; the object it sought after has, perhaps, been gained; but did it find the possession sufficient to secure the end? Vanity was stamped upon the fancied treasure ; peace was still far off. In its first ardent search after. happiness, did it never flatter itself with the delusion that it sought its enjoyments only in permitted objects? Friends, good opinion, domestic endearments, cultivation of mind, innocent recreation-these were, by turns, pursued with all the eagerness of a soul panting after the attainment of bliss, and believing that a merciful Creator would fulfil the natural desires which were implanted in the mind. Blind, foolish heart! Unenlightened by the Spirit of truth, it discerned not that the things of nature are insufficient to satisfy the cravings of the immortal mind. It was not, that unless the gifts be held in subordination to one ruling end, they are as destructive of true peace as the grosser allurements of sense, or the more agitating emotions of worldly ambition; but, "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," and all these things shall, in their due proportion, minister to the end thou hast in view.

Seek Christ in the centre of your souls; seek his kingdom, establishing in your hearts the rule of heavenly love and prompt obedience; seek his graces, to open within your souls the germ of true blessedness, and all thing: are yours." Friends, chosen for Christ's sake, will love you with an affection little liable to the interruptions of caprice. Influence sought for the extension of his kingdom, will neither minister to the tyrannic miserable sway