The solemn midnight cry,
"Ye dead, the Judge is come!
"Arise, and meet him in the sky,
"And meet your instant doom!"
O may we thus be found,
Obedient to thy word;
Attentive to the trumpet's sound,
And looking for our Lord!
O may we thus insure
Our lot among the blest;
And watch a moment to secure
An everlasting rest.
C.M.-Christian Watchfulness. Mark xiii. 37.
1 AWAKE, my drowsy soul, awake,
And view the threatening scene;
Legions of foes encamp around,
And treachery lurks within.
2 "Tis not this mortal life alone,
These enemies assail;
All thine eternal hopes are lost
If their attempts prevail.
3 Now to the work of God awake;
Behold thy master near;
The various, arduous task pursue
With vigour and with fear.
4 The awful register goes on;
The' account will surely come,
And opening day, or closing night,
May bear me to my doom.
5 Tremendous thought! how deep it strikes! Yet like a dream it flies,
Till God's own voice the slumbers chase
From these deluded eyes.
L.M.-The Christian Warfare. Eph. vi. 10-17.
1 AWAKE, my soul! lift up thine eyes;
See where thy foes against thee rise,
In long array, a numerous host;
Awake, my soul, or thou art lost.
2 Here, giant danger threatening stands,
Mustering his pale, terrific bands;
There, pleasure's silken banners spread,
And willing souls are captive led.
3 See where rebellious passions rage,
And fierce desires and lusts engage;
The meanest foe of all the train
Has thousands and ten thousands slain.
4 Thou tread'st upon enchanted ground;
Perils and snares beset thee round;
Beware of all, guard every part,
But most, the traitor in thine heart.
5 Come, then, my soul, "now learn to wield
The weight of thine immortal shield;
Put on the armour from above
Of heavenly truth and heavenly love.
6 The terror and the charm repel,
And powers of earth and powers of hell:
The man of Calvary triumph'd here;
Why should his faithful followers fear?
L.M.-Warning against Slothfulness. Rev. iii. 11. 1 O ISRAEL, to thy tents repair;
Why thus secure on hostile ground?
The Lord commands thee to beware;
For many foes thy camp surround.
2 The trumpet gives a martial strain!
O Israel! gird thee for the fight:
Arise, the combat to maintain:
Arise, and put thy foes to flight.
3 O, sleep not thou as others do;
Awake, be vigilant, be brave;
The coward, and the sluggard too,
Must wear the fetters of the slave.
4 A nobler lot is cast for thee;
A crown awaits thee in the skies:
With such a hope shall Israel flee,
And yield, through weariness, the prize.
5 No: let a careless world repose,
And slumber on through life's short day, While Israel to the conflict goes,
And bears the glorious prize away.
L.M.-Deliverance celebrated, and good Resolutions formed.
Ps. cxvi. 8, 9.
1 GREAT source of life, our souls confess
The various riches of thy grace;
Crown'd with thy mercy, we rejoice,
And in thy praise exalt our voice.
2 By thee heaven's shining arch was spread;
By thee were earth's foundations laid;
And all the charms of men's abode
Proclaim the wise, the gracious God.
3 Thy tender hand restores our breath,
When trembling on the verge of death;
Gently it wipes away our tears,
And lengthens life to future years.
4 These lives are sacred to the Lord;
Kindled by him, by him restor'd;
And while our hours renew their race,
Still would we walk before his face.
5 So when by him our souls are led
Through unknown regions of the dead,
With joy triumphant shall they move
To seats of nobler life above.
C.M.-Praise for Recovery from Sickness. Ps. cxviii. 18, 19. 1 SOVEREIGN of life, I own thy hand In every chastening stroke, And, while I smart beneath thy rod, Thy presence I invoke.
2 To thee, in my distress, I cried,
And thou hast bow'd thine ear;
Thy powerful word my life prolong'd,
And brought salvation near.
3 Unfold, ye gates of righteousness,
That with the pious throng,
record my solemn vows,
And tune my grateful song.
4 Praise to the Lord, whose gentle hand
Renews our labouring breath;
Praise to the Lord, who makes his saints
Triumphant e'en in death.
5 My God, in thine appointed hour
Those heavenly gates display,
Where pain and sin, and fear and death,
For ever flee away.
6 There, while the nations of the blest
With raptures bow around,
My anthems to delivering grace
In sweeter strains shall sound.
C.M.-Equity and Justice. Phil. iv. 8. 1 COME, let us search our ways, and try, Have they been just and right?
Is the great rule of equity
Our practice and delight?
2 What we would have our neighbours do, Have we done still the same?
And ne'er delay'd to pay his due,
Nor injur'd his good name?
3 In vain we talk of Jesus' blood,
And boast his name in vain,
If we can slight the laws of God,
And prove unjust to men.
C.M.-Relieving Christ in his poor Members. Matt. xxv. 40. 1 JESUS! my Lord, how rich thy grace! Thy bounties how complete!
How shall I count the matchless sum?
the mighty debt?
2 High on the throne of radiant light
Dost thou exalted shine!
What can my poverty bestow,
When all the worlds are thine.
3 But thou hast brethren here below,
The partners of thy grace,
And wilt confess their humble names
Before thy Father's face.
4 In them thou may'st be cloth'd and fed,
And visited, and cheer'd,
And in their accents of distress
My Saviour's voice is heard.
5 Thy face with reverence and with love,
I in thy poor would see;
O! rather let me beg my bread,
Than hold it back from thee.
L.M.-The Light of good Examples the most effectual Way to glorify God. Matt. v. 16.
1 GREAT Teacher of thy church, we own Thy precepts all divinely wise;
O may thy mighty power be shown, To fix them still before our eyes. 2 Deep on our hearts thy law engrave,
And fill our breasts with heavenly zeal, That while we trust thy power to save, We may that sacred law fulfil.
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