this earth. We refer to that hymn written by Dr. Horatius Bonar in 1842, or forty years before his death, the title of which is: A FEW MORE YEARS SHALL ROLL "A few more years shall roll, A few more seasons come, And we shall be with those that rest, Then, O my Lord, prepare O wash me in Thy precious Blood, "A few more storms shall beat On this wild, rocky shore, And we shall be where tempests cease, And surges swell no more. A few more struggles here, A few more partings o'er, A few more toils, a few more tears, "Tis but a little while And He shall come again, Who died that we might live, who lives That we with Him may reign: Then, O my Lord, prepare My soul for that glad day; O wash me in Thy precious Blood, Out of three thousand lines of a satire written by Bernard, a monk of Cluny, in the twelfth century, Dr. John Mason Neale has drawn three hymns which he has translated and which have become very popular. It is significant of the difference between the centuries that the twelfth century satirist is overwhelmed by the awe of heaven and the horror of hell, while the nineteenth century singer has so adapted his verses as to make them sing exultantly of heaven alone. It is the evangelical minister as contrasted with the austere monk. Of these hymns we note that which is appropriate as a new year selection, of which the first verse is: "Brief life is here our portion: Brief sorrow, short-lived care; Short toil, eternal rest, For mortals and for sinners A mansion with the blest!" It is left to a woman to give us the hymn which we mention as especially expressive of the thought of the Christian on New Year's Day. Phoebe Cary has expressed the life, the faith, and the hope of the true Christian most beautifully in her hymn, which has found its way into many books and into multitudes of human hearts. She, with her sister, has contributed largely to America's addition to sacred lyrics. A critic has pointed to the one by Phoebe, to which we have just referred, as especially beautiful, and which we quote under "Hymns of the Christian Life," namely, her hymn of which the first verse is: "One sweetly solemn thought Comes to me o'er and o'er I am nearer home today Than I have ever been before." John Newton, whose hymn on the name of Jesus introduced the churchly side of the day, has given us also a representative New Year hymn which is particularly solemn and fitting when used on the last evening of the year or on New Year's Eve. This hymn, when sung to that most appropriate tune given to it in Samuel Webbe's "Benevento," is most wonderfully impressive. We refer to the hymn of which the first stanza is: "While with ceaseless course the sun They have done with all below, But how little, none can know." In striking contrast with this is Charles Wesley's hymn, which has been styled a voice at the next year's threshold, and which inspires the singer to anticipate life and plan for the future. We quote the first stanza: "Come, let us anew our journey pursue, Roll round with the year And never stand still till the Master appear. And our talents improve By the patience of hope and the labor of love." |