No more shall Satan tempt my soul;
Corruption shall be slain;
And tides of pleasure o'er me roll:
For me to die is gain.
4 Nor shall I know a Father's frown,
But ever with him reign,
And wear an everlasting crown:
For me to die is gain.
5 Sorrow for joy I shall exchange,
For ever freed from pain;
And o'er the plains of Canaan range:
For me to die is gain.
6 Fain would my raptured soul depart,
Nor longer here remain,
But dwell, dear Jesus, where thou art:
For me to die is gain.
Hope beyond the Grave.-1 Peter i. 3-5.
My soul, this curious house of clay,
Thy present frail abode,
Must quickly fall to worms a prey,
And thou return to God.
2 Canst thou, by faith, survey with joy
The change before it come,
And say, "Let death this house destroy,
I have a heavenly home?"
3 The Saviour, whom I then shall see
With new admiring eyes,
Already has prepared for me
A mansion in the skies.
4 I feel this mud-wall'd cottage shake,
And long to see it fall;
That I my willing flight may take
To him who is my All.
5 Burden'd and groaning then no more,
My rescued soul shall sing,
As up the shining path I soar,
"Death, thou hast lost thy sting.".
6 Dear Saviour, help us now to seek,
And grant, thy Spirit's power;
That we may all this language speak,
Before the dying hour.
Death viewed in Jesus.-Job iii. 17.
DEATH and the grave are doleful themes,
For sinful, mortal worms to sing;
Except a Saviour's brighter beams
Dispel the gloom, and touch the string.
2 Death! awful sound! the fruit of sin,
And terror of the human race:
Who, except Jesus smiles within,
Can look the monster in the face?
3 Yet, dearest Lord, when view'd in thee,
The monster loses all his dread;
There all his frightful horrors flee,
And joy surrounds a dying bed.
4 Jesus, the mighty Saviour, lives,
And he has conquer'd death and hell;
This truth substantial comfort gives,
And dying saints can sing, ""Tis well."
Preparation for Death.-Ps. x. 17.
PREPARE me, gracious God,
To stand before thy face;
Thy Spirit must the work perform,
For it is all of grace.
In Christ's obedience clothe,
And wash me in his blood;
So shall I lift my head with joy
Among the sons of God.
3 Do thou my sins subdue;
Thy sovereign love make known;
The spirit of my mind renew,
And save me in thy Son.
Let me attest thy power;
Let me thy goodness prove;
my full soul can hold no more
Of everlasting love.
Meditating on the Sweetness of Spiritual Thing-Ps. civ. 34
WHEN languor and disease invade
This trembling house of clay, "Tis sweet to look beyond our cage, And long to fly away.
2 [Sweet to look inward and attend
The whispers of his love;
Sweet to look upward to the place,
Where Jesus pleads above.]
3 Sweet to look back, and see my name In life's fair book set down;
Sweet to look forward, and behold
Eternal joys my own.
4 Sweet to reflect how grace divine
My sins on Jesus laid;
Sweet to remember that his blood
My debt of suffering paid.
5 Sweet in his righteousness to stand,
Which saves from second death;
Sweet to experience, day by day,
His Spirit's quickening breath.
6 [Sweet in his faithfulness to rest,
Whose love can never end;
Sweet on his covenant of grace
For all things to depend.]
7 Sweet in the confidence of faith
To trust his firm decrees;
Sweet to lie passive in his hands,
And know no will but his.
8 If such the sweetness of the streams,
What must the fountain be?
Where saints and angels draw their bliss
Immediately from thee!
The Sinner's Portion, and Saint's Hope.-Ps. xvii.
LORD, I am thine, but thou wilt prove My faith, my patience, and my love; When men of spite against me join, They are the sword, the hand is thine. 2 Their hope and portion lie below; 'Tis all the happiness they know;
'Tis all they seek; they take their shares, And leave the rest among their heirs. 3 What sinners value, I resign;
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine:
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.
4 This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world, to which I go,
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake and find me there?
5 O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near, and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of my soul.
6 My flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.
Support under Trials on Earth.-Rev. xxi. 4.
WHEN I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies;
I bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.
2 Should earth against my soul engage,
And hellish darts be hurl'd,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage,
And face a frowning world.
3 Let cares like a wild deluge come,
And storms of sorrow fall;
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