As if you'd not seen how sinful you've been?
How sad is your state, if thus you forget
The gospel of grace, designed for your case?
And what will you say at God's judgment day,
When his voice of thunder will rend you asunder;
And banish you where is endless despair?
Or do you believe, and profess to receive
The tidings of love; and yet unsteady prove?
And bring forth no fruit, because you've no root?
Becoming offended ere summer is ended.
Such many have been, and many I've seen;
Much better had they never known the right way,
Than turn from the word of Jesus the Lord:
In them we behold what the Proverb foretold,
Like the dog, they return to their vomit again;
Like the sow, they desire to wallow in mire.
Or having profest in Jesus to rest,
You yet have your heart, in every part,
So filled with the cares, that business prepares ;-
Or so full of the joys of Earth's empty toys,
That truth hath no room to come into bloom,
But dies all away before harvest day!
may it not be my young friend, with thee:
May all that are here like good ground appear.
Prepared, in youth, by the Spirit of truth,
May you hold good the seed, and thus blessed indeed;
Receive from the Lord an eternal reward.
What joy will it be God's glory to see!
How happy to stand at Jesus' right hand!
The judge on the throne our service will own;
Come hither, ye blest, come hither and rest!
The kingdom's prepar'd, your promised reward.
Then we shall draw near to God without fear;
Then we shall behold the mansions of gold;
Then we shall be found with dignity crown'd;
Then we shall enjoy, without any alloy,
The feast of his love, with the ransom'd above!
No sorrows can rise; for God, from our eyes
Shall wipe all our tears, and banish our fears;
His face we shall see, who died on the tree!
His image shall bear! his glory shall wear!
With him we shall reign; and with him remain,
With nothing to sever, for ever and ever!
Dear Friends, would you rise to this joy of the skies?
Now come to the Lord; believe on his word;
Now early begin to repent of your sin;
Walk on in the ways of wisdom and grace;
And soon he will come to fetch us all home!
But if you are found like unfruitful ground;
Except ye repent, ere life is all spent;
Except ye confess your heart's wickedness;
Except ye embrace the gospel of grace;
Except ye bow down at Jesus's throne;
Ye must perish, and go to unquenchable woe!
How sad to appear at God's judgment bar,
In the state you are in; all covered with sin!
The sound of "Depart" will sink to your heart,
And drive you away from the mansions of day,
With terrible fright, to the regions of night!
Those regions how dark! no glimmer! no spark!
No hope can be there, but endless despair.
There ease cannot rise; the worm never dies!
The soul-burning fire will never expire!
The scenes of this Earth-the land of your birth—
All mercies you'll find come into your mind,
And add to your grief, without hope of relief!
The sermons you hear will before you appear,
The way you have heard, and treated God's word;
Oft looking around, unheeding the sound,
Of warning and truth, addressed to your youth!
But you will complain entirely in vain;
God will not, when there, give heed to your prayer;
No help will be nigh, however you cry;
Whatever you say, 'tis useless to pray;
No place there appears for repentance or tears;
Your soul, that on Earth despised the new birth, From those blessings he'll sever, for ever and ever!
And now, my dear young friends, another year
God hath permitted you His truth to hear.
Oh! may this sermon make you truly wise,
And not against you in the judgment rise!
I've call'd the beasts of earth to show the way
How your Creator you should all obey;
I've call'd, as witnesses, the little birds
To make you understand the Saviour's words;
I've call'd upon the fishes of the sea,
That they for Jesus witnesses may be;
I've call'd upon the very ground to show
How you in wisdom and in grace should grow!
May God, the Holy Ghost, all things explain,
Without whose teaching ours will be in vain ;
May he now lead you Jesus to adore,
God over all and blessed evermore!
THE VOICE OF PSALMS.
From the "Christian Treasury.”
THE curfew's solemn toll had rung,
The birds their evening song had sung;
'Twas loud and long, and full of glee,
But now 'twas hushed on hedge and tree,
As if they dropp'd their tuneful joys
To listen to a holier voice,
Which rose in accents sweet and clear,
And thrill'd the air, and charmed the ear.
It was a household hymn which broke
Upon the silent air, and woke
The woodland echoes near, which gave
The music back in many a wave
Of undulating sound. It seem'd,
At least so listening Fancy deem'd,
As if kind Nature would prolong
The melody of such a song,
And lend at once her thousand chords
To glorify the Lord of lords.
Mingled in that sweet strain there was
A father's deep sonorous bass,
A mother's mellow tones, and soft
The voice of childhood rose aloft,
In one united peal of praise
To Him whose love prolonged their days-
To whom they gave their souls to keep
Through the unconscious hours of sleep.
Could those who taste eternal bliss
Find aught in such a world as this,
'Mid mortal care, resembling even
The least beatitude of heaven;
Could spirits pure, beneath the skies,
Forget the songs of Paradise;
Angels, upon their errands dear,
Had paused to sing and listen here.
And did they not? O who can tell
How sweetly seraph voices swell,
Although unheard by mortal ears,
Charming the blest of other spheres ?
'Tis said that there is joy in heaven
O'er one repentant soul forgiven;
And may not, then, the song of love
Repeated oft arise above,
And ring around the throne supreme
Of Him whose glory is the theme?
May it not mount from choir to choir,
Ascending higher still, and higher-
Losing each tuneless tone and jar
As up it soars from star to star,
Until the cottage psalm at last,
From world to world by seraphs pass'd,
Resounds in harmony complete,
Where heaven and earth in chorus meet?
"REALLY the day is so fine and warm," said Mrs. Gordon to her little daughter, "that although February has not gone it is just like spring. I think we will have a short walk. Go and get ready."
This Maria gladly did, and soon appeared ready for their little trip.
"Where shall we go mother ?" said Maria.
"We will keep on the road my dear. We shall be safer than in the fields, for although it is very fine for
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