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THE RAISING OF THE WIDOW'S SON.

WEEP not, O mother, sounds of lamentation;

Weep not, O widow, weep not hopelessly! Strong is his arm, the bringer of salvation!

Strong is the Word of God to succour thee!

Bear forth the cold corpse, slowly, slowly bear him;
Hide his pale features with the sable pall;
Chide not the sad one wildly weeping o'er him,
Widowed and childless, she has lost her all.

Why pause the mourners, who forbids our weeping?
Who the dark pomp of sorrow has delayed?
"Set down the bier-he is not dead, but sleeping!
Young man, arise!" He spake, and was obeyed!

Change then, O sad one, grief to exultation;
Worship and fall before Messiah's knee.
Strong was his arm, the bringer of salvation!
Strong was the Word of God to succour thee.

EPIPHANY.

BRIGHTEST and best of the sons of the morning,

Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid;

Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

Guide where our Infant Redeemer is laid.

Cold on his cradle the dew-drops are shining,

Low lies his bed with the beasts of the stall;

Angels adore Him in slumber reclining

Maker, and Monarch, and Saviour of all.

Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,
Odours of Edom, and offerings divine;

Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean;
Myrrh from the forest, and gold from the mine?

VOL. II.

10

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,

Vainly with gold would his favour secure ; Richer by far is the heart's adoration,

Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid; Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

Guide where our Infant Redeemer is laid.

HEAVEN TRANSCENDENTLY GLORIOUS.

I PRAISED the earth, in beauty seen,
With garlands gay of various green;
I praised the sea, whose ample field
Shone glorious as a silver shield;
And earth and ocean seemed to say,
"Our beauties are but for a day."

I praised the sun, whose chariot rolled
On wheels of amber and of gold;
I praised the moon, whose softer eye
Gleamed sweetly through the summer-sky;
And moon and sun in answer said,
"Our days of light are numbered."

O God, O good beyond compare!
If thus thy meaner works are fair;
If thus thy bounties gild the span
Of ruined earth and sinful man;

How glorious must the mansion be

Where thy redeemed shall dwell with Thee!

ROBERT POLLOK.

ROBERT POLLOK was born in 1799, and was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he applied to his studies with an ardour that undermined his constitution. In 1827 he was appointed a Licentiate of the Scottish Secession Church, but did not live to enter upon his sacred duties, dying of consumption before the close of the same year. He was the author of The Course of Time, a poem of great power, which was published only a few months prior to his death.

PRAISE.

HARPS of eternity! begin the song:
Redeemed, and angel harps! begin to God,
Begin the anthem ever sweet and new,
While I extol Him, holy, just, and good,
Life, beauty, light, intelligence, and love!
Eternal, uncreated, infinite!

Unsearchable Jehovah! God of truth!
Maker, Upholder, Governor of all:

Thyself unmade, ungoverned, unupheld.

Mysterious more the more displayed, where still
Upon thy glorious throne thou sitt'st alone:
Hast sat alone, and shalt for ever sit

Alone; invisible, immortal One!

Behind essential brightness unbeheld;

Incomprehensible! what weight shall weigh,

What measure measure Thee? What know we more
Of Thee, what need to know, than Thou hast taught,
And bidd'st us still repeat at morn and even
God! Everlasting Father! Holy One!

Our God, our Father, our Eternal all!

Source whence we came, and whither we return;
Who made the heaven, who made the flowery land;
Thy works all praise Thee: all thy angels praise;

Thy saints adore, and on thy altars burn

The fragrant incense of perpetual love.

They praise Thee now: their hearts, their voices praise,

And swell the rapture of the glorious song.

Harp, lift thy voice on high! shout, angels, shout!

And loudest, ye redeemed! "Glory to God!"
And to the Lamb who bought us with his blood,
From every kindred, nation, people, tongue;
And washed, and sanctified, and saved our souls;
And gave us robes of linen pure, and crowns
Of life, and made us kings and priests to God.
Shout back to ancient Time! Sing loud, and wave
Your palms of triumph! sing, "Where is thy sting,
O Death? where is thy victory, O Grave?"
Thanks be to God! eternal thanks, who gave
Us victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Harp, lift thy voice on high! shout, angels, shout!
And loudest, ye redeemed! "Glory to God."

THE BIBLE.

HAST thou ever heard

Of such a book? The author God Himself;

The subject, God and man, salvation, life,

And death-eternal life, eternal death;

Dread words! whose meaning has no end, no bounds. Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord! Star of eternity! the only star

By which the bark of man could navigate

The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss

Securely only star which rose on time,
And, on its dark and troubled billows, still
As generation, drifting swiftly by,

Succeeded generation, threw a ray

Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God,
The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye.

By prophets, seers, and priests, and sacred bards,
Evangelists, apostles, men inspired,

And by the Holy Ghost anointed, set
Apart, and consecrated to declare

To earth the counsels of the Eternal One,

This book, this holiest, this sublimest book,

Was sent. Heaven's will, Heaven's code of laws entire, To man, this book contained; defined the bounds

Of vice and virtue, and of life and death;

And what was shadow, what was substance, taught.
Much it revealed; important all; the least

Worth more than what else seemed of highest worth,
But this of plainest, most essential truth:
That God is one, eternal, holy, just,
Omnipotent, omniscient, infinite;

Most wise, most good, most merciful, and true;
In all perfection most unchangeable:

That man, that every man of every clime
And hue, of every age, of every rank,
Was bad, by nature and by practice bad;
In understanding blind, in will perverse,

In heart corrupt; in every thought, and word,
Imagination, passion, and desire,

Most utterly depraved throughout, and ill,

In sight of Heaven, though less in sight of man ;

At enmity with God his Maker born,

And by his very life an heir of death;

That man, that every man was, farther, most
Unable to redeem himself, or pay

One mite of his vast debt to God; nay, more,
Was most reluctant and averse to be
Redeemed, and sin's most voluntary slave:
That Jesus, Son of God, of Mary born
In Bethlehem, and by Pilate crucified
On Calvary for man thus fallen and lost,
Died, and by death, life and salvation brought,
And perfect righteousness, for all who should
In his great name believe: that He, the third

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