No. 83.

Christ the True Vine.

St. John, xv. 1-8.

THE earth has long been gay with flowers,
The vine is black and bare;

For longer still and warmer hours,
And milder airs and genial showers,
Its juices must prepare.

The almond tree its flowers hath shed,
The hawthorn bloom is o'er;

For that no fruit shall bend its head,
But this shall bear its berries red,
For birds a winter store.

The vine, which richer fruits shall bear, As yet scarce seem to grow;

And when at length its flowers appear, Their fragrance tells that they are there, And not their gaudy show.

'Twas thus with Him for sinners bound,
Whom heavenly hosts admire;
Like root out of a barren ground,
No form or comeliness was found,
Why men should him desire.

Full thirty summers came and went,
And Jesus scarce was known;
Amongst the poor his life was spent,
His early years to toil were lent,
Ere yet his glory shone.

Nor by such pomps as men delight

Was Christ's true glory marred;
But words of power and deeds of might,
And Satan's legions put to flight,

A God on earth declared.

E'en such, O Lord, thy saints shall be,
True branches of the vine;

From earthly pomps they still shall flee,
And all their glory draw from thee,
And springs of grace divine.

And stern affliction's hand shall prove

Like the sharp pruner's knife;

From each fresh wound new thoughts of love Shall to new deeds of goodness move,

Till death shall lead to life.

No. 84.

The Spirit's Teaching.

St. John, xvi. 13-15.

How blest the sweet communion man did hold,
When in fair Eden's bowers with God he walked;
The Spirit then of all things heavenly told,
And with his children pure Jehovah talked.

No film of darkness then the eye o'erspread, Quenching the ray of truth which shone from heaven;

The heart then shrunk not with instinctive dread From intercourse with God, by Satan driven.

'Twas then man's joy how angels served to hear, To listen with delight to things on high;

He walked in love, and yet in holy fear,
And to his God and King in heart drew nigh.

But soon through Satan's art frail Adam fell, And shame and guilt banished all peace and love;

Nor longer could the Holy Spirit dwell,

Where now to thoughts of evil sin did move.

But, God his own would not cast off for ever,

Where sin abounded, grace should more abound; He sent his Son man's iron chain to sever,A ransom for his soul in Christ he found.

And when the Saviour did create anew

Man's sinful soul like his own image pure; Again the Spirit came, the teacher true,

Sealing to each, through faith, the promise sure.

And now is fear cast out, and love has place,
And truth is purified from base alloy;
Again does peace triumphant reign through grace,
And intercourse with God does man enjoy.

God dwells in him, and he in God, and now
From the pure fount of life he drinks each day;
But, this his greatest bliss that he does know
Christ Jesus as the Truth, the Life, the Way.

No. 85.

The Intercession of Christ.

St. John, xviii.

How cold the thoughts, how dead the word

E'en righteous lips express;

How poor that worship of the Lord

E'en faithful hearts address.

Yet God, through grace, vouchsafes to hear, When faith directs the prayer;

And to his saints is ever near,

Who all their wants declare.

Yet, oh! were this our only hope,
How faintly should we pray;
How would our failing spirits droop,
Were this our only stay!

'Tis Christ that guides our feeble word,
And helps us in our need;

We pray in hope, because assured
That Christ does intercede.