I'll praise him for ten thousand past, And humbly sue for more. 6. Then, O my soul, why thus depressid, And whence this anxious fear ? Let former favors fix thy trust, And check the rising tear. Nor murmur at his rod; COTTON. The Christian Race. 1. AWAKE, my soul, stretch every nerve, And press with vigor on : A heavenly race demands thy zeal, And an immortal crown. 2. A cloud of witnesses around, Hold thee in full survey : Forget the steps already trod, And onward urge thy way. 3. 'Tis God's all animating voice, That calls thee from on high ; 'Tis his own hand presents the prize, To thine aspiring eye: Which shall new lustre boast, Shall blend in common dust. 5. My soul, with sacred ardor fir’d, The glorious prize pursue; DODDRIDGS. The dying Christian to his soul. 1. VITAL spark of heav’nly flame! Quit, oh quit this mortal frame : And let me languish into life. • Sister spirit, come away."What is this absorbs me quite ; Steals my senses, shuts my sight, POPÈ. Drowns my spirits, draws my breath? Tell me, my soul, can this be death ? 3. The world recedes ; it disappears ; Heav'n opens on my eyes! My ears With sounds seraphic ring! SECTION XXI. Epitaph on a poor and virtuous masca 1. STOP, reader, here, and deign to look On one without a name; Ne'er enter'd in the ample book Of fortune or of farne. 2. Studious of peace, he hated strife ; Meek virtues fill'd his breast; His coat of arms, a spotless life;" " An honest heart,” his crest. 3. Quarter'd therewith was innocence; And thus his motto ran; " A conscience void of all offence, Before both God and man." Now scorns his pedigree, SECTION XXII. Love to enemies. 1. When Christ, among the sons of men, In humble form was found, With cruel slanders, false and vain, He was encompass'd round. 2. The woes of men, his pity mov’d; Their peace he still pursu'd ; They render'd hatred for his love, And evil for his good. Yet, with his dying breath, And bless'd his foes in death. 4. From the rich fountain of his love What streams of mercy flow! They know not what they do." up 5. Let not this bright example shine, In vain before our eyes ! WATTS. The dangers and snares of life. 1. AWAKE, my soul! lift thine eyes : See where thy foes against thee rise, In long array, a num'rous host ! Awake, my soul, or thou art lost. Must'ring his pale, terrific bands; And willing souls are captive led. And fierce desires and lusts engage; Has thousands and ten thousands slain. 4. Thou tread'st upon enchanted ground; Perils and snares beset thee round : But most the traitor in thy heart. The weight of thine immortal shield : Of heav'nly truth, and heav'nly love. 6. The terror and the charm repel, And pow'rs of earth, and pow'rs of hell : SECTION XXIV. Thine eye beholds, with piercing view, My heart and flesh, with all their powers. 2. My thoughts, before they are my own, Are to my God distinctly known; Ere from my op'ning lips they break. 3. Within thy circling power I stand ; On every side I find thy hand : Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, I am surrounded still with God. What large extent ! what lofty height! Is in the boundless prospect lost ! Where'er I rove, where'er I rest ! Consent to sin, for God is there! To quit thy service, and thy love, Or, from thy dreadful glory run ? 7. If up to heav'n I take my flight, 'Tis there thou dwell'st enthron'd in light; Or dive to hell, there vengeance reigns, And Satan groans beneath thy chains. 8. If mounted on a morning ray, I fly beyond the western sea, And there arrest thy fugitive. Beneath the spreading vale of night : Would kindle darkness into day. SECTION XXV. All nature attests the great Creator. 1. Hast thou beheld the glorious sun, Through all the sky his circuit run, And when he beam'd his noontide ray 2. Say, didst thou e'er attentive view The evening cloud, or morning dew! Rise in the east a beauteous show ! WATTS. And with a mild and placid light, Shed lustre o'er the face of night? And view'd the fields, and waving grain ; Where all is melody and love ? And heard the restless ocean roar, Its billows roll in dreadful form ? Through night's dark gloom with sudden gleam; Roll'd rattling through the heav'ns profound ! 7. Hast thou e'er felt the cutting gale, The sleety shower, the biting hail ; The water bound in icy chains ? That sport along the valley green ; Or wanton in the sunny ray: Or under ground their dwellings keep; Or frightful wilds, and deserts strange ? 10. Hast thou the wondrous scene survey'd, That all around thee are display'd ? eyes And all the shining orbs on high : That people all the spacious earth. 12. "Tis he that bids the tempest rise, And rolls the thunder through the skies. Through all the earth extends his sway. 13. His goodness all his creatures share ; But man is his peculiar care. |