"W

be a just God and yet a Saviour;" "just and yet the justifier of those who believe in Jesus;" able and willing to extend mercy to the guilty, while the eternal laws of his immutable justice remain sacred and inviolable; able and willing to purify and raise the sinner to the enjoyment of his presence and favour, while he "the Lord of Hosts is exalted in judgment, and God that is holy is sanctified in righteousness.' The wisdom of God is therefore most eminently manifested in the work of redemption, and in the person of the great Redeemer Emanuel, God with us-who being the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person, shines forth arrayed in his holiness, his righteousness, his mercy, and his truth, and every other attribute, which shedding their equal lustre in the full orb of the divine perfections, display the order, and unity, and beauty of the character of the ever blessed and glorious God.

" Isaiah xlv. 21.- Rom. iii. 26.- Isaiah v. 16.

IOTA.

HYMNS AND POETICAL RECREATIONS.

NOW AND THEN;

Or the Sufferings of the Present Time not worthy to be compared with the Future Glories of the Christian.

WHEN troubles press and clouds impend,

Nature appall'd, aghast,

Anxious, can trace no certain end,
Nor contemplate a powerful friend
To meet such evils vast:

For still, while storms terrene appear,
But temporal aids to help are near.

And Time's evanid aids can grant
No help to meet my need:
My deeply tinctur'd sufferings want
Help from above-for this I pant,—

To be from sinning freed:

For guilt a burden does impose
Superior to all other woes.

Oh! blessed promise from above,
"Sin o'er you shall not reign";
Its festering smart, though now prove,
Shall be subdu'd by balmy love,

And that shall ease my pain:
While glory's bright approaching hope
Bears my afflicted spirit up.

And now, tho' toss'd by stormy waves,
They break upon the shore:

There the spent brine but softly laves,
And lands the tempted soul, and saves,
And billows beat no more:
But scenes eternal burst to view,
Bliss, inexpressible and true.

Tho' light afflictions tend my way,
Yet weightier glories stiil,
Glories to be revealed, display
The triumphs of eternal day,
And lead to Zion's hill:

There all the streams of sorrow dry,
And tears are wip'd from every eye.

Hence patient, then, I'll suffer toil,
Since Jesus mark'd the road,
My sorrows can but last awhile,
And future joy my pains beguile,
While pressing on to God:
That joy, by Jesus crown'd, I see
Pledge of a blest eternity.

SONNET.

How softly beautiful, how purely bright
Are these last, lingering, unclouded days
Of slow-retiring Summer! yea, they raise
Within my heart a strange yet sad delight
Which other days give not. The soften'd light
Pour'd through yon aged thorn-tree by the rays
Of the fast westering sun,-and while I gaze,
The tints for ever varying, invite

The soul to deep reflection; for the Spring
Now blends her bright hues with the slow decay
Of Autumn-like the fair but faithless glow

Ω

Which I have seen so brightly colouring
A cheek whose beauty now has passed away,
And deep, deep, in the silent grave lies low.

MORNING HYMN.

ANOTHER day of life and light,
Lord, thou hast given to me--
Be it my study and delight
Therein to honour thee!

The sun comes forth in majesty
His stated course to run;
The birds their morning melody
Already have begun.

Shall I alone be dumb, when all
Around me speaks thy praise?
No-at thy footstool let me fall,
To thee devote my days.

O grant me, Lord, one heavenly ray
Of light to guide my path-

That I may walk with thee each day,
And still be thine in death.

In Christ alone I place my trust,

He will my surety be―

That when my body turns to dust,

My soul may spring to thee.

R. L.

R. L.

SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY ST. AUGUSTINE.

O FAIREST, purest! be the dove

That flies alone in sunny grove:

And lives unseen and bathes her wing,
All vestal white, in limpid spring.
There, if the hovering hawk be near,
That limpid spring, that mirror clear,
Reflects him, ere he reach his prey,
And warns the tim'rous bird away.

The sacred page of God's own book
Shall be the spring, the eternal brook,
In whose bright mirror, night and day,
Thou'lt study heaven's reflected ray:
And should the foes of virtue dare
With gloomy wing to seek thee there,
Thou'lt see how dark their shadows lie
"Twixt thee and heaven, and trembling fly.

THIRTY-FOURTH PSALM.

My soul for ever shall repeat the praise
Of him who bears Jehovah's sacred name,
And in the darkest nights and brightest days,
Alike with joy my Saviour's praise proclaim.

In Him my soul shall glory, and my voice
Shall sing of him and his unchanging love;
The humble saint shall hear it and rejoice,

And join in praise to Him who reigns above.

O come, with me exalt the Saviour's grace,
With me his truth, his mercy magnify:
Through him I seek my Heavenly Father's face,
Through him receive his blessing from on high.

The poor in spirit who Jehovah fear

Cry to the Lord, nor do they cry unheard: The Angel of the Covenant is near,

To save the soul that trembles at his word.

Come-taste the sweetness of the living bread,
The poorest saint in Christ is richly blest;
Trust in Jehovah, make the Lord your dread,
Nor other fear shall agitate your breast.

The lion perishes for lack of prey,

And men as savage, faint, and fall, and die; But those who seek the Lord shall find their way, Encompassed round with mercy from on high.

O ye who early choose the path of life,

Leave every evil course and fear the Lord; Seek righteousness and peace-avoid all strife, And peace from God shall be your sure reward.

On those who fear the Lord his eye looks down And rests in love-his ear attends their prayer; But from the terrors of his awful frown

The wicked fly to darkness and despair.

The prayers of saints before the throne of God, Accepted rise-He bids their sorrows cease,

Chooses the lowly heart as his abode,

And o'er the contrite sheds the balm of

peace.

When Christ the righteous bore our heavy woes,
Bruis'd but not broken was his sacred frame;
And as our head from death victorious rose,
His members also shall arise the same.

Messiah's foes shall all be overthrown,
But all his servants Jesus will redeem :
For never will the Lord forsake his own,
Nor fail the soul that puts its trust in him.

LEADER of thy faithful few,
Faithful but as kept by thee,
As my journey I pursue,

Let mine eyes thy glory see-
Beaming on me from above,
God of truth and God of love.

O how dark the human mind,
Till thy Spirit shines within,
Cold, contracted, and confin'd,
Full of idols, self, and sin,
Till the Light of Life is shed
Through the chambers of the dead.

Then the gloom is changed to gladness,
Then the soul reflects thy rays,
Then the oil of joy for sadness,
Gives its fragrance forth in praise.
Be that rich anointing mine,
Lord that praise be ever thine.

FATHER-I commend my spirit
To thy love in Jesus' name,
Love that his atoning merit
Gives me confidence to claim.
O how sweet, how pure the pleasure,
Flowing from that love to me,
O how great, how rich a treasure,
Saviour, I possess in thee.

From this world and its confusions,
Here I turn and find my rest-
From its cares and its delusions,
Turn to thee and I am blest.
Though this scene is ever changing,
Since thy mercy changes not,

IOTA.

IOTA.