HYMN 84. C. M. Medfield.

Religion the One Thing needful.

1 Religion is the chief concern,
Of mortals here below;

May I its great importance learn,
Its sovereign virtue know.

2 More needful this than glitt'ring wealth,
Or aught the world bestows;
Not reputation, food, or health,
Can give us such repose.

3 Religion should our thoughts engage,
Amidst our youthful bloom;
"Twill fit us for declining age,

And for the awful tomb.

4 O may my heart by grace renew'd,
Be my Redeemer's throne;
And be my stubborn will subdued,
His government to own.

5 Let deep repentance faith and love,
Be joined with godly fear;

And all my conversation prove

My heart to be sincere.

WORCESTER'S SEL.

HYMN 85. S. M. Aylesbury.

God's tender care of his People.

1 The Lord my Shepherd is,
I shall be well supply'd;
Since he is mine, and I am his,
What can I want beside.

2 He leads me to the place
Where heav'nly pasture grows,
Where living waters gently pass,
And full salvation flows.

3 If e'er I go astray,

He doth my soul reclaim;

And guides me in his own right way,
For his most holy name.

4 While he affords his aid,
I cannot yield to fear:

Tho' I should walk thro' death's dark shade,
My Shepherd's with me there.

5 In spite of all my foes,

Thou dost my table spread; My cup with blessings overflows, And joy exalts my head.

6 The bounties of thy love Shall crown my future days;

Nor from thy house will I remove,

Nor cease to speak thy praise.

HYMN 86. L. M. Portugal.

WATTS

God's care of Saints, or deliverance by prayer.

1 Lord! I will bless thee all my days,
Thy praise shall dwell upon my tongue;
My soul shall glory in thy grace,
While saints rejoice to hear the song.

2 Come, magnify the Lord with me,
Come, let us all exalt his name;
I sought the eternal God, and he
Has not exposed my hope to shame.

3 I told him all my secret grief,

My secret groaning reach'd his ear;
He gave my inward pains relief,
And calm'd the tumults of my fear.

4 To him the poor lift up their eyes,
Their faces feel the heav'nly shine,
A beam of mercy from the skies,
Fills them with light and joy divine.

5 His holy angels pitch their tents, Around the men who serve the Lord; O! fear and love him, all ye saints,

Taste of his grace, and trust his word. WATTS.

HYMN 87. C. M. Peterboro.

The Christian's farewell.

1 Ye golden lamps of heav'n farewell
With all your feeble light;
Farewell thou ever changing moon,
Pale empress of the night.

2 And thou, refulgent orb of day,
In brighter flames array'd;
My soul that springs beyond thy sphere
No more demands thy aid.

3 Ye stars are but the shining dust,
Of my divine abode;

The pavement of those heavenly courts
Where I shall see my God.

4 The Father of eternal light,
Shall there his beams display;

Nor shall one moment's darkness mix,
With that unvaried day.

5 No more the drops of piercing grief,
Shall swell into my eyes;

Nor the meridian sun decline,
Amidst those brighter skies,

6 There all the millions of his saints
Shall in one song unite;

And each the bliss of all shall view,
With infinite delight.

Doddridge.

HYMN 88. C. M. Walsal.

Meditation on Death.

1 Stoop down, my thoughts, that used to rise, Converse awhile with death;

Think how a gasping mortal lies,
And pants away his breath.

2 But Oh, the soul! that never dies!
At once it leaves the clay!-
Ye thoughts pursue it where it flies-
And track its wondrous way.

3 And must my body faint and die?
And must my soul remove?
Oh! for some guardian angel nigh,
To bear it safe above!

4 Jesus to thine almighty hand

My naked soul I trust;

And my flesh waits for thy command

To drop into the dust.

WATTS.

HYMN 89. C. M. Brattle Street.

The aged Christian's prayer and song.
Ps. xxxiv. 17—21.

1 God of my childhood, and my youth!
The guide of all my days!

I have declar'd thy heav'nly truth,
And told thy wondrous ways.

2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years,
If God, my strength, depart?

3 Let me thy pow'r and truth proclaim
Before the rising age,

And leave the savour of thy name,
When I shall quit the stage.

4 The land of silence and of death

Attends my next remove;

O, may these poor remains of breath,
Teach all the world thy love!

WATTS.

HYMN 90. C. M. Dedham.

Recovery from Sickness.

1 I love the Lord, he heard my cries,
And pity'd ev'ry groan:
Long as I live, when troubles rise,
I'll hasten to his throne.

2 I love the Lord: he bow'd his ear,
And chas'd my grief away:
O, let my heart no more despair,
While I have breath to pray!

3 The Lord beheld me sore distrest,
He bade my pains remove;
Return, my soul! to God thy rest,
For thou hast known his love.

4 My God hath sav'd my soul from death,
And dry'd my falling tears;

Now to his praise I'll spend my breath,
And my remaining years.

WATTS.

HYMN 91. C. M. Brattle Street.

Devotion.

1 While thee I seek, protecting Power!
Be my vain wishes still'd;
And may this consecrated hour

With better hopes be fill'd.

2 Thy love the power of thought bestow'd,
To thee my thoughts would soar:

Thy mercy o'er my life has flow'd;
That mercy I adore.

3 In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!

Each blessing to my soul most dear,
Because conferr'd by thee.