AZRAEL. L. M.

2

1. 0,

CH. BEECHER.

1086. L. M.

2. Sleep shuns mine eyes-mine inner sight
Is turning dimly heaven-ward,
To that far land of love and light,
Where angels all the silent night
Earth's children guard.

3. My yearning soul would fain demand,
O, holy angels, pure and blest,
Where, 'mid yon happy, shining band,
In all the heavenly Father-land,
My lost ones rest!

4. Thou, who alone, when man forgot

His heavenly innocence, and fell!
Still pitying, lingered round the spot
To soothe the anguish of his lot-
Thou, Thou canst tell!

5. For Thou, with sweet and loving smile,
Didst gently lure them to Thy breast,
And bear them from this world of guile,
Thy pale, pure angel lips the while
Upon them prest.

6. Dark grew my soul-till down the air

Thy seraph-smile upon me fell!
And then I knew, from sin and care,
That thou my little ones didst bear
With God to dwell!

7. O, angel of the land of peace!

When wilt Thou ever come for me?
I fain would be where sorrows cease;
I dread no more Thy kind release;
I wait for Thee!

MRS. C. M. SAWYER.

1. RETURN, my roving heart! return, And chase those shadowy forms no more; Now seek, in solitude, to mourn,

And thy forsaken God implore.

2. O Thou great God! whose piercing eye
Distinctly marks each deep recess;—
In these sequestered hours draw nigh,
And with Thy presence fill the place.

3. Through all the windings of my heart,
My search let heavenly wisdom guide,
And still its radiant beams impart,
Till all be cleansed and purified.

4. Oh! with the visits of Thy love,

Vouchsafe my inmost soul to cheer;
Till every grace shall join to prove
That God has fixed His dwelling here.

DODDRIDGE.

1092. L. M.

1. EARTH's transitory things decay, Its pomps, its pleasures pass away; But the sweet memory of the good Survives in the vicissitude.

2. As, 'midst the ever rolling sea, The eternal isles established be, 'Gainst which the surges of the main Fret, dash, and break themselves in vain:3. As, in the heavens, the urns divine Of golden light for ever shine; Tho' clouds may darken, storms may rage, They still shine on from age to age:4. So, through the ocean-tide of years, The memory of the just appears; So, through the tempest and the gloom, The good man's virtues light the tomb.

1093. L. M.

BOWRING.

1. WHEN life, as opening buds, is sweet,
And golden hopes the spirits greet,
And youth prepares his joys to meet,
Alas! how hard it is to die.

2. When scarce is seized some borrowed prize,
And duties press; and tender ties
Forbid the soul from earth to rise,

How awful, then, it is to die.

3. When, one by one, those ties are torn, And friend from friend is snatched forlorn, And man is left alone to mourn,

Ah! then, how easy 'tis to die.

4. When trembling limbs refuse their weight, And films, slow gathering, dim the sight, And clouds obscure the mental light, 'Tis nature's precious boon, to die. 5. When faith is strong, and conscience clear, And words of peace the spirit cheer, And visioned glories half appear, 'Tis joy, 't is triumph, then, to die.

MRS. BARBAULD.

1094. L. M.

1. How blest are they whose transient years
Pass like an evening meteor's flight!
Not dark with guilt, nor dim with tears;
Whose course is short, unclouded, bright.
2. O, cheerless were our lengthened way;
But heaven's own light dispels the gloom,
Streams downward from eternal day,
And casts a glory round the tomb.

3. O, stay thy tears; the blest above
Have hailed a spirit's heavenly birth,
And sung a song of joy and love;
Then why should anguish reign on earth?

NORTON.

ZEPHYR. L. M.

19:

W. B. BRADBURY.

6

1. ASLEEP in Jesus! blessed sleep!
From which none ever wakes to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the dread of foes.

2. Asleep in Jesus! peaceful rest,
Whose waking is supremely blest;
No fear, no woes, shall dim that hour,
Which manifests the Saviour's power.

3. Asleep in Jesus! O, for me

May such a blissful refuge be;
Securely shall my ashes lie,
And wait the summons from on high.

4. Asleep in Jesus! far from thee

Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But thine is still a blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep.

Released from all their hurtful foes, They are not lost-but gone before.

2. How many painful days on earth

Their fainting spirits numbered o'er! Now they enjoy a heavenly birth; They are not lost-but gone before.

3. Dear is the spot where Christians sleep,
And sweet the strain which angels pour;
O why should we in anguish weep?
They are not lost-but gone before.

1097. L. M.

1. Go, spirit of the sainted dead,

Go to thy longed for, happy home! The tears of man are o'er thee shed; The voice of angels bids thee come.

2. If life be not in length of days,

In silvered locks and furrowed brow,
But living to the Saviour's praise,
How few have lived so long as thou!

3. Though earth may boast one gem the less,
May not e'en heaven the richer be?
And myriads on thy footsteps press,
To share thy blest eternity.

MONTGOMERY. L. M.

9b

9:

T. B. MASON.

1. BEHOLD the western evening light!
It melts in deeper gloom;

So calm the righteous sink away,
Descending to the tomb.

The winds breathe low-the yellow leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree!
So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.

2. How beautiful, on all the hills,
The crimson light is shed!
'Tis like the peace the dying gives
To mourners round his bed.
How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast!
So sweet the memory left behind,

When loved ones breathe their last.

3. And lo! above the dews of night
The vesper star appears!
So faith lights up the mourner's heart,
Whose eyes are dim with tears.
Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore;

And thus the eyes that sleep in death
Shall wake, to close no more.

PEABODY.