In Him is comfort, light, and grace,
And changeless love beyond our thought;
The forest pang, the worst disgrace,

If He is there, shall harm thee not.

He can lift off thy cross, and loose thy bands, And calm thy fears, nay, death is in His hands. Be thou content.

Or art thou friendless and alone,

Haft none in whom thou canst confide?
God careth for thee, lonely one,
Comfort and help He will provide.

He fees thy forrows and thy hidden grief,
He knoweth when to fend thee quick relief.
Be thou content.

Thy heart's unfpoken pain He knows,
Thy fecret fighs He hears full well;
What to none else thou dar'st disclose,
To Him thou may'st with boldness tell.
He is not far away, but ever nigh,
And answereth willingly the poor man's cry.
Be thou content.

We know for us a reft remains,

When God will give us fweet release
From earth and all our mortal chains,

And turn our sufferings into peace.
Sooner or later death will furely come,
To end our forrows and to take us home:
Be thou content,

Home to the chofen ones, who here
Served the Lord faithfully and well,
Who died in peace without a fear,

And there in peace for ever dwell;
The Everlasting is their joy and stay;

The Eternal Word Himself to them doth fay,

Be thou content.

PAUL GERHART, 1670.

XXIV.

GOD THE SON.

ESUS, Thy boundless love to me,
No thought can reach, no tongue

declare;

O knit my thankful heart to Thee,
And reign without a rival there:
Thine wholly, Thine alone, I am;
Be Thou alone my conftant flame!

grant that nothing in my foul
May dwell but Thy pure love alone :
O may Thy love poffefs me whole,

My joy, my treasure, and my crown;
Strange flames far from my heart remove
May every act, word, thought, be Love!

O Love, how cheering is thy ray!
All pain before thy presence flies;
Care, anguish, forrow melt away,
Where'er thy healing beams arise :
O Jefu, nothing may I see,
Nothing defire, or feek, but Thee!

Still let Thy love point out my way!

What wondrous things Thy love hath wrought! Still lead me, left I go aftray;

Direct my word, inspire my thought;

And if I fall, foon may I hear

Thy voice, and know that love is near.

In fuffering, be Thy love my peace;

In weakness, be Thy love my power;
And when the storms of life fhall cease,
Jefus, in that important hour,
In death, as life, be Thou my guide,
And fave me, who for me haft died.

PAUL GERHArt.

XXV.

CHRIST.

ELL for him who all things lofing,
E'en himself doth count as nought,
Still the one thing needful choofing
That with all true blifs is fraught!

W

Well for him who nothing knoweth
But his God, whose boundless love
Makes the heart wherein it gloweth,
Calm and pure as faints above!

Well for him who all forfaking,
Walketh not in fhadows vain,

But the path of peace is taking
Through this vale of tears and pain!

Oh that we our hearts might fever
From earth's tempting vanities,

Fixing them on Him for ever,

In whom all our fulness lies!

Oh that we might Him discover,

Whom with longing love we've fought,

Joining us to Him for ever,

For without Him all is nought!

Thou abyfs of love and goodness,
Draw us by Thy crofs to Thee,
That our fenfes, foul and fpirit,
Ever one with Chrift may be!

* * * 17th Cent.

XXVI.

ETERNITY.

TERNITY, Eternity!

How long art thou, Eternity!
A circle infinite art thou,
Thy centre an eternal Now,
Never, we name thy outer bound,
For never end therein is found,
Ponder, O man, Eternity!

Eternity! Eternity!

How long art thou, Eternity!

A little bird with fretting beak

Might wear to nought the loftieft peak,
Though but each thousand years it came;
Yet thou wert then, as now, the fame.
Ponder, O man, Eternity!

Eternity! Eternity!

How long art thou, Eternity!