Sometimes the sin does us o'ertake, And on our weakness win; Sometimes ourselves our ruin make, And we o'ertake the sin. Oh save us, Lord, from all these darts Save us, O Lord, to Thee we cry, We on Thy grace alone rely, Glory to Thee, eternal Lord, Till time itself be done. AMEN. PSALM.-PART I. GOOD GOD, how extremely ungrateful are we, how strangely insensible to our mani fest duty! Every creature hears Thy voice but we; every thing lives by rule but we. The sun observes his constant rising, and sets exactly at his appointed time. The sun stands still if Thou commandest, and even goes back to obey Thy will; And yet the sun pretends to no reward, nor looks to be placed in a higher heaven. We who expect those glorious promises, and aim no lower than the heaven of heavens Shall we forget the law of our God, that only instructs us to perfect ourselves?— We, who are bought by the blood of Jesus, and freely redeemed by His sacred Cross ! Shall we neglect so gracious a Saviour, whose only design is to draw us to His love? Shall we neglect so generous a love, whose only effect is to make us happy? Oh may Thy holy will, dear Lord, be all our rule, and Thy gracious hand our only guide. Oh may Thy infinite goodness engage us to love Thee, and Thy blessed love prepare us to enjoy Thee. TWAS PSALM.-PART II. WAS not alone to make the day that But to teach us these pious lessons, and write them plain as its own beams. So should our light shine forth to others, and so our charity warm their coldness; So when they say we are under a cloud, we should, like the sun, be really above it. And though we appear sometimes eclipsed, or even extinguished in a night of sorrow, Still we should shine to ourselves and Thee, and still go on in the ways of light; Still, like the regular sun, unchangeably expect the appointed periods of light and dark. Only in this we gladly disagree-and blessed be our God who made the difference |