RELIGION AND ITS FRUITS.

HYMN 356. C. M. [#]

Religion.
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 glittering wealth,

Or aught the world bestows;
Nor reputation, food, or health,

Can give such sweet repose.
3 Religion should our thoughts engage,

Amidst our youthful bloom ; "Twill fit us for declining age,

'Twill fit us for the tomb.
4 O may my heart, by grace renewed,

Be my Redeemer's throne;
And be my stubborn will subdued,

His government to own.
5 Let lively hope my soul inspire;

Let warm affections rise;
And may I wait with strong desire

To mount above the skies.

HYMN 357. C. M. [#]

Inconstancy in Religion, 1 IMMORTAL Source of light and grace,

We hail thy sacred name : Through every year's revolving round,

Thy goodness is the same.
2 On us, all worthless as we are,

It wondrous mercy pours;
Sure as the world's established course,

Abundant as the showers.
3 In flowing tears our guilt we mourn,

And loud implore thy grace
To bear our feeble footsteps on

In all thy righteous ways.
4 Armed with this energy divine,

Our steadfast souls shall move ; And with increasing transports press,

To reach thy courts above.

HYMN 358. C. M. [#or b ]

Experimental Religion.
1 O FOR a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame,
And light to shine upon the road,

That leads me to the Lamb ! 2 What peaceful hours I once enjoyed !

How sweet their memory stiil !
But they have left an aching void,

The world can never fill.

3 Return, O holy Dove, return,

Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made thee mourn,

And drove thee from my breast. 4 The dearest idol I have known,

Whate'er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee. 5 So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;
And purer light shall mark the road,

That leads me to the Lamb.

HYMN 359. S. M. [#]

Joys of Religion. 1 How blest is man, O God,

When first, with single eye,
He views the glory of thy grace,

The day-spring from on high. 2 Through storms which cloud the skies,

And brood o'er earthly things,
The Sun of righteousness breaks forth,

With healing in his wings.
3 Struck by that light, his heart,

A barren soil no more,
Sends shoots of righteousness abroad,

Where follies sprung before. 4 The soul, so dreary once,

Once misery's dark domain,
Feels happiness unknown before,

And owns a heavenly reign.

HYMN 360. L. M. [#]

A Conversation becoming the Gospel.
1 When Jesus, our great Master, came

To teach us in his Father's name,
In every act, in every thought,

He lived the precepts which he taught. 2 So let our lips and lives express

The holy gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To
prove

the doctrine all divine.
3 Thus shall we best proclaim abroad

The honours of our Maker, God,
When his salvation reigns within,

And grace subdues the power of sin. 4 Our flesh and sense must be denied,

Passion and envy, lust and pride;
While justice, temperance, truth, and love,

Our inward piety approve. 5 What though we drink of sorrow's cup

Religion bears our spirits up;
Hope waits the coming of the Lord,
And faith stands leaning on his word.

HYMN 361. S. M.[

S. M. [ #or b ] Misimprovement of religious Privileges. 1 Long have we heard the sound

Of thy salvation, Lord;
Yet still how weak our faith is found,
And knowledge of thy word.

2 How feeble is our love;

How negligent our fear;
How low our hope of joys above,

How few affections there. 3 Lord, ere our feet retire

From this devoted place,
Our feeble purposes inspire

With thine awakening grace. 4 O shed through every heart

A glow of love divine;
Nor let thy grace from us depart,

Till we are wholly thine.

HYMN 362. C. M. [#or b ]

Comforts of Religion. 1 When gloomy thoughts and boding fears

The trembling heart invade,
And all the face of nature wears

A universal shade,
2 Religion's dictates can assuage

The tempest of the soul ;
And every fear shall cease to rage,

At her divine control. 3 Through life's bewildered, darksome way,

Her

hand unerring leads,
And o'er the path her heavenly ray

A cheering lustre sheds.
4 When feeble reason, tired and blind,

Sinks helpless and afraid,
This blest supporter of the mind

Affords a powerful aid.