2 O, if the smiles of love are thine
And its dear ministry,

Shun not the poor, forsaken one,
He once was loved like thee.

3 And still, 'mid shame, and guilt, and woe, One Being loves him still,

Who, blessing thee, hath poured on him
The world's extremest ill.

4 He knows the secret lure which led
Those youthful steps astray;
He knows that they who holiest are
Might fall from Him away.

5 Then, with the love of him who said,
"Go thou, and sin no more,"
Save, save the sinner from despair,
And peace and hope restore.

S. M.

441.

ANONYMOUS.

The Blessing of Meekness.

"BLEST are the meek," he said,
Whose doctrine is divine;
The humble-minded earth possess,
And bright in heaven will shine.

2 While here on earth they stay,
Calm peace with them shall dwell;
And cheerful hope and heavenly joy
Beyond what tongue can tell.

3 The God of peace is theirs;
They own his gracious sway;
And, yielding all their wills to him,
His sovereign laws obey.

4 No angry passions move,
No envy fires the breast;
The prospect of eternal peace
Bids every trouble rest.

5

O gracious Father, grant

That we this influence feel,

That all we hope, or wish, may be
Subjected to thy will.

Forms of Devotion vain without Virtue.

1 THE uplifted eye and bended knee
Are but vain homage, Lord, to thee:
In vain our lips thy praise prolong,
The heart a stranger to the song.

2 Can rites, and forms, and flaming zeal,
The breaches of thy precepts heal?
Or fasts and penance reconcile
Thy justice, and obtain thy smile?

3 The pure, the humble, contrite mind,
Sincere, and to thy will resigned,
To thee a nobler offering yields,
Than Sheba's groves, or Sharon's fields.

4

Love God and man,

- this great command

Doth on eternal pillars stand:

This did thine ancient prophets teach,
And this thy Well-beloved preach.

310

The Way and End of the Righteous and of the Wicked. Psalm 37.

1 My God, the steps of pious men Are ordered by thy will;

Though they should fall, they rise again; Thy hand supports them still.

2 The Lord delights to see their ways;
Their virtue he approves;

He 'll ne'er deprive them of his grace,
Nor leave the men he loves.

3 The haughty sinner have I seen,
Nor fearing man nor God,
Like a tall bay-tree, fair and green,
Spreading his arms abroad.

4 And, lo he vanished from the ground,
Destroyed by hands unseen;
Nor root, nor branch, nor leaf, was found
Where all that pride had been.

5 But mark the man of righteousness; His several steps attend;

True pleasure runs through all his ways, And peaceful is his end.

8 & 7s. M.

444.

LONGFELLOW.

"Life is earnest."

1 TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream;
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

2 Life is real! life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
3 Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end and way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us further than to-day.

4 Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

To rule by love than fear;

Speak gently, let no harsh word mar The good we may do here.

2 Speak gently to the young, Will have enough to bear;

for they

Pass through this life as best they may, 'T is full of anxious care.

Speak gently to the aged one,

Grieve not the care-worn heart; The sands of life are nearly run, Let them in peace depart.

4 Speak gently to the erring ones,— They must have toiled in vain; Perchance unkindness made them so; O win them back again!

5 Speak gently, - 't is a little thing,
Dropped in the heart's deep well;
The good, the joy, that it may bring,
Eternity shall tell.

C. M.

446.

Kindly Judgment.

MISS FLETCHER.

I THINK gently of the erring one!
O'let us not forget,

However darkly stained by sin,
He is our brother yet!
Heir of the same inheritance,
Child of the selfsame God,
He hath but stumbled in the path
We have in weakness trod.

2 Speak gently to the erring ones!
We yet may lead them back,
With holy words, and tones of love,
From misery's thorny track.
Forget not, brother, thou hast sinned,
And sinful yet mayst be;

Deal gently with the erring heart,
As God hath dealt with thee.

L. M.

447.

MRS. LIVERMORE

Redeeming Power of Love.

1 WHAT precept, Jesus, is like thine,

2

66

Forgive, as ye would be forgiven!"

In this we see the power divine

Which shall transform our earth to heaven.

O not the harsh and scornful word

The victory over sin can gain,