4 Ere yet thy heart the woes of age,
With vain regret, deplore,
And sadly muse on former joys,
That now return no more.

5 True wisdom, early sought and gained,
In age will give thee rest;
O, then, improve the morn of life,
To make its evening blest.

1 BY cool Siloam's shady rill

How fair the lily grows!

HEBER.

How sweet the breath, beneath the hill,
Of Sharon's dewy rose!

2 Lo! such the child whose early feet
The paths of peace have trod,

Whose secret heart, with influence sweet,
Is upward drawn to God.

3 By cool Siloam's shady rill
The lily must decay;

The rose, that blooms beneath the hill,
Must shortly fade away.

4 And soon, too soon, the wintry hour
Of man's maturer age

Will shake the soul with sorrow's power
And stormy passion's rage.

5 O Thou who givest life and breath,
We seek thy grace alone,

In childhood, manhood, age, and death,
To keep us still thine own.

774.

C. M.

Youthful Piety.

COWPER.

1 BESTOW, O Lord, upon our youth
The gift of saving grace,

And let the seed of sacred truth
Fall in a fruitful place.

2 Grace is a plant, where'er it grows,
Of pure and heavenly root,
But fairest in the youngest shows,
And yields the sweetest fruit.

3 Ye careless ones, O, hear betimes
The voice of sovereign love;

Your youth is stained with many crimes,
But mercy reigns above.

4 For you the public prayer is made;
O, join the public prayer:
For you the secret tear is shed;
O, shed yourselves a tear.

5 We pray that you may early prove
The Spirit's power to teach;
You cannot be too young to love
That Jesus whom we preach.

775.

C. M.

LOGAN.

Early Instruction.

1 HOW happy is the child who hears
Instruction's warning voice,

And who celestial Wisdom makes
His early, only choice!

2 For she has treasures greater far
Than east or west unfold,

And her rewards more precious are
Than all their stores of gold.

3 She guides the young with innocence
In pleasure's path to tread;
A crown of glory she bestows
Upon the hoary head.

4 According as her labors rise,
So her rewards increase;

Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.

776.

L. M.

WATTS.

Religious Education.

1 CHILDREN, in years and knowledge young, Your parents' hope, your parents' joy, Attend the counsels of my tongue:

Let pious thoughts your minds employ.

2 If you desire a length of days,

And peace to crown your mortal state,
Restrain your feet from sinful ways,
Your lips from slander and deceit.

3 The eyes of God regard his saints;
His ears are open to their cries;
He sets his frowning face against
The sons of violence and lies.

4 To humble souls and broken hearts,
God, with his grace, is ever nigh;
Pardon and hope his love imparts,
When men in deep contrition lie.

5 He tells their tears; he counts their groans;
His Son redeems their souls from death;
His Spirit heals their broken bones;
They in his praise employ their breath.

777.

88, 7s & 4. UNION MINSTREL.

Children exhorted.

1 CHILDREN, hear the melting story
Of the Lamb that once was slain;
"Tis the Lord of life and glory:
Shall he plead with you in vain ?
O, receive him,

And salvation now obtain.

2 Yield no more to sin and folly,
So displeasin, in his sight:
Jesus loves the pure and holy;
They alone are his delight;
Seek his favor,

And your hearts to him unite.

3 All your sins to him confessing
Who is ready to forgive,

Seek the Saviour's richest blessing;
On his precious name believe:
He is waiting;

Will you not his grace receive?

778.

7s & 6s.

S. F. SMITH.

Remember thy Creator.

1 "REMEMBER thy Creator"

While youth's fair spring is bright,
Before thy cares are greater,

Before comes age's night;

While yet the sun shines o'er thee,
While stars the darkness cheer,
While life is all before thee,

Thy great Creator fear.

2 "Remember thy Creator"
Ere life resigns its trust,
Ere sinks dissolving nature,
And dust returns to dust;
Before with God, who gave it,
The spirit shall appear:
He cries, who died to save it,
"Thy great Creator fear."

779.

L. M.

WATTS.

Joy in Heaven for a repenting Sinner.

1 WHO can describe the joys that rise,
Through all the courts of Paradise,
To see a penitent return,

To see an heir of glory born?

2 With joy the Father does approve
The fruit of his eternal love;

The Son with joy looks down, and sees
The purchase of his agonies.

3 The Spirit takes delight to view
The holy soul he formed anew;
And saints and angels join to sing
The growing empire of their King.

780.

C. M.

The Lost found.

NEEDHAM.

1 O, HOW divine, how sweet the joy,
When but one sinner turns,

And, with an humble, broken heart,
His sins and errors mourns!

2 Pleased with the news, the saints below
In songs their tongues employ;
Beyond the skies the tidings go,
And heaven is filled with joy.

3 Well pleased the Father sees and hears
The conscious sinner's moan;

Jesus receives him in his arms,
And claims him for his own.

4 Nor angels can their joys contain,
But kindle with new fire;

"The sinner lost is found," they sing,
And strike the sounding lyre.

Joy in the Conversion of Sinners.

1 WHO can forbear to sing,
Who can refuse to praise,

When Zion's high, celestial King
His saving power displays? -

2 When sinners at his feet,
By mercy conquered, fall?

SWAIN.

When grace, and truth, and justice, meet,
And peace unites them all?

3 Who can forbear to praise

Our high, celestial King,

When sovereign, rich, redeeming grace
Invites our tongues to sing?

782.

C. M.

The Change effected by Grace.

WATTS.

1 WHEN God revealed his gracious name,
And changed my mournful state,

My rapture seemed a pleasing dream,
The grace appeared so great.