7 Thy touch has still its ancient power;
No word from Thee can fruitless fall;
Hear, in this solemn evening hour,
And in Thy mercy heal us all.

SATURDAY EVENING.

S.M.

MRS. J. CONDER.

1139 To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath.

I

2

TH

Exodus xvi. 23.

THE hours of evening close;
The lengthened shadows, drawn
O'er scenes of earth, invite repose,
And wait the Sabbath-dawn.

So let its calm prevail

O'er forms of outward care;
Nor thought for many things assail
The still retreat of prayer.

3 Our guardian Shepherd near
His watchful eye will keep ;
And, safe from violence or fear,
Will fold His flock to sleep.

4 So may a holier light

Than earth's, our spirits rouse,

And call us, strengthened by His might,
To pay the Lord our vows.

7s. Six lines.

NEWTON.*

1140 And the Sabbath drew on.—Luke xxiii. 54

I

AFELY through another week,

SAE

God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,

On the approaching Sabbath-day,
Day of all the week the best,

2 Mercies multiplied each hour,
Gracious Lord, our praise demand;
Guarded by Thy mighty power,
Nourished by Thy bounteous hand,
Now from worldly care set free,
May we rest this night with Thee.
3 When the morn shall bid us rise,
May we feel Thy presence near.
May Thy glory meet our eyes,
When we in Thy house appear;
And may all our Sabbaths prove
Foretastes of the joys above.

875.

1141 Labour...to enter into that rest.

I

ΝΕ

Hebrews iv. II.

EARING Sabbath, how I bless thee!
Let thy calmness fill my breast;
Let me even now possess thee,
And anticipate thy rest.

2 Is my journey full of sadness,
Through a desert wild and drear?
Be to me a well of gladness;
Bid me quite forget my fear.

3 So when life's long week is over,
Blessed it will be to die ;

Angels whispering, as they hover,
Rest is coming, rest is nigh.

THE SEASON S.

1142

I

WIT

TITH songs and honours sounding loud,
Address the Lord on high;

Over the heavens He spreads His cloud,
And waters veil the sky.

2 He sends His showers of blessing down
To cheer the plains below;

He makes the grass the mountains crown,
And corn in valleys grow.

3 His steady counsels change the face
Of the declining year;

He bids the sun cut short his race,
And wintry days appear.

4 His hoary frost, His fleecy snow,
Descend and clothe the ground;
The liquid streams forbear to flow,
In icy fetters bound.

5 He sends His word and melts the snow;
The fields no longer mourn :
He calls the warmer gales to blow,
And bids the spring return.

6 The changing wind, the flying cloud,
Obey His mighty word:

With songs and honours sounding loud,
Praise ye the sovereign Lord.

1143 Thou renewest the face of the earth.

I

TH

Ps. civ. 30.--Be renewed in the spirit
of your mind.-Ep. iv. 23.

HE glory of the spring how sweet!
The newborn life how glad!
What joy the happy earth to greet
In new, bright raiment clad;

2 The blessèd vernal airs to hail
In their renewing power,

The new song of each nightingale,
The new birth of each flower!
3 Divine Renewer! Thee I bless;
I greet Thy going forth :
I love Thee in the loveliness
Of Thy renewed earth.

4 But O these wonders of Thy grace,
These nobler works of Thine,
These marvels sweeter far to trace,
These new-births more divine!

5 These sinful souls Thou hallowest,
These hearts Thou makest new,
These mourning souls by Thee made blest,
These faithless hearts made true:

6 This new-born glow of faith so strong,
This bloom of love so fair;
This new-born ecstasy of song
And fragrancy of prayer!

7 Creator Spirit, work in me

These wonders sweet of Thine!
Divine Renewer, graciously
Renew this heart of mine!

8 Grant me the grace of the new birth,
The joy of the new song!

The vernal bloom, the vernal mirth
In my new heart prolong!

9 Still let new life and strength upspring,
Still let new joy be given!

And grant the glad new song to ring
Through the new earth and heaven!

C.M. Double.

[J. S. B. MONSELL.]

1144 I will be as the dew unto Israel.-Hosea xiv.5.

I

THE spring-tide hour brings leaf and flower

With songs of life and love;

And many a lay wears out the day
In many a leafy grove.

Bird, flower, and tree seem to agree
Their choicest gifts to bring;

But this poor heart bears not its part,
In it there is no spring.

2 Dews fall apace, the dews of grace,
Upon this soul of sin;

And love Divine delights to shine
Upon the waste within :

Yet year by year fruits, flowers, appear,
And birds their praises sing;

But this poor heart bears not its part,
Its winter has no spring.

3 Lord, let Thy love, fresh from above,
Soft as the south wind blow;

Call forth its bloom, wake its perfume,
And bid its spices flow!

And when Thy voice makes earth rejoice,
And the hills laugh and sing,
Lord! make this heart to bear its part,