JOHN THE BAPTIST.

Thou harbinger of blessing! from thy wing

Bedewed with grace,

'Twas thine a shower of hallowed thought to fling Around the place

Where He should then inhabit, who is Lord
Of earth and heaven ;

Veiled in that shadowing clay, the incarnate Word
For trespass given.

The world lay in its blood-since Adam's curse
Had wrought its ill;

And tides of woe, unkindly and perverse,
Flowed on at will.

Dark, boding clouds of unbelief and sin
Marched in thy train;

Whilst thou didst walk in beauty--and bring in
Messiah's reign.

Amid the wilderness thy steps were led ;

And meekly there

Thy spirit feasted, as its daily bread,
On praise and prayer.

Robed in thy simple vestments, and sustained
By saving grace,

What heights of holy thought thy spirit gained,
In that lone place!

'Twas thine to call, with heaven-invested power,

Repent! repent! 'tis mercy's chosen hour,

"Let sinners fear!"

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Once clothed in thy high office, thou didst stand
In Jordan's flood;

And there, submissive to the law's demand,
The Lamb of God

Passed the baptismal wave, whilst on His head
The Spirit-Dove

Did from His wings, celestial fragrance shed-
The Father's love.

But now thy work is done-a ruthless hand
Has bowed thy head;

And thou hast joined the martyr's royal band-
The sainted dead!

Thy way was winged for glory—and the tomb
Was light for thee;

Gone are the shades of earth-exchanged her gloom
For immortality!

"He was a burning and a shining light and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light."-JOHN v. 35.

MARY MAGDALENE.

THOU who with tearful mein and gentle tread,
Didst seek at early morn, the Saviour's lowly bed-
Thy watchful eye

Might there descry

Illumed by heavenly light, the chamber of the dead.

MARY MAGDALENE.

Darkness with shadowing pall,

Was mantling all

Silence and darkness held their mystic sway;

But love like thine, could well

Amid those precincts dwell,

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Whence He, thy risen Lord, had winged his heavenly way.

What visions of the past,
By memory's shadow cast,
Thy soul might fill!
When once, in evil hour,
Satanic wrath and power
Could bind at will ;

And through the empire of thy being roam,

And make within that shrine, a dwelling and a home.

Within that faithful breast,

And with dark woes opprest,
What records glow!
For on thy tutored eye

The scene of Calvary

Doth ever and anon, its dark reflection throw.

And memory whispers there,

Of visions passing fair,—

Of words of love;

Of tenderness and grace,

With beamings of that face

Which still on sinners looks, in mercy from above.

Peace to thy soul !

For through those pulses move

The springs of love

That will not brook control;

When He the Saviour speaks, and makes thy spirit whole.

Peace to thy soul !

Earth's shadows now are flown,—
Darkness and death

And shades of night are gone ;

And Jesus smiles upon thee-peace divine,

A heritage of grace, and heaven's pure joys are thine.

"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre."-JOHN xx. 1.

THE APOSTLE JOHN.

THAT saintly form a saintly spirit shows—
That shadowy eye, that brow of deep repose;
That look of truth and peace in sorrow's hour
Our hearts draw near, and own a chastening power.

Yes, thou hast been with Jesus, when His voice
Bade thee in all his fulness, to rejoice;

Yes, thou hast been with Jesus, when thy soul
Drank to its very dregs, affliction's bowl;
'Twas thine to walk beside Him, as He trod

Life's shadowy vale, returning home to God;

'Twas thine to tread the mount, when veiled from sight,
The Saviour shone in robes of living light;
'Twas thine reposing on that faithful breast,
To find in Him, thy refuge and thy rest:
Methinks I see thee in thy spring-tide bloom,
Like nature's fragrant beauty round the tomb.

And thou wast in the garden, when with sweat
Like drops of falling blood, the earth was wet ;

THE APOSTLE JOHN.

Creation groaned, and bowed the astonished head
To see her Lord, whose soul with anguish bled;
Redemption's Lord was there—and Satan's power
For conquest strove, in that stupendous hour.
Methinks beside His cross I see thee stand,
And foremost in the mourner's drooping band ;-
That flood of bursting anguish-and the tear
That falls with trembling, on His hallowed bier.
Thou too wast by, when on each awe-struck soul,
That spirit-presence with new wonder stole ;
And thou didst greet that presence—and adore
Thy bleeding Lord, who thus our trespass bore;
Thy Lord ascending from the bands of death,
Who breathed His blessing on you with His breath.
We hail that quickening spirit! whilst a ray
Of heaven's own radiance, pours the perfect day—
We bless the name of Jesus, and we greet
Those words of mercy, full and soft and sweet;
We praise that risen Saviour, and proclaim
With lips of joy, the great Redeemer's name.

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"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son !"-JOHN xix. 26. "And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."-EPHES. iii. 19.

THE APOSTLE PAUL.

A PLANET shining with a light
Of source divine;

And pouring on the shades of night
Those rays benign!