2 Behold, the aged sinner goes,
Oppress'd with guilt and heavy woes,
Down to the regions of the dead,
With endless curses on his head.
3 The dust returns to dust again;

The soul, in agony of pain,

Ascends to God-not there to dwell,
But hears her doom-and sinks to hell.

4 Eternal King! I fear thy name;

Teach me to know how frail I am:
And when my soul must hence remove,
Give me a mansion in thy love.

HYMN. C. M.

Youth admonished to remember their Creator.

105
1 CHILDREN, to your Creator, God,
Your early honours pay;

While vanity and youthful blood
Would tempt your thoughts astray.

2 Be wise-and make his favour sure,

Before the mournful day,

When youth and mirth are known no more, And life and strength decay.

3 The mem'ry of his mighty name
Demands your first regard;
Nor dare indulge a meaner flame,
Till you have lov'd the Lord.

106

HYMN. C. M.

1 WHILE in the tender years of youth,
In nature's smiling bloom,
Ere age arrive, and trembling wait
Its summons to the tomb;-

2 Remember thy Creator, God;
For him thy pow'rs employ;
Make him thy fear, thy love, thy hope,
Thy portion, and thy joy.

3 He shall defend and guide thy course Through life's uncertain sea,

Till thou art landed on the shore

Of blest eternity.

HYMN. S. M.

107 The Young asking for Divine Guidance.

1 FROM earliest dawn of life,

Thy goodness we have shared;
And still we live to sing thy praise,
By sov'reign mercy spared.
2 To learn and do thy will,

O Lord our hearts incline;
And o'er the paths of future life
Command thy light to shine.

3 While taught thy word of truth,
May we that word receive;
And when we hear of Jesus' name,
In that blest name believe!

4 O, let us never tread

The broad, destructive road,
But trace those holy paths which lead
To glory, and to God.

108

HYMN. S. M.

1 MY son, know thou the Lord,
Thy father's God obey:
Seek his protecting care by night,
His guardian hand by day.

2 Call, while he may be found,
And seek him while he's near;
Serve him with all thy heart and mind,
And worship him with fear.

3 If thou wilt seek his face,
His ear will hear thy cry;
Then shalt thou find his mercy sure,
His grace forever nigh.

4 But if thou leave thy God,

Nor choose the path to heav'n; Then shalt thou perish in thy sins, And never be forgiv❜n.

109

HYMN. C. M.
Youth.

1 COME, let us now forget our mirth,
And think that we must die;

What are our best delights on earth,
Compar'd with those on high!

2 Our pleasures here will soon be past—
Our brightest joys decay;
But pleasures there for ever last,
And cannot fade away.

3 Here sins and sorrows we deplore,

With many cares distrest,

But there the mourners weep no more,
And there the weary rest.

4 Our dearest friends, when death shall call, At once must hence depart;

But there we hope to meet them all,
And never, never part.

5 Then let us love and serve the Lord,
With all our youthful pow'rs;
And we shall gain this great reward,
This glory shall be ours.

110

HYMN. C. M.

1 RELIGION is the chief concern
Of mortals here below;
May I its great importance learn,
Its sov'reign virtue know!

2 Religion should our thoughts engage,
Amidst our youthful bloom;
'Twill fit us for declining age,
And for the awful tomb.

111

HYMN. L. M.

1 YE lovely bands of blooming youth, Warn'd by the voice of heav'nly truth, Now yield to Christ your youthful prime, With all your talents and your time.

2 Think on your end, nor thoughtless say, "I'll put far off the evil day;" Ah! not a moment's in your pow'r, And death stands ready at the door.

3 Eternity!-how near it rolls!
Count the vast value of your souls!

Beware! and count the awful cost, What they have gain'd whose souls are lost. 4 Pride, sinful pleasures, lusts, and snares, Beset your hearts, your eyes, your ears— Take the alarm-the danger fly! "Lord! save me," be your earnest cry.

HYMN. S. M.

Prayer of a Youth. Ps. cxix. 9.

112

1 WITH humble heart and tongue,
My God, to thee I pray;

Oh, make me learn, while I am young,
How I may cleanse my way.

2 Make an unguarded youth The object of thy care;

Help me to choose the way of truth, And fly from ev'ry snare. 3 My heart, to folly prone,

Renew by pow'r divine; Unite it to thyself alone,

And make me wholly thine.

4 Oh, let thy word of grace

My warmest thoughts employ;
Be this, through all my foll'wing days,
My treasure and my joy.

5 To what thy laws impart,

Be my whole soul inclin'd;
Oh, let them dwell within my heart,
Ánd sanctify my mind.

6 May thy young servant learn,
By these to cleanse his way;
And may I here the path discern
That leads to endless day.

113

HYMN. L. M.

1 HOW soft the words my Saviour speaks! How kind the promises he makes! A bruised reed he never breaks,

Nor will he quench the smoking flax.

2 The humble poor he won't despise, Nor on the contrite sinner frown;

His ear is open to their cries, He quickly sends salvation down. 3 When piety, in early minds, Like tender buds begin to shoot, He guards the plants from threat'ning winds, And ripens blossoms into fruit. 4 With humble souls he bears a part In all the sorrows they endure; Tender and gracious is his heart, His promise is for ever sure.

5 He sees the struggles that prevail Between the pow'rs of grace and sin, He kindly listens while they tell

The bitter pangs they feel within.

6 Though press'd with fears on ev'ry side,
They know not how the strife may end;
Yet he will soon the cause decide,
And judgment unto vict❜ry send.

MISCELLANEOUS.

114

HYMN. C. M.

1 WHILST thee I seek, protecting Power
Be my vain wishes still'd;

And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be fill❜d.

2 Thy love the pow'r of thought bestow'd,
To thee my thoughts would soar:
Thy mercy o'er my life has flow'd;
That mercy I adore.

3 In each event of life, how clear Thy ruling hand I see!

Each blessing to my soul most dear,
Because conferred by thee.

4 In ev'ry joy that crowns my days,
In ev'ry pain I bear,

My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in pray'r.