Assured that thou canst teach him how to die, Or in ambition's soil put forth its shoot? Oh no! it loves a far more genial earth, In which to sow its seed, and give it birth, Wherein religion holds her favour'd seat, As the "most holy place,"(5) where erst could dwell (4) “The sting of death," says St. Paul, “is sin." (5) The Holy of Holies was the most sacred place of the tabernacle, into which none entered but the high-priest, and that only once a year, on the great day of atonement. It was here the Shechinah, or Divine presence, rested, and was visibly seen in the appearance of a cloud. B 2 Refresh'd(6) by water from a living stream, Pour in such heavenly balm, such grace impart, (6) “ Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."(John iv. 14.) "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness."-(Zech. xiii. 1.) (7) In allusion to the parable of the "sower and the seed." “All hearts are open,”(8) every wish is known E'en to the inmost thought, by Thee alone : Thy holy word, and know(9) not how to pray Look on our faults, we pray, with tenderness; In this our journey, lest we go astray. When in life's fragile boat we put to sea. Should storms arise, or rude tempestuous gale Rend with resistless force our slender sail,— Say to the winds and waters, "peace, be still." (8) Collect for Communion service.-"Shall not God search this out? for He knoweth the secrets of the heart."-(Psalm xliv. 21. (9) In our church service we are instructed to pray to the Lord, "who knoweth our necessities before we ask," and our "ignorance in asking," thus acknowledging our incapability even how to ask rightly for forgiveness of our sins: the confession is taken from the 8th chapter of Romans, 26th verse. So says Job, (xxxvii. 19) "Teach us what we shall say unto Him, for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness." Breathes there the man whose dark and troubled mind (10) Will own no God, no Judge of all mankind,— Whose worldly heart is harden'd to deny The mighty attributes of Deity? Can cast all hope of future bliss away, He braves the Judge whose truth must make them known.(11) (10) "The profession of atheism does not proceed from a right use of that reason which is common to all men, but either from an affectation of novelty, or from a corrupted mind, which, like a vitiated palate, does not relish things as they are; especially since history and other writings inform us, that the more virtuous any one is, the more carefully is this notion of the Deity preserved by him. And it is farther evident, that those who dissent from this anciently established opinion, do it of an ill principle, and are such whose interest it is that there should be no God,—that is, no judge of human actions."—Grotius, sect. 2, bk. i. (11)" And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."-John iii. 19-20. Tell me, thou sceptic, when the vivid flash Bursts from yon angry cloud with fearful crash; And as the storm rides on with solemn pace, Till thou hast watch'd afar its faintest trace, And caught the hollow murmuring on the gale, So when 'tis pass'd from sight, and glittering sheen Looks fresher, fairer, from the recent shower; A present God, a providential care? (12) It was in such a recognition of the Almighty's power, that David exclaimed "The clouds poured out water, the skies sent forth a sound, thine arrows also went abroad;" also God's providence in duly providing for the earth's vegetation, is thus beautifully spoken of: "Thou visitest the earth, O Lord, and waterest it, Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water; Thou makest it soft with showers, Thou blessest the springing thereof." |