PITY.

Pity, with softening look,

Bends o'er affliction's prey,

Assays to soothe the pang of grief

And to the sufferer's relief

A timely balm

convey.

In weeds of sable dye,

Grief, gloomily array'd,

Would pensive sit to mourn and weep, Whilst chilling Doubt would aid to keep

A host of fears self-made;

But Hope, with wooing smiles,
Her lovely presence shows,

Bids the dark visitors depart,

And kindly cheers the drooping heart,
With prospects of repose.

The stars may fade away;

The sun forget to shine;

The moon, fair empress of the night,
In darkness veil her silvery light;
And nature's powers decline;

Yet firm Jehovah's word

For ever shall endure ;

In sickness he will not forsake;

His bounteous favours all partake;

His promises are sure.

Bridlington.

The stars shall fade away, the sun itself

Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years."

C.

TO HOPE.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF MATTHESIUS,

As shines the beauteous morning star

While clouds of night dissolve away,

With golden rays proclaiming far
The coming of a goodly day;

So thou, when storms of life arise,

Art still the wand'rer's guide and light

And fondly paint'st him clearer skies,

With valleys green, and prospects bright;:

Nor leav'st him then, but opening wide

A fairer scene upon his view,

Pourtray'st his home, where saints reside

And friends no more bid friends adieu.

GREY.

ន ·

PSALM CXIV.

When from Egypta's hated plains
The hosts of Israel came;

When Jacob's race, a chosen band,
Exulting left the stranger's land,

The witness of their shame;

The God of hosts at Juda's altar stayed,
And Israel's realm his high behests obeyed.

The Ocean saw, and backward roll'd

Its ever-varying surge;

The sacred stream of Jordan stood

Awe-struck, until its refluent flood

Forsook its flowery verge;

The mountains leap'd, as leaps the horned ram,

The "little hills" skipp'd like the timorous lamb.

Why fledd'st thou Ocean? Jordan, why
Didst thou thy bed forsake?

Ye mountains, crested by the cloud,

Ye humbler hills which thickly crowd

The earth, why did you shake?

Why did you, like the shepherd's bleating care Bound to and fro,-no danger hovering there?

Earth! didst thou tremble? tremble now,

And tremble to thy core!

For Jacob's God, with grandeur crown'd,

Thy temples fills with awe profound.

Sons of the earth, adore

The God whose breath dissolves the stony mount,

And from the flint prepares the streamlet's fount!

Bridlington.

T.