2 " I know thy works, and I approve,

"Tho' small thy strength, sincere thy love;
"Go on, my word and name to own,
"For none shall rob thee of thy crown.

3"Before thee see my mercy's door
"Stands open wide to shut no more;
Fear not temptation's fiery day,
"For I will be thy strength and stay.

4" Thou hast my promise, hold it fast,
"The trying hour will soon be past :
Rejoice, for, lo! I quickly come,
"To take thee to my heav'nly home.

5" A pillar there no more to move,
"Inscrib'd with all my names of love ;
"A monument of mighty grace,
"Thou shalt for ever have a place."

6 Such is the conqueror's reward,
Prepar'd and promis'd by the Lord!
Let him that hath the ear of faith
Attend to what the Spirit saith.

CXL. Laodicea. Chap. iii. 14-20.

1 HEAR what the Lord, the great Amen,
The true and faithful witness says!
He form'd the vast creation's plan,
And searches all our hearts and ways.

2 To some he speaks as once of old,

"I know thee, thy profession's vain; "Since thou art neither hot nor cold,

"I'll spit thee from me with disdain.

3

"Thou boastest 'I am wise and rich,

"Increas'd in goods, and nothing need;? "And dost not know thou art a wretch, "Naked, and poor, and blind, and dead.

4" Yet while I thus rebuke, I love,

My message is in

mercy sent; "That thou mayst my compassion prove, "I can forgive, if thou repent.

5" Would'st thou be truly rich and wise? "Come, buy my gold in fire well try'd,

My ointment to anoint thine eyes,
"My robe thy nakedness to hide.

6" See at thy door I stand and knock!
"Poor sinner, shall I wait in vain?
Quickly thy stubborn heart unlock,
"That I may enter with my train.

7 "Thou canst not entertain a king, Unworthy thou of such a guest! "But I my own provisions bring, "To make thy soul a heav'nly feast."

CXLI. The Little Book*. Chap. x.

1 WHEN the belov'd disciple took
The angel's little, open book,

Which by the Lord's command he eat,
It tasted bitter after sweet.

2 Thus when the Gospel is embrac❜d,
At first 'tis sweeter to the taste
Than honey or the honey-comb,
But there's a bitterness to come.
* Book iii. Hymn 27.

3 What sweetness does the promise yield,
When by the Spirit's power seal'd?
The longing soul is fill'd with good,
Nor feels a wish for other food.

4 By these inviting tastes allur'd,
We pass to what must be endur'd;
For soon we find it is decreed,

That bitter must to sweet succeed.

5 When sin revives and shows its pow'r,
When Satan threatens to devour,
When God afflicts, and men revile,
We draw our steps with pain and toil.
6 When thus deserted, tempest-tost,
The sense of former sweetness lost,
We tremble lest we were deceiv'd
In thinking that we once believ'd.

7 The Lord first makes the sweetness known, To win and fix us for his own;

And though we now some bitter meet,
We hope for everlasting sweet.

OLNEY HYMNS,

&c.

1.

WHILE with ceaseless course the sun

Hasted through the former year, Many souls their race have run, Never more to meet us here; Fix'd in an eternal state,

They have done with all below;

We a little longer wait,

But how little-none can know.

2 As the winged arrow flies,

Speedily the mark to find;

As the lightning from the skies

Darts, and leaves no trace behind;

Swiftly thus our fleeting days

Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.

3 Thanks for mercies past receive,
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us, henceforth, how to live
With eternity in view :

Bless thy word to young and old,
Fill us with a Saviour's love;
*And when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with thee above.

II. Time how short.

1 TIME, with an unwearied hand,
Pushes round the seasons past;
And in life's frail glass the sand
Sinks apace, not long to last:
Many, who, as you and I,

The last year assembled thus,
In their silent graves now lie;
Graves will open soon for us!

2 Daily sin, and care, and strife,

While the Lord prolongs our breath,
Make it but a dying life,

Or a kind of living death:
Wretched they and most forlorn,

Who no better portion know;
Better ne'er to have been born,
Than to have our all below.

3 When constrain'd to go alone,
Leaving all you love behind,
Ent'ring on a world unknown,

What will then support your mind?