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Wash me, and dry these bitter tears,

O let heart no further roam,
my

'Tis thine by vows, and hopes, and fears,

Long since-O call thy wanderer home

To that dear home, safe in Thy wounded side,
Where only broken hearts their sin and shame may

hide.

EASTER EVE.

As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Zech. xi. 11.

AT length the worst is o'er, and Thou art laid
Deep in thy darksome bed;

All still and cold beneath yon dreary stone
Thy sacred form is gone;

Around those lips where power and mercy hung,
The dews of death have clung;

The dull earth o'er Thee, and thy foes around,

Thou sleep'st a silent corse, in funeral fetters wound.

Sleep'st Thou indeed? or is thy spirit fled,
At large among the dead?

Whether in Eden bowers thy welcome voice
Wake Abraham to rejoice,

Or in some drearier scene thine eye controuls
The thronging band of souls;

'That, as thy blood won earth, thine agony Might set the shadowy realm from sin and sorrow free.

66

Where'er Thou roam'st, one happy soul, we know,
Seen at thy side in woe,

Waits on thy triumph-even as all the blest
With him and thee shall rest.

Each on his cross, by Thee we hang a while,
Watching thy patient smile,

Till we have learn'd to say, ""Tis justly done,

Only in glory, LORD, thy sinful servant own."

Soon wilt Thou take us to thy tranquil bower
To rest one little hour,

Till thine elect are number'd, and the grave
Call Thee to come and save:

k St. Luke xxiii. 43.

Then on thy bosom borne shall we descend,

Again with earth to blend,

Earth all refin'd with bright supernal fires,

Tinctur'd with holy blood, and wing'd with pure desires.

Meanwhile with every son and saint of thine
Along the glorious line,

Sitting by turns beneath thy sacred feet
We'll hold communion sweet,

Know them by look and voice, and thank them all
For helping us in thrall,

For words of hope, and bright examples given To shew through moonless skies that there is light in Heaven.

O come that day, when in this restless heart
Earth shall resign her part,

When in the grave with Thee my limbs shall rest,
My soul with Thee be blest!

But stay, presumptuous-CHRIST with thee abides In the rock's dreary sides:

He from the stone will wring celestial dew

If but the prisoner's heart be faithful found and true.

When tears are spent, and thou art left alone
With ghosts of blessings gone,

Think thou art taken from the cross, and laid
In JESUS' burial shade;

Take Moses' rod, the rod of prayer, and call
Out of the rocky wall

The fount of holy blood; and lift on high

Thy grovelling soul that feels so desolate and dry.

Prisoner of Hope thou art

look up and sing

In hope of promis'd spring.

As in the pit his father's darling lay

Beside the desert way,

m

And knew not how, but knew his GoD would save
Even from that living grave,

So, buried with our LORD, we'll close our eyes
To the decaying world, till Angels bid us rise.

1 Zechariah ix. 12.

m Gen. xxxvii. 24.

Turn ye to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope.

They took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

EASTER DAY.

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. St. Luke xxiv. 5, 6.

OH! day of days! shall hearts set free
No "minstrel rapture" find for Thee?
Thou art the Sun of other days,
They shine by giving back thy rays:

Enthroned in thy sovereign sphere

year:

Thou shedd'st thy light on all the
Sundays by Thee more glorious break,
An Easter Day in every week:

And week-days, following in their train,

The fullness of thy blessing gain,
Till all, both resting and employ,
Be one Lord's day of holy joy.

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