TRUST IN GOD. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee."-ISAIAH XXVI. 3. THE wild winds are abroad, Around my humble home I hear them rushing; Called by the voice of God, They come, earth's flowers crushing. Know'st thou their power? Fanned by their wings, the forests lowly lie; They touch the rock-built tower, It trembles to its base, as o'er they fly: Yet, trusting, in perfect peace man may abide, Feel'st thou the firm earth shake? Seest thou the trembling multitude around? Prostrate their stately buildings on the ground. Where may they fly? the rock Offers no refuge to their cowering fear; Ah! is there hope, and is there mercy near? The bark upon the ocean wave, But pass the time in revelry and song. The vessel groans. Hark to the crash! A mast's o'erthrown. In shreds the white sails fly. The vivid lightnings flash, The thunders peal, dark clouds obscure the sky. Yet may man rest, and, trusting, know his lot; The darkness is God's, the clouds his chariot. Fearful, upon the desert wide, The weary traveller plods on his lonely way; And parched his tongue throughout the burning day; The bright lake gleams, He hastens onward as it meets his view; Alas! the desert mirage beams But to deceive, and he now feels how true That he in trust may rest, though there he lie. Fortune, with lowering frown, Upon the good man may her keen scourge lay; May take all but his crown, And give to darkness and to death the day. But mark his trust in God, See him meet firmly every human ill; He feels each as a father's rod, Which, though it wounds, he knows will never kill. Around him worlds may into fragments fly, He trusts in God, and, peaceful, mounts on high. M. J. HYMN OF PRAISE. LAUDED be thy name for ever, Thou canst guard thy creatures sleeping, That vex the air or haunt the hill, Of boiling cloud and chafed deep! God of stillness and of motion! Of the rainbow and the ocean! I have seen Thy wondrous might Through the shadows of the night! Thou who slumber'st not, nor sleepest! Blest are they Thou kindly keepest! Spirits from the ocean under God of yonder dawning day, That rises from the distant sea Thine the flaming sphere of light! Thine are all the gems of even, HOGG. |