The infant corn, in vernal hours, And bade the summer clouds diffuse Of blooming maids, and village swains; To Nature's God united raise The grateful song, the hymn of praise. THE STARS. Mrs. Hemans. No cloud obscures the summer sky, The moon in brightness walks on high, And, set in azure, every star, Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar! Child of the earth! oh! lift thy glance Doth it not speak to every sense Seest thou not there the Almighty Name, Count o'er those lamps of quenchless light, That sparkle through the shades of night; Behold them!-can a mortal boast To number that celestial host? rays Mark well each little star, whose Each, kindled not for earth alone, Haply, those glorious beings know No stain of guilt, nor tear of woe; But, raising still the adoring voice, For ever in their God rejoice. What then art thou, oh! child of clay! E'en as an insect on the breeze, Yet fear thou not !—the sovereign Hand, Be thou at peace!-the all-seeing Eye, PRAYER. James Montgomery. PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire Utter'd or unexpress'd; The motion of a hidden fire That trembles in the breast. Prayer is the burthen of a sigh, The upward glancing of an eye, When none but God is near. Prayer is the simplest form of speech, That infant lips can try ; Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach The Majesty on high. Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, His watchword at the gates of death— Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, While angels in their songs rejoice, And say, The saints, in prayer, appear as one, No prayer is made on earth alone; And Jesus, on the eternal throne, O! Thou, by whom we come to God, CHRISTMAS CAROL. Mrs. Hemans. O LOVELY Voices of the sky, That hymn'd the Saviour's birth! Are ye not singing still on high, Ye that sang, "Peace on earth?" To us yet speak the strains Wherewith, in days gone by, Ye bless'd the Syrian swains, O Voices of the sky! O clear and shining Light, whose beams Be near, thro' life and death, |