Whose lustre shall admit no shade,
Whose lasting bloom shall never fade.

4 When time and death shall be no more,
To those bright realms his saints shall soar,
And, welcom'd by their faithful Lord,
Shall then receive their vast reward.

Things below, and things above.

1 My soul! forbear on transient things
Thy hopes and fond desires to place;
Their gain no solid comfort brings,
And weary
is the doubtful chace.

2 Let faith direct my longing eyes
To realms of lasting good above,
Where pleasures ever-blooming rise,
And all is peace, and joy, and love.

3 Thence sin, and pain, and death, and night, Far off for ever shall retire;

And from God's throne, the friendliest light
Shall beam, and utmost bliss inspire.

4 Compar'd with this, how fade away
The brightest scenes of earthly joy!
Mount up, my soul! to native day,
Nor rest thy hopes beneath the sky.

HYMN CCCVIII. C. M.

True pleasures.

1 Frail life of man, how short its stay,
And various as the wind!
Heedless we sport our hours away,
Nor think of death behind.

2 See the fair cheek of beauty fade!
Frail glory of an hour;

And blooming youth, with sick'ning head, Droop like the dying flower.

3 Our pleasures, like the morning sun,
Diffuse a flatt'ring light;

But gloomy clouds obscure their noon,
And soon they sink in night.

4 Wealth, pomp, and honour, we behold With an admiring eye,

Like summer insects, dress'd in gold,
That flutter, shine, and die.

5 Then rise, my soul, and soar away,
Above the thoughtless crowd,
Above the pleasures of the gay,
And splendours of the proud;

6 Up where eternal beauties bloom,
And pleasures all divine;

Where wealth that never can consume, And endless glories shine.

HYMN CCCIX. Six Line C. M.

Unfading beauty.

1 All earthly charms, however dear,
Howe'er they please the eye or ear,
Will quickly fade and fly;

Of earthly glory faint the blaze,
And soon the transitory rays
In endless darkness die.

2 The nobler beauties of the just
Shall never moulder in the dust,
Or know a sad decay;

Their honours time and death defy,
And round the throne of heaven on high
Beam everlasting day.

1 Why should the world's alluring toys Detain our hearts and eyes; Regardless of immortal joys,

And strangers to the skies!

2 These transient scenes will soon decay, They fade upon the sight;

And quickly will their brighter day
Be lost in endless night.

3 Their brightest day! alas, how vain!
With conscious sighs we own!
Whilst clouds of sorrow, care and pain
O'ershade the smiling noon.

4 O could our thoughts and wishes fly
Above these gloomy shades,

To those bright worlds beyond the sky
Which sorrow ne'er invades !

5 There joys, unseen by mortal eyes,
Or reason's feeble ray,
In ever blooming prospect rise,
Unconscious of decay.

6 Lord, send a beam of light divine
To guide our upward aim;
With one reviving ray of thine
Our languid hearts inflame.

7 Then shall, on faith's sublimest wing,
Our ardent wishes rise,

To those bright scenes where pleasures spring

Immortal in the skies.

HYMN CCCXI. C.M.

The power of faith.

1 Faith adds new charms to earthly bliss,
And saves us from its snares;
Its aid in every duty brings,
And softens all our cares.

2 Extinguishes the thirst of sin,
And lights the sacred fire

Of love to God and heav'nly things,
And feeds the pure desire.

3 The wounded conscience knows its power
The healing balm to give;
That balm the saddest heart can cheer.
And make the dying live.

4 Wide it unveils celestial worlds,
Where deathless pleasures reign;
And bids us seek our portion there,
Nor bids us seek in vain.

5 On that bright prospect may we rest,
Till this frail body dies;

And then, on faith's triumphant wings, To endless glory rise.

HYMN CCCXII. C. M.
Prospect of heaven.

1 There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign ;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.

2. There, everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.

3 Sweet fields, beyond the swelling flood, Stand dress'd in living green;

So to the Jews, old Canaan stood,
While Jordan roll'd between.