Oh, where shall rest be found--
Rest for the weary soul?
'Twere vain the ocean depths to sound,
Or pierce to either pole.
The world can never give
The bliss for which we sigh:
'Tis not the whole of life to live,
Nor all of death to die.
Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years;
And all that life is love.
There is a death whose pang
Outlasts the fleeting breath:
Oh, what eternal horrors hang
Around the second death!
Lord God of truth and grace,
Teach us that death to shun,
Lest we be banished from Thy face,
And evermore undone.
Here would we end our quest;
Alone are found in Thee,
The life of perfect love,--the rest
Of immortality.
--_James Montgomery._
Gracious Spirit, Love divine!
Let Thy light within me shine;
All my guilty fears remove,
Fill me full of heaven and love.
Speak Thy pardoning grace to me,
Set the burdened sinner free;
Lead me to the Lamb of God,
Wash me in His precious blood.
Life and peace to me impart,
Seal salvation on my heart;
Breathe Thyself into my breast,--
Earnest of immortal rest.
Let me never from Thee stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Fill my soul with love divine,
Keep me, Lord, forever Thine.
--_Stocker._