There is a morning star, my soul,
There is a morning star;
'Twill soon be near and bright, tho' now,
It seem so dim and far.
And when time's stars have come and gone,
And every mist of earth has flown,
That better star shall rise
On this world's clouded skies,
To shine forever!
The night is well nigh spent, my soul,
The night is well nigh spent,
And soon above our heads shall shine
A glorious firmament;
A sky all glad, and pure, and bright,
The Lamb, once slain, its perfect light;
A star without a cloud,
Whose light no mists enshroud,
Descending never.
--_Horatius Bonar._
God of the world! Thy glories shine,
Through earth and heaven, with rays divine:
Thy smile gives beauty to the flower,
Thine anger to the tempest power.
God of our lives! the throbbing heart
Doth at Thy beck its action start--
Throbs on, obedient to Thy will,
Or ceases, at Thy fatal chill.
God of eternal life! Thy love
Doth every stain of sin remove;
The cross, the cross--its hallowed light
Shall drive from earth her cheerless night.
God of all goodness! to the skies
Our hearts in grateful anthems rise;
And to Thy service shall be given
The rest of life--the whole of heaven.
--_S. S. Cutting._
There is a God!--all nature speaks,
Through earth, and air, and seas, and skies;
See! from the clouds His glory breaks,
When the first beams of morning rise.
The rising sun, serenely bright,
O'er the wide world's extended frame,
Inscribes, in characters of light,
His mighty Maker's glorious name.
Ye curious minds, who roam abroad,
And trace creation's wonders o'er,
Confess the footsteps of your God,
And bow before Him, and adore.
--_Steele._
Lord, how mysterious are Thy ways!
How blind are we! how mean our praise!
Thy steps, can mortal eyes explore?
'Tis ours to wonder and adore.
Great God! I would not ask to see
What in my coming life shall be;
Enough for me if love divine,
At length through every cloud shall shine.
Are darkness and distress my share?
Then let me trust Thy guardian care;
If light and bliss attend my days
Then let my future hours be praise.
Yet this my soul desires to know,
Be this my only wish below,
That Christ be mine;--this great request
Grant, bounteous God, and I am blest!
--_Steele._