Majestic in its own simplicity.

Inscribed above the portal, from afar

Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,

Legible only by the light they give,

Stand the soul-quick'ning words—Believe and live.

O that we might that rest obtain
From sin, from sorrow, and from pain.

In thy blest kingdom we shall be
From every mortal trouble free;
No sighs shall mingle with the songs
Resounding from immortal tongues.

No rude alarms of raging foes,
No cares to break the long repose,
No midnight shade, no clouded sun,
But sacred, high, eternal noon.

O long-expected day, begin!

Dawn on this world of woe and sin;
That when we leave this weary road,
We sleep in death, and rest in God.

DODDRIDGE.

SABBATH MORNING.

ITH silent awe I hail the sacred morn,

That slowly wakes while all the fields are still; A soothing calm on every breeze is borne,

A graver murmur gurgles from the rill,

And echo answers softer from the hill,

And softer sings the linnet from the thorn;
The skylark warbles in a tone less shrill.

Hail, light serene! hail, sacred Sabbath Morn!
The rooks float silently, in airy drove;
The sun a placid yellow lustre throws;

The gales, that lately sighed along the grove, Have hushed their downy wings in dead repose; The hovering rack of clouds forgets to move:So smiled the day when the first morn arose.

LEYDEN.

A SABBATH EVENING HYMN.

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ILLIONS within thy courts have met,

Millions this day before thee bowed; Their faces Zion-ward were set,

Vows with their lips to thee they vowed :

But thou, soul-searching God! hast known
The hearts of all that bent the knee,
And hast accepted those alone,

In spirit and truth who worshipped thee.

People of many a tribe and tongue,

Men of strange colours, climates, lands, Have heard thy truth, thy glory sung, And offered prayer with holy hands.

Still, as the light of morning broke
O'er island, continent, and deep,

Thy far spread family awoke,

Sabbath all round the world to keep.

From east to west, the sun surveyed,

From north to south, adoring throngs; And still where evening stretched her shade, The stars came forth to hear their songs.

Harmonious as the winds and seas,

In halcyon hours when storms are flown,
Rose all earth's Babel languages,
In pure accordance, to thy throne.

Not angel trumpets sound more clear;
Not elders' harps, nor seraph's lays,
Yield music sweeter to thy ear

Than humble prayer and humble praise.

And not a prayer, a tear, a sigh,

IIath failed to-day some suit to gain;
To those in trouble thou art nigh,
Not one hath sought thy face in vain.

Thy poor were bountifully fed,

Thy chastened sons have kissed the rod; Thy mourners have been comforted,

The pure in heart have seen their God.

Yet one prayer more; and be it one

In which both heaven and earth accord:-

Fulfil thy promise to thy Son,

Let all that breathe, call Jesus Lord.

His throne and sovereignty advance;
For his soul's travail let him see

The heathen his inheritance,

And earth's last bound his portion be.

MONTGOMERY.

SABBATH SUMMER EVENING.

HE steeps reclining in the autumnal calm,
The woodland nook retired, and quiet field,
Upon the tranquil eve

The Sabbath chime is borne ;

Rising and sinking in the silent air,
With many a dying fall most musical.
And fitful bird hard by,

Blending harmoniously.

The sky is looking on the sunny earth,
The fleecy clouds stand still in heaven,
Making the blue expanse

More still and beautiful.

There is unearthly balm upon the air,
And holier lights which are with Sunday born,
That man may lay aside

Himself, and be at rest.

Not that these musical wings would bear us up
On buoyant thoughts, too high for sinful man,
But that they speak the best

Which earth hath left to give.

Of better hopes, and prayer and penitence,
Rising in incense on the sacred air,

From many a woodland spire,

Or hill embosomed tower.

The Cathedral,

SABBATH EVENING.

S there a time when moments flow
More lovelily than all beside?
It is, of all the times below,
A Sabbath eve in summer tide

O then the setting sun smiles fair,
And all below, and all above,
The different forms of nature wear
One universal garb of love.

And then the peace that Jesus beams,
The life of grace, the death of sin,
With nature's placid woods and streams,
Is peace without, and peace within.

Delightful scene! a world at rest,
A God all love, no grief nor fear,
A heavenly hope, a peaceful breast,
A smile unsullied by a tear.

If heaven be ever felt below,
A scene so heavenly sure as this,
May cause a heart on earth to know
Some foretaste of celestial bliss.

Delightful hour! how soon will Night
Spread her dark mantle o'er thy reign;
And morrow's quick returning light,
Must call us to the world again.

Yet will there dawn at last a day-
A Sun that never sets shall rise;
Night will not veil his ceaseless ray-
The heavenly Sabbath never dies!

EDMESTON.

SABBATH EVENING.

HE day hath passed in praise and prayer; Now evening comes, more still and fair: The holy heavens are free from gloom; The earth is green, and gay with bloom;