4 But 'tis our God supports our frame,
The God who built us first;
Salvation to the Almighty Name
That reared us from the dust!

525. C. M. Doddridge.

"Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."

1 These mortal joys, how soon they fade!
How swift they pass away!
The dying flower reclines its head,
The beauty of a day.

2 Soon are those earthly treasures lost,
We fondly call our own;
Scarce the possession can we boast,
When straight we find them gone.

3 But there are joys which cannot die,
With God laid up in store;
Treasures beyond the changing sky,
More bright than golden ore.

4 The seeds which piety and love
Have scattered here below,
In the fair, fertile fields above
To ample harvests grow.

526. L. M. Newton.

Lightning in the Night.

1 A glance from heaven, with sweet effect,
Sometimes my pensive spirit cheers:
But ere I can my thoughts collect,
As suddenly it disappears.

2 So lightning in the gloom of night
Affords a momentary day;
Disclosing objects full in sight,
Which, soon as seen, are snatched away.

3 The lightning's flash did not create
The opening prospect it revealed;
But only showed the real state
Of what the darkness had concealed.

4 Just so, we by a glimpse discern
The glorious things within the veil;
That, when in darkness, we may learn
To live by faith, till light prevail.

527. C. M. J. Newton.

The Changes of Life.

1 The evils that beset our path,
Who can prevent or cure?
We stand upon the brink of death
When most we seem secure.

2 If we to-day sweet peace possess,
It soon may be withdrawn;
Some change may plunge us in distress
Before to-morrow's dawn.

3 Disease and pain invade our health,
And find an easy prey;
And oft, when least expected, wealth
Takes wings and flies away.

4 The gourds from which we look for fruit.
Produce us often pain;
A worm unseen attacks the root,
And all our hopes are vain.

5 Since sin has filled the earth with woe,
And creatures fade and die;
Lord, wean our hearts from things below,
And fix our hopes on high!

528. S. M.