Doddridge.

"The Fathers, where are they?"

1 How swift the torrent rolls,
That bears us to the sea!
The tide that bears our thoughtless souls
To vast eternity!

2 Our fathers, where are they,
With all they called their own?
Their joys, and griefs, and hopes and cares,
And wealth and honor gone.

3 God of our fathers, hear,
Thou everlasting Friend!
While we, as on life's utmost verge,
Our souls to thee commend.

4 Of all the pious dead
May we the footsteps trace,
Till with them, in the land of light,
We dwell before thy face.

529. L. M. J. Roscoe.

The Close of Life.

1 My Father! when around me spread
I see the shadows of the tomb,
And life's bright visions droop and fade,
And darkness veils my future doom;

2 O, in that anguished hour I turn
With a still trusting heart to thee,
And holy thoughts still shine and burn
Amid that cold, sad destiny.

3 The stars of heaven are shining on,
Though these frail eyes are dim with tears;
The hopes of earth indeed are gone;
But are not ours the immortal years?

4 Father! forgive the heart that clings
Thus trembling to the joys of time;
And bid my soul on angel wings
Ascend into a purer clime.

530. L. M. Doddridge.

To God pertain the issues of Life and Death.

1 Sovereign of life! before thine eye,
Lo! mortal men by thousands die:
One glance from thee at once brings down
The proudest brow that wears a crown.

2 Banished at once from human sight
To the dark grave's mysterious night,
Imprisoned in that dusty bed,
We hide our solitary head.

3 Yet if my Father's faithful hand
Conduct me through this gloomy land,
My soul with pleasure shall obey,
And follow where he leads the way.

4 The friendly band again shall meet,
Again exchange the welcome sweet;
The dear familiar features trace,
And still renew the fond embrace.

531. C. M. Heber.

Universal Warning of Death.

1 Beneath our feet and o'er our head
Is equal warning given:
Beneath us lie the countless dead,
Above us is the heaven!

2 Their names are graven on the stone,
Their bones are in the clay;
And ere another day is done,
O