And constant as thy favors are,
So let our praises be.

4 Still may thy love, in every scene,
In every age, appear;
And let the same compassion deign
To bless the opening year.

5 If mercy smile, let mercy bring
Our wandering souls to God:
In our affliction we shall sing,
If thou wilt bless the rod.

891. L. M. John Fawcett.

"He holdeth our soul in life."

1 O God, my helper, ever near!
Crown with thy smile the present year;
Preserve me by thy favor still,
And fit me for thy sacred will.

2 My safety, each succeeding hour,
Depends on thy supporting power:
Accept my thanks for mercies past,
And be my guard, while life shall last.

3 My moments move with winged haste,
Nor know I which shall be the last:
Danger and death are ever nigh,
And I this year perhaps may die.

4 Prepare me for the trying day;
Then call my willing soul away:
I'll quit the world at thy command,
And trust my spirit to thy hand.

892. C. M. Newton.

New Year. Prayer for a Blessing.

1 Now, gracious Lord, thine arm reveal,
And make thy glory known;
Now let us all thy presence feel,
And soften hearts of stone.

2 From all the guilt of former sin
May mercy set us free;
And let the year we now begin,
Begin and end with thee.

3 Send down thy spirit from above,
That saints may love thee more,
And sinners now may learn to love,
Who never loved before.

4 And when before thee we appear,
In our eternal home,
May growing numbers worship here,
And praise thee in our room.

893. C. M. Bp. Middleton.

Self-Examination. New Year.

1 As o'er the past my memory strays,
Why heaves the secret sigh?
'Tis that I mourn departed days,
Still unprepared to die.

2 The world, and worldly things beloved,
My anxious thoughts employed;
And time unhallowed, unimproved,
Presents a fearful void.

3 Yet, Holy Father! wild despair
Chase from my laboring breast;
Thy grace it is which prompts the prayer.
That grace can do the rest.

4 My life's brief remnant all be thine;
And when thy sure decree
Bids me this fleeting breath resign,
O speed my soul to thee!

894. 7s. M.