“The removing of those things that are shaken." HEBREWS 12: 27.
THAT great, that awful day shall come,
When heaven and earth shall flee;
But, oh! this earth is not my home,
No place of rest for me!
But, in the Father's house above,
My mansion is prepared;
There is the home, the rest I love,
And there my bright reward.
That day shall come,-the earth shall quake,
The stars from heaven shall fall:
But while the wicked fear and quake,
And to the mountains call;
With Jesus, robed in spotless white,
In glory I shall shine;
His blessed presence my delight,
His love and glory mine.
THE BELIEVER'S HOME.
JOHN 14: 2.
My Home! 't is not here in a region of death,
Which sin has defiled with its poisonous breath;
Where Christ was rejected; where man is oppressed:
In a world full of groaning I seek not my rest.
You show me its palaces, stately and fair,-
The brows of their inmates are furrowed with care;
Its wisdom is folly, and madness its mirth,
The shadows of death all envelop the earth.
I gaze on the mountain, the forest, and flood,-
They speak of their Maker, my Father, and God;
His sunshine enlivens the day with its light,
His moon and His stars give a voice to the night;
His hand paints each flower with its beautiful dye;
His providence watches the sparrows that fly:
I hear Him., and see Him, wherever I roam;
This earth is His work, but it is not my Home.
My home is in heaven, for Jesus is there;
He is gone His own home for His friends to prepare;
In the land which no evil has ever defiled,
Where each tear shall be wiped from the eye of
His child.
My home is in heaven! yes, there we shall meet;
What joy it will be our companions to greet,
With whom thro' this desert we journeyed along,
When the sigh shall be changed for the harp and the song!
CHRISTIAN HAPPINESS.
“My mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips.”
O Goy of my salvation, with grateful heart I raise
A song of loud thanksgiving to Thy eternal praise;
I fain would make the heavens, and earth's remotest bound,
To Thy most worthy honor with loftiest songs resound.
I fain would make all creatures partakers of my joy,
And bid all tongues in concert their sweetest notes employ
To chant Thy lovingkindness, Thy holy name to bless;
For oh, Thou art the living Fount of life and happiness.
I 'm happy when I'm listening to Thy life-giving Word,
There learning all the glories of Christ, my heavenly Lord;
I 'm happy while I'm sitting, like Mary, at His feet,-
His words than gold more precious, than honey far more sweet.
I 'm happy while in secret I bend before Thy throne,
And to Thee, as my Father, make all my wishes known,
While with a child's sweet freedom, without reserve or fear,
My heart before Thee opens, assured Thy grace will hear.
I'm happy-yes, though weeping, down in my inmost heart,-
E'en when Thy rod's sharp chast'ning afflicts me with its smart,
And tempests gather round me, and heaviest woes befall:
I know my Father loves me, and love appoints it all.
SECOND PART.
I'm happy on the morning of that all-glorious day,
When from the tomb of Jesus the stone was rolled away;
And Thou didst in Thy glory awake Him from the dead,
The first-born of Thy children, His Church's risen Head.
I 'm happy when I see Him enthroned at Thy right hand,
The 'hosts of heaven adoring, and waiting His command;
I 'm happy when rememb'ring how my High Priest above
My name is ever bearing on His great heart of love.
I 'm happy when I'm sitting around the sacred board
With those who love to cherish the mem'ry of their Lord;
The bread and cup partaking, the emblems of His love,-
The feast below sweet foretaste of happier feasts above.
I 'm happy too when seeking the wretched and the lost,
Proclaiming that salvation, which Him His lifeblood cost;
I 'm happy when beholding the weary ones repair
To Him, who sin's great burden in love came down to bear.
I'm happy, oh, how happy! for Thou my FATHER art;
Jesus, my Lord, He loves me, e'en with a brother's heart;
The Holy Spirit loves me, my Comforter and Guide:
Oh, should I not be happy? what can I be beside