and oh! what a burden and what a bitterness is sin! What a miserable
bondage it is to be at the nod of such a master as Sin! But He who hath
the keys hath sworn that our sin shall not loose the covenant bond, and
therefore I wait in hope and in patience till His time shall come to take
off all my fetters and make a hole in this cage of death that the
imprisoned bird may find its long-promised liberty.'

'I would not live alway, thus fettered with sin,
Temptation without and corruption within;
In a moment of strength, if I sever the chain,
Scarce the victory is mine ere I'm captive again;
E'en the rapture of pardon is mingled with fears,
And the cup of thanksgiving with penitent tears;
The festival trump calls for jubilant songs,
But my spirit her own _miserere_ prolongs.

'Who, who would live always away from his God!
Away from yon heaven, that blissful abode
Where the rivers of pleasures flow o'er the bright plains,
And the noon-tide of glory eternally reigns;
Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Saviour and brethren transported to greet;
While the songs of salvation exultingly roll,
And the love of the Lord is the bliss of the soul.'




IX. JEAN BROWN