Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion Part 48

4 Speak gently to the erring ones; They must have toiled in vain; Perchance unkindness made them so; O, win them back again!

5 Speak gently,--'tis a little thing, Dropped in the heart's deep well; The good, the joy, that it may bring, Eternity shall tell.

286. C. M. Jones Very.

Kind Words.

1 Turn not from him who asks of thee A portion of thy store; Thou poor in worldly goods may'st be, Yet canst give what is more.

2 The balm of comfort thou canst pour Into his grieving mind, Who oft is turned from wealth's proud door, With many a word unkind.

3 Does any from the false world find Naught but reproach and scorn?

Does any, stung by words unkind, Wish that he ne'er was born?

4 Do thou raise up his drooping heart, Restore his wounded mind; Though naught of wealth thou canst impart Yet still thou may'st be kind.

5 And oft again thy words shall wing Backward their course to thee, And in thy breast will prove a spring Of pure felicity.

287. C. M. Anonymous.

"Neither Do I Condemn Thee."

1 O, if thy brow, serene and calm, From earthly stain is free, View not with scorn the erring one,-- He once was pure like thee.

2 O, if the smiles of love are thine, Its joyous ecstasy, Shun not the poor forsaken one,-- He once was loved like thee!

3 And still, 'mid shame, and guilt, and woe, One Being loves him still, Who, blessing thee, hath poured on him The world's extremest ill.

4 He knows the secret lure which led Those youthful steps astray; He knows that they who holiest are Might fall from Him away.

5 Then, with the love of him who said "Go thou, and sin no more,"

Save, save, the sinner from despair, And peace and hope restore.

288. L. M. Scott.

Charitable Judgment.

1 All-seeing G.o.d! 'tis Thine to know The springs whence wrong opinions flow,-- To judge, from principles within, When frailty errs, and when we sin.

2 Who, among men, great Lord of all, Thy servant to his bar shall call?

Judge him, for modes of faith, Thy foe, Or doom him to the realms of woe?

3 Who with another's eye can read, Or wors.h.i.+p by another's creed?

Trusting Thy grace, we form our own, And bow to Thy commands alone.

4 If wrong, correct; accept, if right; While, faithful, we improve our light, Condemning none, but zealous still To learn and follow all Thy will.

289. 9 & 4s. M. Bowring.

The Spirit Giveth Life.

1 'Tis not the gift, but 'tis the spirit With which 'tis given, That on the gift confers a merit, As seen by Heaven.

2 'Tis not the prayer, however boldly It strikes the ear; It mounts in vain, it falls but coldly If not sincere.

3 'Tis not the deeds the loudest lauded That brightest s.h.i.+ne; There's many a virtue unapplauded, And yet divine.

4 'Tis not the word that sounds the sweetest That's soonest heard; A sigh, when humbled thou retreatest, May be preferred.

5 The outward show may be delusive,-- A cheating name; The inner spirit is conclusive Of worth or shame.

VII. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

290. P. M. Bulfinch.

Prayer and Action.

1 O, not alone on the mount of prayer Must the Christian serve his G.o.d; But the burden of daily life must bear, And tread where his Saviour trod.

2 Yet with him through every changing scene Doth the spirit of prayer abide; When earth is lovely, and heaven serene, That spirit his course shall guide.

3 And when the storm rages, and woe and wrath Would an earth-born courage quell, He knows that his G.o.d is around his path, And ordereth all things well.