The seasons are thy servants, Lord!
Why should thy children fear?
With loving-kindness manifold
Thou crownest every year.
The seasons are thy servants, Lord!
The sunshine and the rain;
The seedtime and the harvest blend
In our eternal gain.
The seasons are thy servants, Lord!
Thy changeless love we laud,
And magnify, with grateful joy,
The goodness of our God.
ASPIRATION AND REST.
O God, of love the Fountain and the Sea!
My fainting soul pants ceaselessly for thee;
Earth’s bitter streams no comfort can supply,—
For thee, for thee, the living God, I sigh.
No more below my wayward wishes roam,—
My heart, at last, is conscious of its home;
My portion thou, my refuge and my rest;—
O gracious Saviour, take me to thy breast.
But O, my brothers! comfortless as I,—
Alike we languish, and alike we die;
Be merciful, O God, and hear the prayer
Of every fainting spirit everywhere.
In the dear shelter of thy tranquil breast,
O Love divine, a weary world would rest;
The whole creation travaileth for thee,
O God, of love the Fountain and the Sea!