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A CfiEROY-U \N'S APPRXL TO 11 19 BRKTMIIG.V.
' The mired a;id extwuive pariih of Hillield, Dorset, U nearly
si.i mile* from its par nt church of Spelling. It hat no churchyard !
The cburcii i» in a stato of considerable dilapidation, and nil! hold
but little more tbaa oue-ihird of Its prm-ii: popuh ion.'
Yo wh-n, in Godlike phy for a broihnr'.s faionng naed,
Would so» beside all waters the suul- sustaining seed ;
While compassing both sea and laad your missionaries
roarc,
Rethink ye, in your zeal, of manyftbsrren spot at home !
Oailed, and foreknown, tnd justified, preilfstinate ot i-M
To aid in gathering wanderer* to the one good Shepherd's
fold ;
Lights of the world, hehulda cloud your spreading beams
msy cheer,
SiU of ihe ojrth, the leaven U hotly spreading here !
Here, in our highly-favoured 1b:k1, our boly Temple*8
screen,
Too long, like Israel'* of old, have skin3 aod hangings
been ;
Ton long within the curtains the ark liren known to
stand,
While cedar and vermilion house the Davids of the land.
Where are your votive gifts and aims P do distant breth
ren cry ;
Where? do yon spreading fields of swamp and barren
bills reply I
AH lo*ly here the cottage homes of cho*e that till the
ground,
Hewers of wooJ and wafer-drawers the humble shrine
surround.
See where yon mourning train must bear along the flinty
road,
For many a weary furlong, their yet more weary load ;
Here is at consecrated ground, no rest for corpse or bier,
The rudo but loved furefsibers of the hamlet sloep not
here.
Her lone and sacred solace here the widow cannot have;
The m uroiog orphau cannot go to weep beside the
grave ;
O'er yon steep hill the loved one two leagues was borne
away,
A pilgrimage it were to see where rests the father's clay.
An altar and a burial ground, a place for prayer and rest,
But common blessings are they fur which our suit is
pressed ;
On! give us, brethren, of jour store, give of your
sacrifice !
Ii'j a savour to a pitying God, an offering sweet shall
rise !
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