92

AFTER CONFIRMATION.

The sweet, the solemn hour is past!
But echoes yet in memory:

And ever may the lesson last,

Then taught by hallowed rites to me.

O may it be like living seed

Deep-rooted in a mellow field;

Which, fast as time its growth shall speed,
Yet more and richer fruit shall yield.
I now am Christ's!-and not alone
By parent's wish, and baptism's seal,
But by the solemn vows I own,
By the free choice and faith I feel.
Yes, thine, dear Lord! Be this my lot!
To thee I am forever given;

The grave and death divide us not,

My heart from thee shall ne'er be riven.
Thy word illumes the path I tread ;
It guides me like the star serene,
Which erst the Magian sages led
To where the Shepherd-lord was seen.
My joyous soul no longer dreads
The night of death, forlorn and drear ;
A paradise before me spreads,

And all above is bright and clear.
A God of love reigns far and wide,
All nature's broad dominions through;
In his vast temple I abide,

And marks of love, admiring, view.
Far, far beyond my mortal ken,—
For that dark world-I trust thy word,
Which tells of glory there and then,
And bids my fears no more be heard.
There shall I to the flock belong,
Brought by thy hand to bowers of rest,
By living waters led along,

In pastures green, forever blest.
O take me, when at last the bond
Of life is sundered in the tomb,
And all that once I held so fond
Forsake me quite, or sink in gloom.
Ah, nothing but the faith I live,
And pledges of thy word to men,
In that dread hour can comfort give,—
Redeemer! be my refuge then.

Thou orb of love! upon me rise!
And mid the sun-light of thy brow,
Let that glad word my soul surprise,—
'Thy Lord's rejoicing, enter thou!'
Without this, what can life afford?

Ah, fleeting moments-misspent hours-

Which worse than lost we must record,
When no such blessedness was ours.
O God, my Father, make me prone
To keep these vows inviolate:
My life, whole life, to thee alone,
To thee alone, I consecrate.

To this, but now, the seal was set;
O day of sweet solemnity!
And never may my soul forget

What I, to-day, have sworn to thee.