XXXI. LABOURER’S HYMN. I bless Thee, Lord, in early spring, When first the daisy decks the mead, And in the furrowed ground we fling, With hope and prayer, the golden seed. Let children in life’s spring-time days Lift up their hearts in prayer and praise! I bless Thee in the summer heat, When cattle seek the cooling streams, And o’er green fields of waving wheat The sun pours down his ripening beams. Let man in life’s bright summer days Lift up his heart in prayer and praise! I bless Thee in the autumn morn, When varied tints are on the leaves, When gaily sounds the hunter’s horn, Where reapers bind the golden sheaves. Let man in life’s declining days Lift up his heart in prayer and praise! I’ll bless my God in winter’s gloom, When Nature sleeps beneath the snow; Oh! grant that when, beneath the tomb, My body lies in slumber low, Thou wilt my soul to Heaven raise, Where all is joy and all is praise! XXXII. WIFE’S HYMN. Help me, Lord Jesus, to fulfil The duties of a wedded wife, Obedient to my husband’s will, The joy and sunshine of his life. Upon my brow no angry cloud, Upon my lips no hasty word, Not one rebellious thought allowed, His wishes to my own preferred. Help me to make my husband’s home The calm abode of peace and love, Where strife and discord ne’er may come, A type of that we seek above. To walk together in Thy sight, To share each other’s joys and woes, Together pray at dawn of light, Together praise at evening’s close; Each ready, when temptation lowers, With gentle counsel, kindly aid; Lord Jesus! let such lot be ours, Oh, bless the tie which Thou hast made! United “until death us part,” Not death the Christian bond can sever; Who love Thee here with faithful heart, With Thee shall live, and love for ever! XXXIII. HYMN OF INDUSTRY. Not alone in God’s house, or in seasons of prayer, Must the power of a Christian’s religion be shown, At his home, at his counter, and everywhere Must the strength of his faith by his actions be known; For the clear path of duty is marked in God’s Word, “Be not slothful in business, but serving the Lord.” Not slothful in business! God wills that we toil, From the claims of our calling permits no retreat, Though indolence may from the sentence recoil, “If the hand will not labour, the mouth should not eat;” Faith to industry must but new motive afford, “Be not slothful in business, but serving the Lord.”