Yet let not your gifts and your offerings all roam;—­
   Remember the servant of Jesus at home;
   He’s spending his strength and his life in the cause,—­
   From wells of salvation pure water he draws.

   The wells are our Father’s, but still they’re so deep,
   That shepherds are needed to water the sheep;
   And shall they thus labor and toil for our good,
   And we not supply them with clothing and food?

   How can we still hope that our souls are new born,
   And muzzle the oxen which tread out the corn!—­
   Did God care for oxen, or did he say thus,
   Designing to give some instruction to us?

   St. Paul has explained it and told what to do—­
   “Who preaches the gospel must live of it too;”
   Some say, were we able we’d give with delight;
   But think of the widow who cast in her mite!

   What though we’ve no money to pamper our pride,
   She kept not a penny for wants unsupplied;
   Yet Jesus beheld her and sanction’d the deed,
   And promis’d in future to shield her from need.

   Cast your bread on the waters; obey the command,—­
   The Lord will restore it; His promise will stand;
   Who give unto these, in the name of the Lord,
   A cup of cold water, shall have their reward.

THE MARRIAGE VOWS.

COMPOSED TO BE SUNG ON A WEDDING OCCASION, AUGUST 1ST, 1847

   O ’tis an interesting sight,
   When youthful hands and hearts unite! 
   The Lord himself was pleas’d to own
   That man should never dwell alone.

   A rib he took from Adam’s side,
   And from it made a blooming bride;
   In Eden’s bowers he placed the pair,—­
   Then joined their hands in wedlock there.

   The nuptial ties by God were bound,
   While angels chanted anthems ’round;
   Then mounting on swift pinions sang,
   Till heaven’s high arch with music rang.

   The Lord is present still to hear,—­
   The words you breathed have reached his ear;
   And his recording angel, now,
   Is writing down the marriage vow.

   Wilt thou, the bridegroom, till the end,
   Still prove the fair one’s faithful friend,
   Who leaves her childhood’s happy home,
   With thee through future life to roam?

   She trusts her fragile bark with thee,—­
   O steer it well o’er life’s rough sea. 
   And with an undivided heart,
   Wilt thou, fair maiden, act thy part?

   As pure let thine affections be,
   As those white robes now worn by thee;
   O keep the sacred holy trust,
   Till these fair forms turn back to dust.

   On seraph wings then may you soar,
   Where friends are never parted more;
   There with the Lord may each reside,
   And Jesus own you as his bride.

LINES