THE PRODIGAL SON.-Luke xv. 11-32.
THEE, O my God, and King,
My Father, Thee I sing!
Hear, well-pleased, the joyous sound,
Praise from earth and heaven receive;
Lost, I now in Christ am found;
Dead, by faith in Christ I live.
Father, behold thy son;
Through Christ I am thy own:
Stranger long to Thee, and rest,
See, the prodigal is come:
Open wide thine arms and breast,
Take the weary wanderer home.
Thine eye observed from far;
Thy pity look'd me near:
Me thy bowels yearn'd to see;
Me thy mercy ran to find,
Empty, poor, and void of Thee,
Hungry, sick, and faint, and blind.
Thou on my neck didst fall;
Thy kiss forgave me all:
Still thy gracious words I hear,
Words that made the Saviour mine:
Haste, for him the robe prepare,
His be righteousness divine !'
THE PREPARATION OF THE HEART.
COME, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee, Nay.
Thou art coming to a King,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For his grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.
With my burden I begin :—
Lord, remove this load of sin!
Let thy blood, for sinners spilt,
Set my conscience free from guilt!
Lord, I come to Thee for rest;
Take possession of my breast;
There, thy blood-bought right maintain,
And, without a rival, reign.
While I am a pilgrim here,
Let thy love my spirit cheer;
As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
Lead me to my journey's end!
Show me what I have to do;
Every hour my strength renew;
Let me live a life of faith,
Let me die thy people's death.
THE SAINT'S REST.-Heb. iv. 9,
LORD, I believe a rest remains,
To all thy people known;
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
And Thou art loved alone:-
A rest where all our soul's desire
Is fix'd on things above;
Where fear, and sin, and grief expire,
Cast out by perfect love.
O that I now the rest might know,
Believe, and enter in!
Now, saviour, now the power bestow,
And let me cease from sın.
Remove this hardness from my heart,
This unbelief remove;
To me the rest of faith impart,
The Sabbath of thy love.
Come, O my Saviour, come away!
Into my soul descend!
No longer from thy creature stay,
My Author, and my End!
The bliss Thou hast for me prepared,
No longer be delay'd!
Come, my exceeding great Reward,
For whom I first was made.
Come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
And seal me thine abode;
Let all I am in Thee be lost;
Let all be lost in God.
CONFORMITY TO CHRIST-Heb. xiii. 20, 21.
FATHER of peace, and God of love!
We own thy power to save,
That power by which our Shepherd rose
Victorious o'er the grave.
Him from the dead Thou brought'st again,
When, by his sacred blood,
Confirm'd and seal'd for evermore,
The' eternal covenant stood.
O may thy Spirit seal our souls,
And mould them to thy will,
That our weak hearts no more may stray,
But keep thy precepts still;
That to perfection's sacred height,
We nearer still may rise;
And all we think, and all we do
Be pleasing in thine eyes!
THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPE.-1 Pet. i. 3-5.
BLESS'D be the everlasting God,
The Father of our Lord!
Be his abounding mercy praised,
His majesty adored!
When from the dead He raised his Son,
And call'd Him to the sky,
He gave our souls a lively hope,
That they should never die.
To an inheritance divine,
He taught our hearts to rise;
'Tis uncorrupted, undefiled,
Unfading in the skies.
Saints by the power of God, are kept
Till the salvation come:
We walk by faith, as strangers here,
But Christ shall call us home.
THE TEMPLE ABOVE.-Heb. iv. 14.
WHERE high the heavenly temple stands,
The house of God not made with hands,
A great High Priest our nature wears,
The guardian of mankind appears.
He who for men their surety stood,
And pour'd on earth his precious blood,
I ursues in heaven his mighty plan,
The Saviour and the friend of man.
?hough now ascended up on high,
He bends on earth a brother's eye;
Partaker of the human name,
He knows the frailty of our frame.
Our fellow-sufferer yet retains
A fellow-feeling of our pains;
And still remembers, in the skies,
His tears, his agonies, and cries.
In every pang that rends the heart,
The Man of sorrows had a part;
He sympathizes with our grief,
And to the sufferer sends relief.
With boldness, therefore, at the thro::e,
Let us make all our sorrows known:
And ask the aid of heavenly power,
To help us in the evil hour.
DOXOLOGY.-Jude 24, 25.
[WATTS.]
To God the only wise,
Our Saviour, and our King,
Let all the saints below the skies
Their humble praises bring.
"Tis his Almighty love,
His counsel, and his care, Preserves us safe from sin and cca' And every hurtful snare.
He will present our souls,
Unblemish'd and complete,
Before the glory of his face,
With joys divinely great.
Then all the chosen seed
Shall meet around the throne,
Shall bless the conduct of his grace,
And make his wonders known.
To our Redeemer, God,
Wisdom and power belongs,
Immortal crowns of majesty,
And everlasting songs.
|