My joy, thy sayings to repeat,
Talk o'er the records of thy will,
And search the oracles divine,
Till every heart-felt word be mine.
2 O may the gracious words divine,
Subject of all my converse be:
So will the Lord his follower join,
And walk and talk himself with me:
So shall my heart his presence prove,
And burn with everlasting love.
3 Oft as I lay me down to rest,
O may the reconciling word
Sweetly compose my weary breast!
While on the bosom of my Lord,
I sink in blissful dreams away,
And visions of eternal day.
4 Rising to sing my Saviour's praise,
Thee may I publish all day long;
And let thy precious word of grace
Flow from my heart, and fill my tongue;
Fill all my life with purest love,
And join me to the Church above.
1 HEE, Jesus, full of truth and grace,
Thee, Saviour, we adore;
Thee in affliction's furnace praise,
And magnify thy power.
2 Thy power in human weakness shewn,
Shall make us all entire :
We now thy guardian presence own,
And walk unburnt in fire.
3 Thee, Son of Man, by faith we see,
And glory in our Guide;
Surrounded and upheld by thee,
The fiery test abide.
4 The fire our graces shall refine,
Till, moulded from above,
We bear the character divine,
The stamp of perfect love. W.
1 THOU, Lord, hast blest my going out: O bless my coming in!
Compass my weakness round about,
And keep me safe from sin.
2 Still hide me in thy secret place,
Thy tabernacle spread;
Shelter me with preserving grace,
And screen my naked head.
3 To thee for refuge may I run,
From sin's alluring snare:
Ready its first approach to shun,
And watching unto prayer.
4 O that I never, never more
Might from thy ways depart!
Here let me give my wand'rings o'er,
By giving thee my heart.
5 Fix my new heart on things above,
And then from earth release;
I ask not life; but let me love,
And lay me down in peace.
TOW, Lord, I ask thy Spirit's aid,
Oh keep me lest I stray;
Ten thousand snares for me are laid,
Temptations mark my way.
2 But may I ever trust thy grace
Tho' men and devils rise;
Oh give me power to run the race,
And gain the heavenly prize. w. S. & H. B.
316 4 lines 8's & 2-6's. Part I.
YOME on, my partners in distress,
Who still your bodies feel;
A while forget your griefs and fears,
And look beyond this vale of tears,
To that celestial hill.
2 Beyond the bounds of time and space
Look forward to that heavenly place,
The saints' secure abode,
On faith's strong eagle pinions rise,
And force your passage to the skies,
And scale the mount of God.
3 Who suffer with our Master here,
We shall before his face appear,
And by his side sit down:
To patient faith the prize is sure;
And all that to the end endure
The cross, shall wear the crown.
4 Thrice blessed bliss-inspiring hope!
It lifts the fainting spirits up;
It brings to life the dead:
Our conflicts here shall soon be past,
And you and I ascend at last,
Triumphant with our Head.
317 4 lines 8's & 2-6's. Part II.
HAT great mysterious Deity,
We soon with open face shall see
The beatific sight:
Shall fill heaven's sounding courts with praise,
And wide diffuse the golden blaze
Of everlasting light.
2 The Father shining on his throne,
The glorious, co-eternal Son,
The Spirit, One and Seven,
Conspire our rapture to complete ;
And, lo! we fall before his feet,
And silence heightens heaven.
3 In hope of that ecstatic pause,
Jesus, we now sustain the cross,
And at thy footstool fall;
Till thou our hidden life reveal :
Till thou our ravish'd spirits fill,
And God be all in all !
RIUMPHANT Lord, come down,
Thy grace
Our meeting with thy presence crown
And visit every heart.
2 Make known thy power to save,
Thou Jesus crucified;
That all may full redemption have,
And feel thy blood applied.
3 Wash all our stains away,
Our dross do thou refine;
Thy sanctifying power display,
And make us all divine.
1 No, Lord; it cannot shorten'd be,
The hand which plagu'd th' Egyptian race, Which brought thy people thro' the sea,
Which led them o'er the wilderness:
Which has to us so often given
Drink from the rock, and bread from heaven.
2 That hand which open'd wide mine eyes;
That hand which now, by faith, I see,
Measures the floods, and spans the skies,
And grasps the winds, and covers me!
It brings the blind thro' ways unknown,
It holds, it lifts me to a throne.
3 Kept by that hand, I cannot fear
Lest earth or hell should pluck me thence;
I trample on temptation near,
Supported by Omnipotence;
Possest of boundless power divine,
Of boundless love, for Christ is mine.
1HOU Lamb of God, thou Prince of Peace,
For thee my thirsty soul doth pine;
My longing heart implores thy grace,
O make me in thy likeness shine!
2 With fraudless, even, humble mind,
Thy will in all things may I see;
Thro' love be every wish resign'd,
And hallow'd my whole heart to thee.
3 When pain o'er my weak flesh prevails,
With lamb-like patience arm my breast;
When grief my wounded soul assails,
In lowly meekness may I rest.
4 Close by thy side still may I keep,
Howe'er life's various current flow :
With steadfast eye mark every step.
And follow thee where'er thou go.
5 Thou, Lord, the dreadful fight hast won;
Alone thou hast the wine-press trod;
In me thy strength'ning grace be shewn,
O may I conquer thro" thy blood!
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