To thee, O bleeding Lamb of God,
Whence all the springs of life have flow'd,
To thee, I raise my cry.
6 O, wilt thou lend a list'ning ear,
And answer my request:
Forgive and wipe the falling tear,
And with thy love my spirit cheer.
And set my heart at rest.
176.-L. M. Affliction Sanctified. [New Ar. 363.
AMIDST these various scenes of ills,
Each stroke some kind design fulfils;
And shall I murmur at my God,
When sovereign love directs the rod?
2 Peace, rebel thoughts! I'll not complain,
My Father's smiles suspend my pain;
Smiles, that a thousand joys impart,
And pour the balm that heals the smart.
3 Though Heaven afflicts, I'll not repine,
Each heartfelt comfort still is mine;
Comforts that shall o'er death prevail,
And journey with me through the vale.
4 Lord Jesus, smoothe that rugged way,
And lead me to the realms of day,
To milder skies and brighter plains,
Where everlasting sunshine reigns.
177.-C. M. Submission and Hope. [N. A. 362.
AFFLICTION is a stormy deep,
Where wave resounds to wave;
Though o'er my head the billows roll,
I know the Lord can save.
2 The hand that now withholds my joys,
Can reinstate my peace;
And he who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid the tempest cease.
3 In the dark watches of the night
I'll count his mercies o'er;
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.
4 When darkness and when sorrow rose,
And press'd on every side;
The Lord has still sustain'd my steps,
And still has been my Guide.
5 Here will I rest, and build my hopes,
Nor murmur at his rod;
He's more than all the world to me,
My Health, my Life, my God!
178.-C.M. Inconstancy Lamented: [New Ar 375
heart so far from thee,
My God, my chief delight?
Why are my thoughts no more by day
With thee, no more by night?
2 Why should my foolish passions rove?
Where can such sweetness be
As I have tasted in thy love,
As I have found in thee?
3 When my forgetful soul renews
The savour of thy grace,
My heart presumes I cannot lose
The relish of my days.
4 But ere one fleeting hour is pass'd,
The flatt'ring world employs
Some sensual bait to win my taste,
And to pollute my joys.
5 Then I repent and vex my soul,
That I should leave thee so:
Where will those wild affections roll,
That let my Saviour go?
6 Wretch that I am, to wander thus,
In chase of false delight!
Let me be fasten'd to thy cross
Rather than lose thy sight.
179.-88 78. The Glories of the Church. [N. A. 468.
GLORIOUS things of thee are spoken
Zion, city of our God;
He, whose word can ne'er be broken,
Chose thee for his own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
Who can shake her sure repose?
With salvation's wall surrounded,
She can smile at all her foes.
2 See the streams of living waters,
Springing from eternal love,
Well supply her sons and daughters,
And the fear of want remove :
Who can faint while such a river,
Onward flows her thirst t' assuage-
Grace, which like the Lord-the giver,
Never fails from age to age.
3 Round each habitation hov'ring,
See the cloud and fire appear
For a glory and a cov'ring,
Showing that the Lord is near.
Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
He, whose word can ne'er be broken,
Forms thee for his own abode.
180.-L. M. Admission of Members. [N. Ar. 471
KINDRED in Christ, for his dear sake,
A hearty welcome here receive;
May we together now partake,
The joys which he alone can give.
2 To you and us, by grace 't is given,
To know the Saviour's precious name;
And shortly we shall meet in heaven,
Our hope, our way, our end the same.
3 May he, by whose kind care we meet
Send his good Spirit from above,
Make our communications sweet,
And cause our hearts to burn with love.
4 We'll talk of all he did and said,
And suffer'd for us here below
The path he mark'd for us to tread,
And what his mercy will bestow.
5 Thus as the moments pass away
We'll love, and wonder, and adore,
And think upon that glorious day
When we shall meet to part no more.
WELCOME, ye hopeful heirs of heav'n,
To this rich gospel feast of love;
This pledge is but the prelude given
To that immortal feast above.
2 How great the blessing, thus to meet
Around the sacramental board,
And hold by faith, communion sweet,
With Christ our dear and common Lord,
3 And if so sweet this feast below,
What will it be to meet above,
Where all we see, and feel, and know,
Are fruits of everlasting love.
4 Soon shall we tune the heavenly lyre,
Whilst list'ning worlds the song approve;
Eternity itself expire,
Ere we exhaust the theme of love.
182.-S. M. Public Worship.
OW pleased was I to hear
The friends of Zion say,
Now to her courts let us repair
And keep the solemn day.
2 Hither the rich and poor,
Their various offerings bring,
And in harmonious strains adore,
Their Maker, and their King.
3 Here beams of mercy shine,
And streams of goodness flow;
Here we may feast on joys divine
And taste of heaven below.
4 Here I would ever stay;
Or if I must remove,
Come, angels, bear me swift away,
To brighter scenes above.
183.-12s 11s. The House of God. [New Ar. 470.
HERE'S a refuge of peace, from the tempests that beat,
From the dark clouds that threaten, from the wild wind that blows,
A holy, a sweet, and a lovely retreat,
A spring of refreshment, a place of repose.
|