FOR ever blessed be the Lord,
My Saviour and my Shield:
He sends his Spirit with his word,
To arm me for the field.
When sin and hell their force unite,
He makes my soul his care,
Instructs me to the heav'nly fight,
And guards me through the war.
A friend and helper so divine
Does my weak courage raise;
He makes the glorious victory mine,
And his shall be the praise.
GIVE to our God immortal praise,
Still mercy reigns in all his ways;
Wonders of grace to God belong;
Repeat his mercies in your song!
He fills the sun with morning light;
He bids the moon direct the night;
His mercies ever shall endure,
When sun and moon shall shine no more.
He sent his Christ with power to save
From guilt, and darkness, and the grave:
Wonders of grace to God belong;
Repeat his mercies in your song.
Through this vain world he guides our feet,
And leads us to his heav'nly seat:
His mercies ever shall endure,
When this vain world shall be no more.
Psalm lxiii.
GREAT God, indulge my humble claim,
Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest;
The glories that compose thy name
Stand all engaged to make me blest.
Thou great and good, thou just and wise,
Thou art my Father and my God;
And I am thine by sacred ties,
Thy son, thy servant, bought with blood.
Amidst the wakeful hours of night
When any cares afflict my head,
One thought of Thee gives new delight
And adds refreshment to my bed.
My life itself without thy love
No taste of pleasure could afford;
"Twould but a tiresome burden prove
If I were banish'd from the Lord.
HE who for men their surety stood,
And pour'd on earth his precious blood,
Pursues in heav'n his work of grace
To save and help our wretched race.
Partaker of the human name,
He knows the frailty of our frame;
And, though ascended far on high,
Still bends on earth a brother's eye.
Our Fellow-suff'rer yet retains
A fellow feeling of our pains,
And still remembers in the skies
His tears, and agonies, and cries.
We'll come with boldness to his throne,
And there make all our sorrows known;
We'll ask the aid of his great pow'r,
To help us in the evil hour.
FALCON STREET. S. M.
How beauteous are their feet
Who stand on Zion's hill,
Who bring salvation on their tongues,
And words of peace reveal!
How happy are our ears
That hear the joyful sound,
Which kings and prophets waited for,
And sought, but never found!
How blessed are our eyes,
That see this heav'nly light!
Prophets and kings desired it long,
But died without the sight.
O Lord, send forth thy truth,
Make known thy name abroad;
Till all the nations shall behold
Their Saviour and their God.
HOW blest the man, how safe from harm,
Who to his Saviour flies!
And on his truth and mighty arm
Alone for help relies!
His overspreading wings of love
Shall sure protection yield;
While his eternal truth shall prove
Thine adamantine shield.
What tho' fierce plagues thro' horrid gloom,
With wild destruction reign?
Though thousands round thee crowd the tomb,
Ten thousands press the plain?
Thine eyes shall see his vengeful rod,
And not one fear molest;
In the high friendship of thy God
Supremely safe and blest.
NEW SABBATH. L. M. Psalm lxxxiv.
HOW pleasant, how divinely fair,
O Lord of Hosts thy dwellings are!
With long desire my spirit faints
To meet the assemblies of thy saints.
Bless'd are the souls that find a place
Within the temple of thy grace;
There they behold thy gentle rays,
And seek thy face, and learn thy praise.
Bless'd are the men whose hearts are set
To find the way to Sion's gate;
God is their strength; and through the road
They lean upon their helper, God.
Cheerful they walk with growing strength,
Till all shall meet in heav'n at length;
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.
HOW shall the young secure their hearts,
And guard their lives from sin?
Thy word the choicest rules imparts
To keep the conscience clean.
When once it enters to the mind,
It spreads such light abroad,
The meanest souls instruction find,
And raise their thoughts to God.
'Tis like the sun, a heavenly light,
That guides us all the day;
And, through the dangers of the night,
A lamp to lead our way.
Thy word is everlasting truth,
How pure is every page!
That Holy Book shall guide our youth,
And well support our age.
I KNOW that my Redeemer lives;
He lives and on the earth shall stand;
And though to worms my flesh he gives,
My dust lies numbered in his hand.
In this reanimated clay
I surely shall behold him near;
Shall see him at the latter day
In all his majesty appear.
I feel what then shall raise me up;
Th' eternal Spirit lives in me;
This is my confidence of hope,
That God I face to face shall see.
My own, and not another's eyes,
The King shall in his beauty view:
I shall from him receive the prize,
The crown to his obedience due.
I'M not asham'd to own my Lord,
Or to defend his cause;
Maintain the honour of his word,
The glory of his laws.
Jesus, my Lord! I love thy name,
And on that name rely,
Thou wilt not put my soul to shame,
Nor leave my hope to die.
I know that safe from harm remains
Protected by thy power,
What I've committed to thy trust,
Till the decisive hour.
Then wilt thou own thy servant's name,
Before thy Father's face,
And in the new Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.
|