157. God our Strength. (Josh. x. 10–14.) ST. MATTHEW's. D. C. M.
THE Lord descended from above,
And bow'd the heavens most high;
And underneath his feet he cast
The darkness of the sky :
On cherubim and seraphim
Full royally he rode;
And on the wings of mighty winds
Came flying all abroad.
Blest be the Lord, the mighty God,
Most worthy of all praise:
He is my rock, my saving health;
To him my songs I'll raise.
O God, my strength and fortitude,
My heart shall rest on thee!
Thou art my fortress and defence
In all necessity.
Firm trust and Faithful Service.
(Josh. xxiii. 6-16.)
MOUNT EPHRAIM. S. M.
A CHARGE to keep I have;
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save;
A rest to gain on high:
From youth to hoary age,
My calling to fulfil;
Oh may it all my powers engage
To do my Master's will!
Arm me with jealous care
As in thy sight to live;
And now thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give.
Help me to watch and pray,
And still on thee rely;
Assur'd, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die!
159. God's Care for the Poor. (Luke xvi. 22.)
HAPPY the man, whose hopes rely
On Israel's God, who made the sky,
And earth, and seas with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves the opprest, he feeds the poor;
And none shall find his promise vain.
The Lord gives eyesight to the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the troubled conscience peace :
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless;
And grants the pris'ner full release.
I'll praise him while he lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers:
My joy, my praise, shall ne'er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
And immortality endures.
160. Love to the Poor for Christ's sake. (1 John iv. 20, 21.)
FOUNT of all good! to own thy love
Our thankful hearts incline;
What can we offer, Lord, to thee,
When all the worlds are thine?
But thou hast needy brethren here,
Partakers of thy grace;
Whose humble names thou wilt confess
Before thy Father's face.
In them thou may'st be cloth'd, and fed,
And visited, and cheer'd;
And, in their accents of distress,
Thy pleading voice is heard.
Thy face with rev'rence, and with love,
We in thy poor would see;
For while we minister to them,
We do it, Lord, to thee.
161. God our Help in Trouble. (Judges iv. 3.)?
GOD of our life, to thee we call ;
O Saviour, at thy feet we fall;
When dangers rise, and foes prevail,
Leave not our fearful hearts to fail.
To whom should trembling sinners flee,
Friend of the friendless, but to thee?
Whose mercy is for ever sure,
To save the weak, and bless the poor.
Did ever mourner plead with thee,
And thou reject his humble plea?
Does not thy promise yet remain—
That none shall seek thy face in vain?
Yea, Lord, the poor and helpless share
Thy kind regard, and constant care;
And surely shall his hopes succeed,
For whom the Saviour deigns to plead.
Love to God and the Brethren.
(1 John iii. 14—18.)
AWAKE our zeal, awake our love,
To serve the Saviour here below,
In works which perfect saints above,
And holy angels, cannot do.
Awake our charity, to feed
The hungry souls, and clothe the poor:
In heaven are found no sons of need;
There all these duties are no more.
God, by whose grace alone we live,
Commits the needy to our care;
And shall we of his love receive,
And yet reject a brother's prayer?
Shall we in worldly goods abound,
Yet nothing from our store impart?
How can the love of God be found
Within a cold and selfish heart!
163. Charity blest to the Giver. (1 John iii. 23, 24.)
BLEST is the man whose soft'ning heart
Can feel another's pain;
To whom the supplicating eye
Is never rais'd in vain :
Whose breast with gen'rous warmth expands,
A brother's wo to feel;
And melts with pity o'er the wound
He wants the power to heal.
Peace, which the world can never know,
Our God to him will give,
Who thus shall tread the Saviour's steps,
And to his glory live:
To him protection shall be shewn ;
And mercy from above
Shall rest on all who thus fulfil
The perfect law of love.
164. The Duty of christian Instruction.
(Luke xiv. 23.)
AND have we heard the joyful sound?
Have we the only Saviour found?
And shall we not to all proclaim
His boundless grace, his mighty name?
Hath God to us his glory shewn,——
Oh, not for merits of our own!
And shall not love constrain our heart,
This blessed knowledge to impart?
O Saviour, who for all hast died!
Be thou our teacher, help, and guide;
Inflame our hearts with christian love,
And bless our labors from above.
Send forth thy light; display thy power;
Let all confess; let all adore;
In ev'ry land thy word be sown;
By ev'ry soul thy truth be known!
Praise for God's Goodness.
(1 Sam. ii. 1-10.)
DERBY. L.M.
SWEET is the work, my God, my king!
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing:
To shew thy love with morning light;
And talk of all thy truth at night.
Sweet is thy day of sacred rést;
Let no vain thoughts disturb my breast:
Oh may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound!
My heart shall triumph in the Lord,
And bless his works, and bless his word;
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels; how divine!
Lord, I would love thy courts below;
And, when thy heav'nly rest I know,
Thy praise shall all my powers employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
166. Acquiescence in God's Will. (1 Pet. v. 7.)
O LORD, my best desires fulfil,
And help me to resign
Life, health, and comfort, to thy will,
And make thy pleasure mine.
Why should I shrink at thy command,
When love forbids my fears;
Or tremble at the gracious hand
That wipes away my tears?
No, let me rather freely yield
What most I prize to thee,
Who never hast a good withheld,
Nor wilt withhold, from me.
But ah! my trembling spirit cries,
Still be thy grace my stay;
Else the next cloud that veils my skies
Will drive my hopes away.
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