47.Conscientious Obedience to Rulers. (Rom. xiii. 1.)

ABRIDGE. C. M.

SOVEREIGN of all! whose will ordains
The Powers on earth that be;

By whom our rightful monarch reigns,
Subject alone to thee:

Let us for conscience' sake revere
The guardian of our land;
Honor and love thine image here,
And bless his mild command.

Let all with thankful heart receive
The benefit divine:

Thou only didst the blessing give;
The glory, Lord, be thine.

Still let us pray, and never cease,―
"Defend him, Lord, defend:
'Stablish his throne in glorious peace,

And save him to the end."

48. All Nature obedient to God. (Matt. viii. 26.)

WILTSHIRE. C. M.

MAKER of all things, mighty Lord,
We own thy power divine;
The winds and waves obey thy word,
For all their strength is thine.

Wide as the wintry tempests sweep,
They work thy sov'reign will;
Thy voice is heard upon the Deep,
And all its waves are still.

When dangers threat in ev'ry form,
And death itself is near;

O God, amidst the raging storm,
We're safe beneath thy care.

With trembling hope on thee we stay
To rescue from the grave;

Thou, whom the elements obey,
Art ever near to save.

49. God's Justice and Mercy. (Isa. lix. 18-20.)

WELLS. L. M.

IN all the ways and works of God,
His justice and his love we trace;
We bend to his avenging rod;
Or kiss the sceptre of his grace.
Around his saints, who fear his name,
In endless streams his mercies flow:
But all the fruit of sin is shame,
And present grief, and future wo.
Lord, at thy footstool we appear,
To own our guilt and seek thy love;
O let thy fav'ring mercy hear,
And send a blessing from above.
Impart thy truth; our souls restore,
And keep us in thy righteous ways;
So shall the church thy grace adore,
And gladly sound the Saviour's praise.

50. God the Defence of all who trust in him. (Collect.)

ST. MATTHEW'S. D. C. M.

O GOD, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Beneath the shadow of thy throne,

Thy saints have dwelt secure ;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Be thou our
guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.

51.

52.

Christian Love. (Col. iii. 14.)

BISHOPSTHORPE. C. M.

OUR God is love; and all his saints
His image bear below:

The heart with love to God inspir'd,
With love to man will glow.

Our heav'nly Father, Lord, art thou;
Thy favor'd children we;
Oh may we love each other here,
As we are lov'd of thee.

Heirs of the same immortal bliss,
Our hopes and fears the same,
May cords of love our hearts unite,
And mutual love inflame.

So shall the vain contentious world
Our peaceful lives approve;
And wond'ring say, as they of old,
"See how these Christians love!"

The Tares spared till the Harvest.
(Matt. xiii. 30.)

ST. STEPHEN'S. C. M.

THE angel comes; he comes to reap
The harvest of the Lord:

O'er all the earth, with fatal sweep,
Wide waves his flaming sword.

And who are they, their doom to bide,
Thus gather'd up and bound?
The tares, whose rank luxuriant pride
Chok'd the fair crop around.

And who are they, reserv'd in store
God's treasure-house to fill?

The wheat, a hundred fold that bore
Amid surrounding ill.

O King of mercy! grant us power
Thy fearful wrath to flee:

In thy destroying angel's hour,
O gather us to thee!

53.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem.
(Isa. lxv. 17—19.)

MARTYRDOM. C. M.

JERUSALEM, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me,

When shall my labours have an end
In joy, and peace, and thee!

When shall mine eyes thy heaven-built walls,
And pearly gates behold;

Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold!

Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there
Around my Saviour stand;
And soon my friends in Christ below
Will join the glorious band.

Jerusalem, our happy home,
Our souls still long for thee;
Then shall our labors have an end,
When we thy joys shall see.

54. God's Children seeking Purity of Heart. (1 John iii. 2, 3.)

FROM thee, O God of purity!

We ask renewing grace :
None without holiness shall see
The glories of thy face.

We come, O Lord, with humble fear
Before thy mercy gate;

Though most unworthy to draw near,
Or in thy courts to wait.

For we are prone from thee to stray,
Our only strength and guide;
O lead us in thy righteous way,
Nor let our footsteps slide.
Make all thy service our delight,
And fix our hearts above;
Shield us with everlasting might,
And bless us with thy love.

55. The Coming of the Son of Man. (Matt. xxiv. 30, 31.)

LUTHER. P. M.

GREAT God! what do I see and hear!

The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear
On clouds of glory seated!

The trumpet sounds, the graves restore
The dead, which they contain'd before:
Prepare, my soul to meet him.
The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet's sounding;
And meet their Saviour in the skies,
With joy his throne surrounding:
No gloomy fears their souls dismay;
His presence sheds eternal day

On those prepar'd to meet him.
But sinners, fill'd with guilty fears,
Behold his wrath prevailing;
For they shall rise, and find their tears,
And sighs, are unavailing:
The day of grace is past and gone;
Trembling they stand before the throne,
All unprepar'd to meet him.

Great God! what do I see and hear! &c.

Beneath his cross I view the day,

When heaven and earth shall pass away;
And thus prepare to meet him.

56. The Awfulness of the Day of Judgment.
(Matt. xxiv. 29, 30.)

SAVOY. L. M.

THE day of wrath, that dreadful day,
When heaven and earth shall pass away!
What power shall be the sinner's stay!
How shall he meet that dreadful day!
When shriv'lling like a parched scroll,
The flaming heavens together roll;
When louder yet, and yet more dread,
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead;
Oh! on that day—that awful day,

When man to judgment wakes from clay,
Be thou, O Christ, the sinner's stay,
Though heaven and earth shall pass away.