For the Comfort of God's Presence.
(Luke xviii. 38-42.)
HEAR, gracious God, my humble moan;
To thee I breathe my sighs;
When will the mournful night be gone;
When shall my joy arise?
My God, by all thy power and love,
I would thy grace entreat;
Nor shall my humble hopes remove,
Nor leave thy mercy-seat.
For though my soul in darkness mourn,
Thy word is all my stay;
Here would I rest till light return ;—
Thy presence makes my day.
My fervent prayer shall still arise,
And speak my warm desire;
Till light shall bless these longing eyes,
And grateful songs inspire.
68. The Excellence of christian Love. (1 Cor. xiii. 13.)
MAY we thy precepts, Lord, fulfil,
To do on earth our Father's will,
As angels do above:
To walk in Christ, the living way,
With all thy children, and obey
The law of christian love.
So may we join thy name to bless,
Thy grace adore, thy power confess,
From sin and strife to flee:
One is our calling, one our name,
The end of all our hope the same,
A crown of life with thee.
Spirit of life, of love, and peace,
Unite our hearts, our joy increase,
Thy gracious help supply:
To ev'ry soul the blessing give,
In christian fellowship to live;
In joyful hope to die.
Pleading for Mercy. (Joel i. 17.)
O LORD, turn not thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life,
With tears and bitter cry.
Thy mercy-gates are open wide
To them that mourn their sin;
O shut them not against us, Lord,
But let us enter in.
O call us not to strict account,
How we have sojourn'd here;
For then our guilty conscience ]
How vile we must appear.
We need not to confess our fa alt
To thee, who best can tell:
What we have been, and what we are,
Thou knowest, Lord, full
Mercy, O Lord, mercy we
This is our only prayer;
In mercy, Lord, is all our
O let thy mercy spare!
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Sincere Repentance. (Joel ii. 13.),
O THOU, whose tender mercy
Contrition's humble cry;
Whose hand, indulgent, wipes the tears
From sorrow's weeping eye:
See, low before thy throne of grace
We wretched wand'rers mourn;
Thou, Lord, hast bid us seek thy face,
Thou, Lord, hast said, "Return."
Our sins affright, our fears prevail;
O Lord, thy help afford;
Thy gracious promise cannot fail,
And we would trust thy word.
To melt each cold and stubborn heart
With heav'nly influence shine;
And light, and life, and strength impart,
And make us wholly thine.
72. Sincerity in Devotion. (Matt. vi. 16-18.)
LORD, when we bend before thy throne,
And our confessions pour;
Teach us to feel the sins we own,
And shun what we deplore.
Our contrite spirits pitying see;
True penitence impart;
And let a healing ray from thee
Beam hope on ev'ry heart.
When we disclose our wants in prayer,
May we our wills resign;
And not a wish our bosoms share,
Which is not wholly thine.
In meek submission to thy will,
Let ev'ry prayer arise;
And teach us, Lord, 'tis goodness still,
That grants it, or denies.
Judgment and Mercy. (Gen. xix. 29.)
WITH trembling awe we come,
And bow before thy throne;
For all our thoughts and secret sins,
To thee, great God, are known.
How dreadful is the might
Of thine avenging hand!
The fiery terrors of thy wrath
What mortal can withstand!
As guilty Sodom fell
Beneath thy righteous doom,
So flames of everlasting death
Shall all thy foes consume.
Lord, hear our earnest cry,
While yet we live to pray;
O give us grace to love thy law,
And strength to keep thy way.
74. For Divine Aid. (2 Cor. vi. 1-10.)
ALAS! what dangers hourly rise,
What snares beset my way;
To heaven, O Lord, I lift mine eyes;
To thee for succour pray.
By thee I stand; in thee I live;
Do thou my weakness aid;
Help me to watch, and pray, and strive,
Though trembling and afraid.
When strong temptations lure my heart,
And draw my steps aside;
My God, thy pow'rful aid impart,-
My guardian, and my guide!
O keep me in thy heav'nly way,
And bid the tempter fice;
And let me never, never stray
From happiness and thee.
Tried Faith. (Gen. xxii. 13.).
BELLE FIELD. C. M.
THE saints should never be dismay'd,
Nor sink in hopeless fear;
For when they least expect his aid,
The Saviour will appear.
This Abraham found:-he rais'd the knife,
God saw, and said, "Forbear:
I know thy faith; touch not his life;
Behold a victim there."
Blest proofs of power and grace
That meet us in his word:
May ev'ry deep-felt care of mine
Be trusted with the Lord!
Wait for this seasonable aid;
Yea; though it tarry, wait:
The blessing may be long delay'd,
But cannot come too late.
76. Christ's Temptation a Ground of Encouragement. (Matt. iv. 1-11.)
WHEN gath'ring clouds around I view,
When days are dark, and friends are few,
On him I lean, who, not in vain,
Experienc'd ev'ry mortal pain:
He sees my griefs, allays my fears,
And counts and treasures up my tears.
If aught should tempt my soul to stray
From heav'nly wisdom's narrow way,
To flee the good I would pursue,
Or do the sin I would not do;
Still he, who felt temptation's power,
Shall guard me in that dang'rous hour.
And Oh! when I have safely past
Through ev'ry conflict but the last,
Still, Lord, unchanging, watch beside
My bed of death, for thou hast died:
Then point to realms of endless day,
And wipe the latest tear away.
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