Prayer under God's Chastisement.
THY chast'ning wrath, O Lord, restrain,
Though we deserve it all:
Let not on us the fearful weight
Of thy displeasure fall.
The sins that like a deluge swell,
Our sinking heads o'erflow;
And for our failing strength to bear
Too great a burden grow.
Lord, our desires are known to thee;
To thee we bring our grief;
O hear the voice of our complaint,
And grant us swift relief.
O Lord, our God, forsake us not;
Be thou not far away;
Make haste to help us, gracious God,
Our safety and our stay.
PSALM XXXIX. (PART I)
The Frailty of Life.
BURFORD. C. M.
LORD, let me know my term of days,
How soon my life will end;
And all the train of ills disclose
Which this frail state attend.
My life, thou know'st, is but a span;
As nothing are my years;
And man, when in his best estate,
But vanity appears.
Man, like a shadow, vainly walks,
With fruitless cares opprest;
He heaps up wealth, but cannot tell
By whom 'twill be possest.
Why then should I, with anxious thought,
To this vain world attend?
On thee alone my stedfast hope
Shall ever, Lord, depend.
LORD, hear my cry, regard my tears,
And hearken to my prayer;
Who sojourn like a stranger here,
As all my fathers were.
The dreadful burden of thy wrath
In mercy soon remove;
Lest my frail flesh too weak to bear
The heavy load should prove.
For when thou chast'nest man for sin,
Thou mak'st his beauty fade;
Which, like a garment, wears away,
By fretting moths decay'd.
O spare me yet a little time;
My wasted powers restore;
Before I go away from hence,
And shall be seen no more.
Obedience better than Sacrifice.
I WAITED meekly for the Lord,
Till he vouchsaf'd a kind reply:
He did his gracious ear afford,
And heard from heaven my humble cry.
How shall my grateful heart recount
The works, O God, which thou hast wrought!
The treasures of thy love surmount
The power of numbers, speech, and thought.
I know that thou hast not desir'd
Off'rings and sacrifice alone;
Nor blood of guiltless beasts requir'd
For man's transgression to atone.
O help me, therefore, to fulfil
The sacred truth thy words impart ;
Make me to love thy perfect will,
And write thy law upon my heart.
The Blessings of Charity.
DEVIZES. C. M.
HAPPY the man whose tender care
Relieves the poor distrest:
When troubles compass him around,
The Lord shall give him rest.
The Lord his life, with blessings crown'd,
In safety shall prolong;
And disappoint the will of those,
Who seek to do him wrong.
If he, in languishing estate,
Opprest with sickness lie;
The Lord will soothe his bed of pain,
And inward strength supply.
Therefore let Israel's Lord and God
From age to age be blest;
And all the people's glad applause
With loud Amens exprest.
PSALM XLII..
Thirsting after God.
MARTYRDOM. C. M.
AS pants the hart for cooling streams,
When heated in the chase;
So longs my soul, O God, for thee,
And thy refreshing grace.
For thee, my God, the living God,
My thirsty soul doth pine;
O when shall I behold thy face,
Thou Majesty divine!
I sigh, with anxious cares opprest,
To think of happier days,
When with the joyful crowd I went
To sing glad songs of praise.
Why art thou troubled, O my soul!
His praise I yet shall sing;
Hope still in him, who is my God,
My health's eternal spring.
Hope in waiting upon God.
MY gracious God, I breathe to thee
My earnest hope, my fervent prayer;
From all my sorrows set me free,
From all the ills I dread, or bear.
Let me with light and truth be blest,
To lead me safely in thy way;
Till on thy holy hill I rest,
And in thy sacred temple pray.
Then to thine altar will I go,
To thee my God, my only joy;
My grateful heart with love shall glow,
While songs of praise my lips employ.
Then why cast down, my soul, and why
So much opprest with doubt and fear:
On God, thy God, for help rely;
grace the troubled heart will cheer.
PSALM XLIV.
For Succour against our Foes.
OXFORD. C. M.
GREAT God of hosts, our ears have heard, Our Fathers oft have told,
What wonders thou hast done for them;
Thy glorious deeds of old.
Not by their might was safety wrought,
Nor vict'ry by their sword;
But thou didst guard the chosen race
Who thy great name ador'd.
Great God of hosts! their God, and ours;
Our only Lord and King;
Let that right arm which fought for them, To us salvation bring.
To thee the glory we'll ascribe,
By whom the conquest came;
And, in triumphant songs of praise,
Will celebrate thy name.
The Reign of Messiah.
ST. OLAVE'S. L. M.
AWAKE, my heart, with joy record
The triumphs of thy glorious Lord;
My tongue, divinely guided, sing
Messiah's praise,-th' eternal King.
Ride on and conquer, mighty Lord!
Direct the arrows of thy word;
Thy foes subdue, thy conquests spread:
Let mercy's triumph crown thy head.
Thy throne, O God, shall ever last,
Ages to come, from ages past;
And all the willing nations bless
The sceptre of thy righteousness.
Thou lovest truth, thou Holy One!
Grace, mercy, peace, adorn thy throne;
And God, thy God, hath largely shed
The oil of gladness o'er thy head.
God the sure Refuge of his Church.
WILMINGTON. P. M.
GOD is our refuge in distress,
A present help when dangers press,
In him will we confide:
Though earth were from her centre tost,
And mountains in the ocean lost,
Secure shall we abide.
Above the tempest's rudest shock,
Fixt on an everlasting rock,
God's holy city stands :
There streams of living water flow,
And God protects all those who know,
And honor his commands.
Submit to his almighty sway;
His power the heathen shall obey,
And earth her Lord confess :
The God of hosts will keep from harm, Will be our refuge in alarm,
Our helper in distress.
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