In want, my plentiful supply;
In weakness, my almighty power;
In bonds, my perfect liberty;
My light in sorrow's darkest hour;
My swift redemption when I fall;
My life in death; my all in all!
'HOW PRECIOUS ARE THY THOUGHTS UNTO ME.'
How precious are Thy thoughts of peace,
O God! to me; how great the sum!
New every morn, they never cease:
They were, they are, and yet shall come,
In number, and in compass, more
Than ocean's sand, than ocean's shore.
How from Thy presence should I go,
Or whither from Thy spirit flee,
Since all above, around, below,
Exists in Thine immensity?
I feel Thine all-controlling will,
And Thy right hand upholds me still.
Search me, O God! and know my heart;
Try me; my secret soul survey;
And warn Thy servant to depart
From every false and evil way:
So shall Thy truth my guidance be
To life and immortality.
When I am wholly Thine;
Thy will, my God, Thy will be done.
And let that will be mine.
All-wise, almighty, and all-good,
In Thee I firmly trust;
Thy ways, unknown or understood,
Äre merciful and just.
May I remember that to Thee
Whate'er I have I owe ;
And back in gratitude from me
May all Thy bounties flow.
Thy gifts are only then enjoyed,
When used as talents lent;
Those talents only well employed,
When in Thy service spent.
And though Thy wisdom takes away,
Shall I arraign Thy will?
No; I will bless Thy name, and say
The Lord is gracious still.
WHILE Thee I seek, Protecting Power! Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled.
Thy love the powers of thought bestowed;
To Thee my thoughts would soar;
Thy mercy o'er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore!
In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!
Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by Thee.
In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,
My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.
When gladness wings my favored hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill;
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet Thy will.
My lifted eye, without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see;
My steadfast heart shall know no fear;
That heart shall rest on Thee!
I LOOK to Thee in every need,
And never look in vain ;
I feel Thy strong and tender love,
And all is well again :
The thought of Thee is mightier far
Than sin and pain and sorrow are.
Discouraged in the work of life,
Disheartened by its load,
Shamed by its failures or its fears,
I sink beside the road;
But let me only think of Thee,
And then new heart springs up in me.
Thy calmness bends serene above,
My restlessness to still;
Around me flows Thy quickening life,
To nerve my faltering will;
Thy presence fills my solitude;
Thy providence turns all to good.
Embosomed deep in Thy dear love,
Held in Thy law, I stand;
Thy hand in all things I behold,
And all things in Thy hand;
Thou leadest me by unsought ways,
And turn'st my mourning into praise.
ALL as God wills! who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold,
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.
Enough, that blessings undeserved
Have marked my erring track;
That, wheresoe'er my feet have swerved,
Thy chastening turned me back;
That more and more a providence
Of love is understood,
Making the springs of time and sense
Bright with eternal good;
That death seems but a covered way
Which opens into light,
Wherein no blinded child can stray
Beyond the Father's sight.
No longer forward or behind
I look, in hope or fear,
But grateful take the good I find,
God's blessing, now and here.
ETERNAL and immortal King!
Thy peerless splendors none can bear;
But darkness veils seraphic eyes,
When God with all His glory's there.
Yet Faith can pierce the awful gloom,
The great Invisible can see;
And with its tremblings mingle joy,
In fixed regard, great God! to Thee.
Then every tempting form of sin,
Shamed in Thy presence, disappears;
And all the glowing raptured soul
The likeness it contemplates wears.
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