5 Author and Guardian of my life,
Thou source of light divine!
And, all harmonious names in one,
My Father!-thou art mine!
6 What thanks I owe thee, and what love,—
A boundless, endless store,
Shall echo through the realms above,
When time shall be no more!
164. c. M.
The Law of Love.
1 FAR from thy servants, God of grace!
The unfeeling heart remove;
And form in our obedient souls
The image of thy love.
2 O may our sympathising breasts
The generous pleasure know,
Kindly to share in others' joy,
And weep for others' wo!
3 Where'er the helpless sons of grief
In low distress are laid,
Soft be our hearts their pains to feel,
And swift our hands to aid.
4 O be the law of love fulfilled,
In every act and thought;
Each angry passion far removed,
Each selfish view forgot!
5 Be thou, my heart! dilated wide
With this kind social grace;
And, in one grasp of fervent love,
All earth and heaven embrace.
Trust in God through all the Changes of Life.
1 FATHER divine! before thy view,
All worlds, all creatures lie;
No distance can elude thy search,
No action 'scape thine eye.
2 From thee our vital breath we drew;
Our childhood was thy care;
And vigorous youth and feeble age,
Thy kind protection share.
3 Whate'er we do, where'er we turn,
Thy ceaseless bounty flows;
Oppressed with wo, when nature faints,
Thine arm is our repose.
4 To thee we look, thou Power supreme! I O still our wants supply!
Safe in thy presence may we live,
And in thy favour die.
Reverence and Love to Jesus.
1 FATHER of Jesus! God of love!
Of every joy and hope the spring;
For the rich grace by him bestowed,
To thee our grateful praise we bring.
2 Of pardon and eternal life
Thy mercy formed the gracious plan;
And Jesus, sent by thee, conveyed
The glorious news to sinful man.
3 To seal the covenant which he brought,
He passed through suffering, shame, and death;
And shall not we his claims revere,
And love him to our latest breath?
4 O may his love our hearts inspire
His holy precepts to obey;
His spirit ever be our own,
His promise cheer in life's last day!
5 And when we stand before his bar,
May Jesus own us as his friends;
Then to his glory we shall rise,
And share the bliss which never ends.
167. c. M.
Imploring Divine Guidance.
1 FATHER of light! conduct my feet
Through life's dark, dangerous road;
Let each advancing step, still bring
Me nearer to my God.
2 Let heaven-eyed prudence be my guide;
And when I go astray,
Recal my feet from folly's path,
To wisdom's better way.
3 Teach me in every various scene
To keep my end in sight;
And while I tread life's mazy track,
Let wisdom guide me right.
4 That heavenly wisdom from above
Abundantly impart ;
And let it guard, and guide, and warm,
And penetrate my heart;
5 Till it shall lead me to thyself,
Fountain of bliss and love!
And all my darkness be dispersed
In endless light above.
Praise to God through all the Changes of Life.
1 FATHER of mercies! God of love!
My Father, and my God!
I'll sing the honours of thy name,
And spread thy praise abroad.
2 In every period of my life,
Thy thoughts of love appear;
Thy mercies gild the transient scene,
Ånd crown each passing year.
3 In all thy mercies, may my soul
A Father's bounty see;
Nor let the gifts thy grace bestows,
Estrange my heart from thee.
4 Teach me, in times of deep distress,
To own thy hand, O God!
And in submissive silence hear
The lessons of thy rod.
5 Through every changing state of life,
Each bright, each clouded scene,
Give me a meek and humble mind,
Still equal and serene.
6 Then may I close my eyes in death,
Free from all anxious fear;
For death itself, my God! is life,
If thou be with me there.
The Vanity of Human Life.
FRAIL life of man-how short its stay,
And various as the wind!
Heedless we sport our hours away,
Nor think of death behind.
2 See the fair cheek of beauty fade,
Frail glory of an hour!
And blooming youth, with sickening head, Droop like the dying flower.
3 Wealth, pomp, and honour, we behold
With an admiring eye,
Like summer's insects dressed in gold,
That flutter, shine, and die.
4 Then rise, my soul! and soar away
Above the thoughtless crowd,
Above the pleasures of the gay,
And splendours of the proud;
5 Where everlasting beauties bloom,
And pleasures all divine;
Where wealth that never can consume,
And endless glories shine.
Abiding in Christ. John vi. 68.
1 FROM Christ, my Lord, shall I depart,
And rase his image from my heart;
Forsake the beams of heavenly day,
And follow nature's feeble ray?
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