For the Blessing of Father, Son, and Spirit.
1 Command thy blessing from above,
O God! on all assembled here;
Behold us with a Father's love,
While we look up with filial fear.
2 Command thy blessing, Jesus, Lord!
May we thy true disciples be:
Speak to each heart the mighty word,
Say to the weakest; "Follow me."
3 Command thy blessing in this hour,
Spirit of Truth! and fill this place
With humbling and exalting power,
With quickening and confirming grace.
4 O thou, our Maker, Saviour, Guide,
One true eternal God confessed;
May nought in life or death divide
The saints in thy communion blest.
1 What various hind'rances we meet,
In coming to a mercy-seat!
Yet who that knows the worth of pray'r,
But wishes to be often there.
2 Pray'r makes the darken'd cloud withdraw;
Pray'r climbs the ladder Jacob saw-
Gives exercise to faith and love-
Brings every blessing from above.
3 Restraining pray'r- we cease to fight;
Pray'r makes the Christian armor bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.
4 Have you no words? Ah, think again;
Words flow apace when you complain,
And fill your fellow-creature's ear,
With the sad tale of all your care.
5 Were half the breath, thus vainly spent,
To heav'n in supplication sent-
is the time to serve the Lord, The time t'in - sure the great re-ward; is the hour that God hath given T'es - cape from hell, and fly to heaven;
Parting with Earthly Pleasures.
1 I send the joys of earth away;
Away, ye tempters of the mind,
False as the smooth deceitful sea,
And empty as the whistling wind.
2 Your streams were floating me along,
Down to the gulf of black despair;
And, whilst I listen'd to your song,
Your streams had e'en conveyed me there.
3 Lord, I adore thy matchless grace,
That warn'd me of that dark abyss;
That drew me from those treach'rous seas,
And bade me seek superior bliss.
4 Now, to the shining realms above
I stretch my hands, and glance my eyes;
Oh, for the pinions of a dove,
To bear me to the upper skies!
5 There, from the bosom of my God
Oceans of endless pleasure roll;
There would I fix my last abode,
And drown the sorrows of my soul.
86.
The Gathering of the Gentiles.
1 The heathen perish: day by day,
Thousands on thousands pass away!
O Christians! to their rescue fly,
Preach Jesus to them ere they die.
2 Wealth, labor, talents, freely give,
Yea, life itself, that they may live;
What hath your Saviour done for you?
And what for him will ye not do?
3 Thou Spirit of the Lord, go forth,
Call in the south, wake up the north;
Of every clime, from sun to sun,
Gather God's children into one.
The Influence of the World Deplored.
1 Oh! from the world's vile slavery, Almighty Saviour, set me free; And as my treasure is above,
Be there my thoughts and there my love.
2 But oft, alas! too well I know,
My thoughts, my love, are fixed below; In every lifeless prayer I find
The heart unmoved, the absent mind.
3 Oh! what that frozen heart can move, Which melts not at a Saviour's love? What can that sluggish spirit raise, Which will not sing the Saviour's praise. 4 Lord, draw my best affections hence, Above this world of sin and sense; Cause them to soar beyond the skies, And rest not, till to thee they rise.
1 Long unafflicted, undismay'd,
In pleasure's path secure I stray'd;
Thou mad'st me feel thy chast'ning rod,
And straight I turn'd unto my God.
2 What though it pierc'd my fainting heart-
I bless thine hand that caus'd the smart;
It taught my tears awhile to flow,
But sav'd me from eternal wo.
3 Oh! hadst thou left me unchastis'd,
Thy precepts I had still despis'd:
And still the snare in secret laid,
Had my unwary feet betray'd.
4 I love thee, therefore, O my God,
And breathe towards thy dear abode;
Where, in thy presence, fully blest,
Thy chosen saints for ever rest.
Vanity of Creatures; or, no Rest on Earth.
1 Man has a soul of vast desires;
He burns within with restless fires;
Toss'd to and fro, his passions fly
From vanity to vanity.
2 In vain on earth we hope to find
Some solid good to fill the mind:
We try new pleasures; but we feel
The inward thirst and torment still.
3 So when a raging fever burns,
We shift from side to side, by turns;
And 'tis a poor relief we gain,
To change the place, but keep the pain.
4 Great God, subdue this vicious thirst,
This love to vanity and dust;
Cure the vile fever of the mind,
And feed our souls with joys refin'd.
To let the Oppressed go Free.
1 Lord, when thine ancient people cried,
Oppressed and bound by Egypt's king,
Thou didst Arabia's sea divide,
And forth thy fainting Israel bring.
2 Lo, in these latter days, our land
Groans with the anguish of the slave!
Lord God of hosts, stretch forth thy hand,
Not shortened that it cannot save.
3 Roll back the swelling tide of sin,
The lust of gain, the lust of power;
The day of freedom usher in,
How long delays the appointed hour?
O, let thy smitten ones again
Take the chorus of the freeup
"Praise ye the Lord! His power proclaim, For He hath conquered gloriously!"
My Spirit shall not always strive.
1 Say, sinner, hath a voice within, Oft whisper'd to thy secret soul, Urg'd thee to leave the ways of sin,
And yield thy heart to God's control?
2 Hath something met thee in the path
Of worldliness and vanity,
And pointed to the coming wrath,
And warn'd thee from that wrath to flee?
3 Sinner, it was a heav'nly voice,
It was the Spirit's gracious call,
It bade thee make the better choice,
And haste to seek in Christ thine all.
4 Spurn not the call to life and light;
Regard in time the warning kind;
That call thou may'st not always slight,
And yet the gate of find.
mercy
5 Sinner-perhaps this very day,
Thy last accepted time may be;
Oh, should'st thou grieve him now away,
Then hope may never beam on thee.
so the Saviour cried; And meekly bow'd his head, and died! 'Tis finish'd:-yes, the race is run;The battle fought, the vict'ry won.
2 'Tis finish'd-all that Heaven decreed,
And all that ancient prophets said,
Is now fulfill'd, as was design'd,
In me, the Saviour of mankind.
3 'Tis finish'd:-let the joyful sound
Be heard through all the nations round:
'Tis finish'd:-let the echo fly,
Through heaven and hell, through earth and
1 "We've no abiding city here"— This may distress the worldly mind; But should not cost the saint a tear, Who hopes a better rest to find.
2 "We've no abiding city here"
Sad truth, were this to be our home: But let this thought our spirits cheer, "We seek a city yet to come."
3 "We've no abiding city here"-
Then let us live as pilgrims do;
Let not the world our rest appear,
But let us haste from all below.
4 "We've no abiding city here"—
We seek a city out of sight;
Zion its name- the Lord is there,
It shines with everlasting light.
The Sight of God and Christ in Heaven. 1 O for a sight, a pleasant sightOf our Almighty Father's throne! There sits our Saviour, crown'd with light, Cloth'd in a body like our own.
2 Adoring saints around him stand,
And thrones and powers before him fall; The God shines gracious through the man, And sheds sweet glories on them all. 3 Oh, what amazing joys they feel, While to their golden harps they sing! And sit on ev'ry heavenly hill, And spread the triumphs of their King! 4 When shall the day, dear Lord, appear, That I shall mount to dwell above; And stand and bow amongst them there, And view thy face, and sing thy love?
Behold, I stand at the door.
1 Behold a stranger at the door!
He gently knocks, has knock'd before;
Hath waited long-is waiting still;
You treat no other friend so ill.
2 Oh, lovely attitude, he stands
With melting heart and loaded hands!
Oh, matchless kindness! and he shows
This matchless kindness to his foes!
3 But will he prove a friend indeed?
He will; the very friend you need;
The friend of sinners- yes, 'tis He,
With garments dy'd on Calvary.
4 Rise, touch'd with gratitude divine;
Turn out his enemy and thine,
That soul-destroying monster sin,
And let the heavenly stranger in.
5 Admit him, ere his anger burn,
His feet departed ne'er return;
Admit him, or the hour's at hand,
You'll at his door rejected stand.
"Where two or three are met in my name, there am I.
1 How sweet to leave the world awhile,
And seek the presence of our Lord!
Dear Saviour, on thy people smile,
And come according to thy word.
2 From busy scenes we now retreat,
That we may here converse with thee;
Ah, Lord, behold us at thy feet!
Let this the "gate of heaven" be.
3" Chief of ten thousand," now appear,
That we by faith may see thy face!
Oh speak, that we thy voice may hear,
And let thy presence fill this place.
1 What sinners value, I resign;
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine:
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.
2 This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world to which I go,
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake and find me there?
3 O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near, and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of the soul.
4 My flesh will slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.
1 From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat-
'Tis found beneath the mercy-seat.
2 There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place, than all beside more sweet-
It is the blood-bought mercy-seat.
3 There is a scene where spirits blend,
Where friend holds fellowship with friend;
Though sundered far, by faith they meet,
Around one common mercy-seat.
4 There, there on eagle-wings we soar,
And sense and sin becloud no more;
And heaven comes down our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy-seat.
Prophecy and Inspiration.
1 'Twas by an order from the Lord,
The ancient prophets spoke his word;
His Spirit did their tongues inspire,
And warm'd their hearts with heavenly fire.
2 The works and wonders which they wrought
Confirm'd the messages they brought;
The prophet's pen succeeds his breath,
To save the holy words from death.
3 Great God, mine eyes with pleasure look
On the dear volume of thy book;
There my Redeemer's face I see,
And read his Name who died for me.
1 Teach us, O Lord, the great concern, To know thy will, thy name to love; Our duty from thy word to learn, And gain the wisdom from above.
2 Religion must be all in all, Would we th' immortal prize obtain, Retrieve the ruins of the fall,
And 'scape the death of endless pain.
3 Send thy good Spirit, Lord, we pray,
To sanctify and cleanse our heart;
May we repent, believe, obey,
And from thy service ne'er depart.
To God the Father, God the Son, And God the Spirit, Three in One, Be honor, praise, and glory giv'n, By all on earth, and all in heav'n.
|