Though sin would fill me with distress,
The throne of grace I dare address,
For Jesus is my righteousness.
Though faint my prayers, and cold my love, My stedfast hope shall not remove,
While Jesus intercedes above.
Against me earth and hell combine;
But on my side is power divine;—
Jesus is all, and He is mine.
GLORIOUS Shepherd of the sheep,
May I dare to call me Thine,
One whom Thou wilt tend and keep
Safe beneath Thy wings divine?
Ah! with Thee so kind and near,
What have I to wish or fear?
Where the heavenly pastures grow,
Where the living waters glide,
Led and fed by Thee below,
I have nought to ask beside;
Nought but thankfulness of heart,
To proclaim how good Thou art.
Keep me in Thy righteous ways;
Guide me with Thy holy wand,
Through this life's perplexing maze,
Through the vale of death beyond;
Gracious Thou, and happy I,
With so great a Friend so nigh.
In the desert then I'm fed,
Manna round me rains from high;
Holy oil anoints my head,
And my cruse is never dry;
Then from grace I pass to grace,
Soon to meet Thee face to face.
JESUS, thy blood and righteousness,
My beauty are, my glorious dress :
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
When from the dust of death I rise,
To claim my mansion in the skies,
E'en then shall this be all my plea—
"Jesus hath lived, hath died for me."
Bold shall I stand in that great day,
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully through Thee absolved I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.
Thus Abraham, the friend of God,
Thus all the armies bought with blood,
Saviour of sinners thee proclaim,
Sinners, of whom the chief I am.
This spotless robe the same appears
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its glorious hue,
The robe of Christ is ever new.
And when the dead shall hear Thy voice,
Thy banished children shall rejoice;
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
Jesus, the Lord our Righteousness!
ABIDE with me! Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide !
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou, who changest not, abide with me!
Not a brief glance I beg; a passing word;
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord:
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me!
Come, not in terrors, as the King of kings;
But kind, and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes; a heart for every plea;
Come, Friend of Sinners, and thus bide with me!
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee:
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
I need Thy presence every passing hour:
What but Thy grace can foil the Tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me!
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless,
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness:
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold then Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee:
In life and death, O Lord, abide with me!
JESUS! and can it ever be
A mortal man ashamed of Thee!
Scorn'd be the thought by rich and poor;
My soul shall scorn it more and more.
Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far
May evening blush to own a star!
Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon
May midnight blush to think of noon.
Ashamed of Jesus! yes, I may
When I've no sins to wash away,
No tears to wipe, no joys to crave,
And no immortal soul to save.
Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend
On whom my hopes of heaven depend;
No! when I blush, be this my shame,
That I no more revere his Name.
Till then-nor is the boasting vain-
Till then, I boast a Saviour slain.
And, Oh! may this my portion be,
That Saviour's not ashamed of me!
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