4 There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode :-
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit's energies,

An Advocate with God.

5 These, these prepare us for the sight Of holiness above;

The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the Eternal Light,
Through the Eternal Love!

56

T. BINNEY.

C.M.

GOD, enshrined in dazzling light
Above the highest sphere,

My soul is filled with awe to feel
That Thou art present here.
2 Thine eye is as a lamp of fire,
And in its searching flame

I see myself, all stained with sin,
And bow my head with shame.

3 But, O my God, Thy Son hath died!
And from the dust I rise,
And from myself and all my sin
To Thee I lift mine eyes.

4 My sins are dark, but over all
Thy burning love I see;
And all my soul is full of praise,
And worships only Thee.

57

W. W. HOW.

UNCHANGEABLENESS AND FAITHFULNESS.

C.M.

BEGIN, my tongue,some heavenlytheme,

speak some boundless thing; The mighty works, or mightier name, Of our eternal King.

2 Tell of His wondrous faithfulness,
And sound His power abroad;
Sing the sweet promise of His grace,
And the performing God.

3 Proclaim salvation from the Lord,
For wretched, dying men;
His hand has writ the sacred word
With an immortal pen.

4 Engraved as in eternal brass,

The mighty promise shines;
Nor can the powers of darkness rase
Those everlasting lines.

5 His very word of grace is strong
As that which built the skies;
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all the promises.

D. L.M.

JEHOVAH, evermore the same,

Unchanging and unchanged art Thou; And while Thy creatures wax and wane, In Thee there is no ebb or flow Systems may rise and fade away, And nature weaken in her frame, Within Thyself there's no decay, For evermore Thou art the same."

2 Nor would we have Thee change, O Lord,
For kinder never couldst Thou be,
Thy love is one great golden cord
Binding the universe to Thee.
Ere earth was made or time began,
Or Christ of human flesh became,
Thy love went forth on guilty man,
For evermore "Thou art the same.'
3 There's naught on earth that does not
change:

All things are shifting on the stream,
Whatever comes within our range
Seems just as fleeting as a dream.
There is no rest but in Thy Word,
No settled hope but in Thy Name;
Root Thou our souls in Thee, O Lord,
For "Thou art" evermore "the same.'

60

LO

D. THOMAS.

886.886.

ORD God, by whom all change is wrought,

By whom new things to birth are brought, In whom no change is known! Whate'er Thou dost, whate'er Thou art, Thy people still in Thee have part! Still, still Thou art our own.

2 Ancient of Days! we dwell in Thee; Out of Thine own eternity

Our peace and joy are wrought;
We rest in our eternal God,

And make secure and sweet abode
With Thee, who changest not.

3 Each steadfast promise we possess;
Thine everlasting truth we bless,
Thine everlasting love;

The unfailing Helper close we clasp,
The everlasting Arms we grasp,
Nor from the Refuge move.

4 Spirit who makest all things new,
Thou leadest onward; we pursue
The heavenly march sublime.
'Neath Thy renewing fire we glow,
And still from strength to strength wego,
From height to height we climb.

T. H. GILL.

LOVE AND GOODNESS.

61

FOR the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise!
2 For the wonder of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise!

3 For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,

78.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise!
4 For each perfect gift of Thine
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and Divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise!

5 For Thy church that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,

62

Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise!
F. S. PIERPOINT.

8.7.

GOD is love! His mercy brightens
All the path in which we rove;
Bliss He wakes, and woe He lightens :
God is wisdom! God is love!

2 Chance and change are busy ever,
Man decays and ages move;
But His mercy waneth never;
God is wisdom! God is love!

3 E'en the hour that darkest seemeth
Will His changeless goodness prove;
From the mist His brightness streameth:
God is wisdom! God is love!
He with earthly cares entwineth
Hope and comfort from above;
Everywhere His glory shineth:
God is wisdom! God is love!
J. BOWRING.

LET every voice for praise awake; Let every heart the joy partake; And with this truth sweet music make. Our God is love!

2 Uncounted gifts, from day to day. One great hope lighting all our way, Through His dear Son, bid each to say, Our God is love!

3 How strong these words from heaven to cheer,

To kindle love, to banish fear,
And all things high and pure endear!
Our God is love!

4 O Father, when the night is nigh,
That veils for ever earth and sky,
Be this the heart's last melody,
Our God is love!

5 Then, when the brief, low strain is o'er,
This truth divine shall with us soar,
And make sweet music evermore,
Our God is love!

MY song shall be of mercy:

Come, ye who love the Lord, Who know that He is gracious, Who trust His faithful word; Tell out His words with gladness, With me exalt His name, Whose love endures for ever,

To endless years the same.

2 My song shall be of judgment; Ye who His chastenings feel, O faint not, nor be weary!

He wounds that He may heal; Yea, bless the hand that smiteth, And in your grief confess That all His ways are wisdom, And truth, and righteousness.

MY God, I thank Thee, who hast made

The earth so bright;

So full of splendour and of joy,
Beauty and light;

So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right!

2 I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made Joy to abound;

So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,

That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

3 I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain;

That shadows fall on brightest hours, That thorns remain;

So that earth's bliss may be our guide, And not our chain.

4 For Thou, who knowest, Lord, how soon Our weak heart clings,

Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;

So that we see, gleaming on high,
Diviner things.

5 I thank thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept The best in store;

We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more;

A yearning for a deeper peace

Not known before.

4 High throned on heaven's eternal hill, In number, weight, and measure still Thou sweetly orderest all that is: And yet Thou deign'st to come to me, And guide my steps, that I, with Thee Enthroned, may reign in endless bliss. 5 Fountain of good! all blessing flows From Thee; no want Thy.fulness knows; What but Thyself canst Thou desire? Yet, self-sufficient as Thou art,

Thou dost desire my worthless heart; This, only this, dost Thou require.

6 O God, of good the unfathomed sea! Who would not give his heart to Thee? Who would not love Thee with his O Jesu, lover of mankind, [might? Who would not his whole soul and mind, With all his strength, to Thee unite? SCHEFFLER, trans. J. WESLEY.

68

0

L.M.

LOVE of God, how strong and true! Eternal and yet ever new; Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought. 2 O love of God! how deep and great! Far deeper than man's deepest hate; Self-fed, self-kindled like the light, Changeless, eternal, infinite.

3 O heavenly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill!
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless.
4 O wide embracing, wondrous love!
We read thee in the sky above;
We read thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell and streams that flow.
5 We read thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.
6 O love of God! our shield and stay,
Through all the perils of our way;
Eternal love, in thee we rest,
For ever safe, for ever blessed!

69

THE

H. BONAR.

D. C.M.

HE Lord is rich and merciful,
The Lord is very kind;

O come to Him, come now to Him,
With a believing mind.

His comforts they shall strengthen thee,
Like flowing waters cool;
And He shall for thy spirit be
A fountain ever full.

2 The Lord is glorious and strong,
Our God is very high;

O trust in Him, trust now in Him,
And have security.

He shall be to thee like the sea,
And thou shalt surely feel

His wind that bloweth healthily,
Thy sicknesses to heal.

The Lord is wonderful and wise,
As all the ages tell;

O learn of Him, learn now of Him,
Then with thee it is well.

THERE'S not a bird with lonely nest, In pathless wood or mountain crest, Nor meaner thing, which does not share, O God, in Thy paternal care.

2 Each barren crag, each desert rude, Holds Thee within its solitude;

And wander wide and long,

Thou hold'st us still in kind embrace, O Love of God most strong!

4 The saddened heart, the restless soul, The toil-worn frame and mind, Alike confess Thy sweet control,

5

O Love of God most kind!

And filled and quickened by Thy breath,
Our souls are strong and free,
To rise o'er sin and fear and death,
O Love of God, to Thee!

Icend

2 Thy ways are love; though they trans-
Our feeble range of sight,
They wind through darkness to their end
In everlasting light.

3 Thy thoughts are love, and Jesus is
The loving voice they find;
His love lights up the vast abyss
Of the Eternal Mind.

4 Thy chastisements are love; more deep
They stamp the seal divine;
And by a sweet compulsion keep
Our spirits nearer Thine.

5 Thy heaven is the abode of love;
O blessed Lord, that we

May there, when time's dim shades remove,

Be gathered home to Thee!

6 Then with Thy resting saints to fall Adoring round Thy throne,

When all shall love Thee, Lord, and all
Shall in Thy love be one.

2

3

5

ELIZA SCUDDER.

C.M.

THY goodness, Lord, our souls confess, Thy goodness we adore;

A spring whose blessings never fail, A sea without a shore.

Sun, moon, and stars Thy love attest In every golden ray:

Love draws the curtains of the night,
And love returns the day.

Thy bounty every season crowns,
With all the bliss it yields;

With joyful clusters loads the vines,
With strengthening grain the fields.
But chiefly Thy compassion, Lord,
Is in the Gospel seen;

There, like a sun, Thy mercy shines,
Without a cloud between.

Pardon, acceptance, peace, and joy,
Through Jesus' Name are given;
He on the cross was lifted high,
That we might reign in heaven.
T. GIBBONS.

Through all the wide celestial plains;
And its full streams redundant flow
Down to the abodes of men below.

2 Through nature's works its glories shine,
The cares of providence are Thine;
And grace erects our ruined frame
A fairer temple to Thy name.

3 O give to every human heart,
To taste and feel how good Thou art,
With grateful love, and reverent fear,
To know how blest Thy children are!
4 Let nature burst into a song:
Ye echoing hills the notes prolong:
Earth, seas, and stars your anthem
raise,

All vocal with your Maker's praise. 5 Ye saints, with joy the theme pursue, Its sweetest notes belong to you; Called by your condescending King For ever round His throne to sing. DODDRIDGE.

75

YE

L.M.

YES, God is good; in earth and sky. From ocean depths and spreading wood

Ten thousand voices seem to cry, "God made us all, and God is good."