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4 Long as I live beneath, To thee O let me live,

To thee my every breath,

In thanks and blessings give;
Me to thine image now restore,
And I shall praise thee evermore.

WEDDING.

247. A Wedding Hymn. (C.M.)

1

SINCE Jesus freely did appear,
To grace a marriage-feast;

O Lord, we ask thy presence here,
To make a wedding-guest.

2 Upon the bridal pair look down,
Who now have plighted hands;
Their union with thy favour crown,
And bless the nuptial bands.

3 With gifts of grace their hearts endow, Of all rich dowries best!

Their substance bless, and peace bestow,
To sweeten all the rest.

4 In purest love their souls unite,
That they, with christian care,
May make domestic burdens light,
By taking mutual share.

5 True helpers may they prove indeed,
In prayer, and faith, and hope;
And see with joy a godly seed,
To build their household up.

6 As Isaac and Rebecca give
A pattern chaste and kind;
So may this married couple live,
And die in friendship join'd.

7 On every soul assembled here,
O make thy face to shine;
Thy goodness more our hearts can cheer,
Than richest food or wine.

OLD AGE.

248. The Aged Saint's Reflection and Hope. (C. M.)

Y God, my everlasting hope,

MI live

I live upon thy truth;

Thine hands have held my childhood up,
And strengthen'd all my youth.

2 My flesh was fashion'd by thy power,
With all these limbs of mine;
And from my mother's painful hour,
I've been entirely thine.

3 Still has my life new wonders seen,
Repeated every year;
Behold my days that yet remain,
I trust them to thy care.

4 Cast me not off when strength declines,
When hoary hairs arise;

And round me let thy glory shine,
Whene'er thy servant dies.

5 Then in the history of my age,
When men review my days,
They'll read thy love in every page,
In every line thy praise.

249. The Aged Christian's Prayer and Song. (C.M.)

1 G The guide of all my days,

OD of my childhood and my youth,

I have declar'd thy heavenly truth,
And told thy wond'rous ways.
2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years,
If God my strength depart?

3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim,
To the surviving age,

And leave a savour of thy name,
When I shall quit the stage.

4 The land of silence and of death,
Attends my next remove;

O may these poor remains of breath,
Teach the wide world thy love!

PAUSE.

5 Thy righteousness is deep and high,
Unsearchable thy deeds;

Thy glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all my praise exceeds.

6 Oft have I heard thy threat'nings roar,
And oft endur'd the grief;

But when thy hand has prest me sore,
Thy grace was my relief.

7 By long experience have I known,
Thy sovereign power to save;
At thy command 1 venture down,
Securely to the grave.

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S When I lie buried deep in dust,
My flesh shall be thy care;

These withering limbs with thee I trust,
To raise them strong and fair.

250. The Aged Christian's Reflection. (C.M.)

1 HOW vain a thought is bliss below,
'Tis all an airy dream!

How empty are the joys that flow
On pleasure's smiling stream!

2 O let my nobler wishes soar,
Beyond these seats of night;
In heaven substantial bliss explore,
And permanent delight.

3 No fleeting landscape cheers the gaze,
Nor airy form beguiles;

But everlasting bliss displays,

Her undissembled smiles.

4 Adieu! to all below the skies;
Celestial guardian, come;

On thy kind wing my soul would rise,
To her eternal home.

251. Consolations of the Aged Christian. (L.M.)

1

ORD, in thy great, thy glorious name,
I place my hope, my only trust;

Save me from sorrow, guilt, and shame,
Thou ever gracious, ever just.

2 Attentive bow thy pitying ear,
Let mercy fly to my relief;
Be thou my refuge, ever near,
A sure defence from all my grief.

3 Thou art my rock, thy name alone,
The fortress where my hopes retreat :
O make thy power and mercy known,
To safety guide my trembling feet.
4 Preserve me from the fatal snare,
Of secret foes, who plot my fall;
And make my life thy tender care,
My God, my strength, my hope, my all.
5 To thy kind hand, O gracious Lord,
My soul I cheerfully resign;

My Saviour God, I trust thy Word,
For truth, immortal truth, is thine.

252. Sickness and Recovery. Hezekiah's Song.

1

Isaiah xxxviii. 9.

WHEN we are rais'd from deep distress,
Our God deserves a song;

We take the pattern of our praise

From Hezekiah's tongue.

2 The gates of the devouring grave
Are open'd wide in vain,
If he that holds the keys of death
Commands them fast again.

3 Pains of the flesh are wont t' abuse
Our minds with slavish fears;

"Our days are past, and we shall lose "The remnant of our years."

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