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In soothing accents, Jesus said, 'Lo it is I be not afraid.'

2

So, when in silence nature sleeps,
And his lone watch the mourner keeps,
One thought shall every pang remove-
'Trust, feeble man, thy Maker's love.'

3

Blest be the voice that breathes from heaven,
To every heart in sunder riven-

When love and joy and hope are fled-
Lo it is I! be not afraid."

4

When men with fiend-like passions rage,
And foes yet fiercer foes engage;

Blest be the voice, though still and small,
That whispers God is over all.'

5

He calms the tumult and the storm;
He rules the seraph and the worm;
No creature is by him forgot,

Or those who know, or know him not.

6

And when the last dread hour shall come,
While shuddering nature waits her doom,
This voice shall call the pious dead;
'Lo it is I! be not afraid.'

399.

Confidence in God's Protection in the Dangers of Duty-Ps. cxxi.

1

UPWARD I lift mine eyes;
From God is all my aid-
The God that built the skies,
And earth's foundation laid:
God is the tower
To which I fly;
His grace is nigh
In every hour.

No real ill befalls

2

The objects of his care;
And God, where'er he calls,
Protects in every snare :
Those wakeful eyes
That never sleep
His servants keep
When dangers rise.

3

In toils by night or day,
In pestilential air,
If duty guide my way,

Thou, Lord, art with me there :
Thou art my sun,

And thou my shade,
To guard my head
By night or noon.

4

If guarded by thy word
From evils worse than death,
Well may I to thee, Lord,
Commit my mortal breath :
I'll go and come,
Nor fear to die,
If from on high

Thou call me home.

400.

Reliance on the Goodness of God, a Remedy for Care.

1

How gracious is our God!

How kind his precepts are!

'Come, cast your burdens on the Lord,

And trust his constant care.'

2

Since he for ever reigns,

We may securely dwell ;

The hand which bears all nature up,
Shall guide his children well.

3

Oh! why should anxious thoughts
Oppress the sinking mind?
Go fall before your Father's throne
And sweet relief you'll find.
4

Devoutly fear his name,
And know no other fear,
In every scene of life and death
Your Helper will be near.

401.

Hope in God.

1

THE Lord can clear the darkest skies;
Can give us day for night;
Make drops of sacred sorrow rise
To rivers of delight.

2

The seed, though buried long in dust,
Will not deceive our hope:
The precious grain can ne'er be lost,
Since God insures the crop.

3

The seeds of joy and glory sown

For saints in darkness here,

Shall rise and spring in worlds unknown, And a rich harvest bear.

402.

God the best Judge of our Necessities.

1

AUTHOR of good! to thee we come :
Thine ever-watchful eye

Alone can all our wants discern,
Thy hand alone supply.

2

Oh let thy fear within us dwell!
Thy love our footsteps guide!
That love shall all vain loves expel;
That fear, all fears beside.

3

And since, by passion's force subdued,
Too oft the stubborn will,
Mistaken, shuns the latent good,
And grasps the specious ill:

Not to our wish, but to our want,
Do thou thy gifts supply;
The good, unask'd, O Father, grant;
The ill, though ask'd, deny.

403.

Confidence in the Perfections of God.

1

THE Lord! how tender is his love!
His justice, how august!

Hence, all her fears my soul derives ;
There, anchors all my trust.

2

He showers the manna from above,
To feed the barren waste;
Or points with death the fiery hail,
And famine waits the blast.

3

His power directs the rushing wind,
Or tips the bolt with flame;
His goodness breathes in every breeze,
And warms in every beam.

4

He bids distress forget to groan,
The sick from anguish cease;

In dungeons spreads the healing wing,
And softly whispers peace.

5

For me, O Lord, whatever lot,
The hours commission'd bring-
Do all my withering blessings die,
Or fairer clusters spring-

6

Oh! grant that still, with grateful heart,
My years resign'd may run :
'Tis thine to give, or to resume;
And let thy will be done!

404.

'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.'
1 Sam. vii. 12.

1

My Helper, God! I bless his name;
The same his power, his grace the same :
The tokens of his friendly care

Open, and crown, and close the year.

2

I midst ten thousand dangers stand,
Supported by his guardian hand;
And see, when I survey my ways,
Ten thousand monuments of praise.

3

Thus far his arm hath led me on;
Thus far I make his mercy known;
And while I tread this desert land,
New blessings shall new songs demand.

4

My grateful soul, on life's last shore,
Shall raise one sacred pillar more:
Then bear, in his bright courts above,
Inscriptions of immortal love.

405.

Resignation and Thankfulness.

1

WHEN I Survey life's varied scene,
Amid the darkest hours,

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