The Gentiles received into the House of God. Eph. ii. 13.
GREAT Father of mankind!
We bless that wondrous grace,
Which could for gentiles find
Within thy courts a place :
How kind the care
Our God displays,
For us to raise
A house of prayer!
Though once estrang'd afar,
They now approach the throne :
Jesus hath brought them near,
And claims them as his own :
Strangers no more,
To thee we come ;
We find our home,
And rest secure.
May all the nations throng
To worship in thy house;
And thou attend the song,
And smile upon their vows:
Incense shall rise
From flames of love,
And God approve
The sacrifice.
GREAT God of Abraham, hear our prayer!
Let Israel thy full mercy share :
Oh may they now at length return;
And look on him they pierc'd, and mourn.
O Lord, thy light to them impart,
And write thy truth upon their heart:
The veil of darkness rend in two
That hides Messiah from their view.
Oh haste the day, foretold so long,
When Jew and Gentile-glorious throng
One house shall seek, one prayer shall pour,
One Saviour love, one God adore.
The Spread of the Gospel among the Heathens.
FIX'D on thy promise, Sovereign Lord!
Still rests the sure prophetic word,
That heathen lands thy truth shall know,
And to thy Son obedient bow.
E'en now the hallow'd scenes appear;
E'en now unfolds the promis'd year:
Lo! distant shores thy heralds trace,
And swell the tidings of thy grace.
Mid burning climes, and frozen plains,
Where pagan darkness brooding reigns,
Oh mark their steps, their fears subdue,
Strengthen their arm, and clear their view.
When, worn by toil, their spirits fail,
Bid them the glorious future hail;
Bid them the crown of life survey,
And onward urge their conquering way!
Hasten, oh hasten, Lord, the time
When through the earth, in every clime,
Thy light and grace by Jesus given
Shall show the way to thee and heaven.
The Universal Diffusion of Spiritual Blessings.
SOON, O Jehovah, let thy name
Sound all the earth abroad;
And every nation know and love
Their Saviour and their God.
The day will come, the blessed day,
(Such thine eternal will,)
When light, and truth, and grace divine,
The spacious earth shall fill.
Thou wilt diffuse thy mercies, Lord!
So richly scatter'd here,
Till the remotest race of man
Shall see, adore, and fear.
Gospel Blessings for all Mankind.
WE sing the wise, the gracious plan,
By God ordain'd ere time began,
At length disclos'd in all its light:
We hail the glorious source of love,
That beams around us from above,
With truth so pure, and hope so bright.
Mercy's great year, in heaven enroll'd,
By seers, succeeding seers, foretold,
Was by the Son of God unseal'd;
Light of the world, Messiah came
In his almighty Father's name,
And immortality reveal'd.
Now hath the wise, the eternal Mind,
In Christ, their common Head, conjoin'd
Gentile and Jew, and earth and heaven:
Through him, from God his Father's throne,
Mercy and grace come flowing down,
And endless life and peace are given.
'COME,' said Jesus' sacred voice,
'Come and make my paths your choice;
I will guide you to your home;
Weary pilgrim, hither come!
Thou, who, houseless, sole, forlorn,
Long hast borne the proud world's scorn;
Long hast roam'd the barren waste,
Veary pilgrim, hither haste!
'Ye who, toss'd on beds of pain,
Seek for ease, but seek in vain;
Ye whose swoln and sleepless eyes
Watch to see the morning rise:
Ye, by fiercer anguish torn,
In remorse for guilt who mourn;
Here repose your heavy care :
A wounded spirit who can bear!
'Sinner come! for here is found
Balm that flows for every wound;
Peace that ever shall endure,
Rest, eternal, sacred, sure.'
Christ's Invitation to Sinners.-Matt. xi. 28, 29.
'COME unto me, all ye who mourn,
With guilt and fears opprest;
Resign to me the willing heart,
And I will give you rest.
Take up my yoke, and learn of me
A meek and lowly mind;
And thus your wearied troubled souls
Repose and peace shall find.
For light and gentle is my yoke;
The burden I impose
Shall ease the heart which groan'd before
Beneath a load of woes.'
Father! we would the yoke receive
Of thy beloved Son:
His spirit let our lives express;
Thy will by us be done.
The Death of Christ a Pledge of God's Love. Rom. viii. 32.
LET christian faith and hope dispel
The fears of guilt and woe;
The Lord Almighty is our Friend
And who can prove a foe?
He who his well-beloved Son
Gave up for us to die
Shall he not all things freely give,
That goodness can supply?
Behold the best, the greatest gift,
Of everlasting love!
Behold the pledge of peace below,
And perfect bliss above!
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