8 Lift up the everlasting gates,
The doors wide open fling;
Enter, ye nations that obey
The statutes of our King.

4 Here shall you taste unmingled joys,
And live in perfect peace,-

You that have known Jehovah's name,
And ventured on His grace.

5 Trust in the Lord, for ever trust,
And banish all your fears;

Strength in the Lord Jehovah dwells,
Eternal as His years.

L.M.

HURN.

826 I have loved thee with an everlasting loved

Jer. xxxi. 3.

1 HE God of truth His church has blest,

THE

And loved with an eternal love:

Hence we are drawn to Christ, our rest,
And from His grace shall ne'er remove.

2 This love, in every trying hour,
Supports and cheers the trembling saint;
O draw us with increasing power,
That we may run and never faint.

3 The heavens and earth shall pass away,
And be to dissolution brought;

But Zion's strength shall ne'er decay,
For her Redeemer changeth not.

4 Here would we dwell while others rove;
Here we are safe from all alarms:

Our hope is everlasting love;
Our rest, the everlasting arms.

CHURCH MEETINGS.

GENERAL.

L.M.

LYTE.

827 In the midst of the church will I sing praise.

1

Heb. ii. 12.

YWEET is the solemn voice that calls
The Christian to the house of prayer;
I love to stand within its walls,

For Thou, O Lord, art present there.

2 I love to tread the hallowed courts,
Where two or three for worship meet;
For thither Christ himself resorts,
And makes the little band complete.

3 'Tis sweet to raise the common song,
To join in holy praise and love;
And imitate the blessed throng
That mingle hearts and songs above.

4 Within these walls may peace

abound,

May all our hearts in one agree;

Where brethren meet, where Christ is found,
May peace and concord ever be.

S.M.

DWIGHT.

828 The church of God...purchased with His own

1

I

blood.-Acts xx. 28. LOVE Thy kingdom, Lord,

The house of Thine abode,

The church our blest Redeemer bought
With His own precious blood.

2

3

4

5

I love Thy church, O God;
Her walls before Thee stand;
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,
And graven on Thy hand.

For her my tears shall fall,

For her my prayers ascend,

To her my cares and toils be given,-
Till toils and cares shall end.

Beyond my highest joy,

I prize her heavenly ways;

Her sweet communion, solemn vows,
Her hymns of love and praise.

Jesus, Thou Friend divine,
Our Saviour and our King,

Thy hand from every snare and foe
Shall great deliverance bring.

6 Sure as Thy truth shall last,
To Zion shall be given

The highest glories earth can yield,
And brighter bliss of heaven.

829

1

The church is subject to Christ.
Eph. v. 24.

JESUS,

ESUS, our best-beloved Friend,
Draw out our souls in pure desire:

Jesus, in love to us descend:

Baptize us with Thy Spirit's fire.

2 On Thy redeeming name we call,
Poor and unworthy though we be
Pardon and sanctify us all:
Let each Thy full salvation see.

3 Our souls and bodies we resign,
To fear and follow Thy commands.
O take our hearts-our hearts are Thine:
Accept the service of our hands.

4 Firm, faithful, watching unto prayer,
May we Thy blessed will obey;
Toil in Thy vineyard here, and bear
The heat and burden of the day.

5 Yet, Lord, for us a resting-place,
In heaven, at Thy right hand, prepare:
And till we see Thee face to face,
Be all our conversation there.

830

1

7s.

C. WESLEY.

Be like-minded one toward another.

Rom. xv. 5.

JESUS, Lord, we look to Thee ;

Let us in Thy name agree;
Show Thyself the Prince of Peace ;
Bid all strife for ever cease.

2 Make us of one heart and mind,
Courteous, pitiful, and kind;
Lowly, meek in thought and word,
Altogether like our Lord.

3 Let us for each other care,
Each the other's burden bear;
To Thy church the pattern give,
Show how true believers live.

4 Free from anger and from pride,
Let us thus in Thee abide;
All the depths of love express,
All the heights of holiness:

5 Let us then with joy remove
To Thy family above;

And with faith and comfort high,
Prove how true believers die.

831

We have fellowship one with another.
1 John i. 7.

1 YREAT the joy when Christians meet;
Christian fellowship, how sweet!
When, their theme of praise the same,
They exalt Jehovah's name.

2 Sing we then eternal love,

Such as did the Father move;
He beheld the world undone,
Loved the world, and gave His Son.

3 Sing the Son's unbounded love;
How He left the realms above;
Took our nature and our place;
Lived and died to save our race.

4 Sing we, too, the Spirit's love:
With our stubborn hearts He strove,
Chased the mists of sin away,
Turned our night to glorious day.

5 Great the joy, the union sweet,
When the saints in glory meet;
Where the theme is still the same,
Where they praise Jehovah's name.

832

1

Bear ye one another's burdens.—Gal. vi. 2.
OLEST is the tie that binds

B

Our hearts in Christian love:
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.