1 FOUNTAIN of light and living breath,
Whose mercies never fail nor fade,
Fill us with life that hath no death,
Fill us with light that hath no shade;
Appoint the remnant of our days
To see thy power and sing thy praise.
2 Lord God of gods! before whose throne
Stand storms and fire, O, what shall we
Return to heaven that is our own,
When all the world belongs to thee?
We have no offering to impart
But praises and a wounded heart.
3 Great God, whose kingdom hath no end,
Into whose secrets none can dive,
Whose mercy none can apprehend,
Whose justice none can feel and live;
What our weak minds cannot aspire
To know, Lord, teach us to admire.
Imploring the constant Presence of God. 1 WHEN Israel, of the Lord beloved, Out from the land of bondage came, Her father's God before her moved, An awful guide in smoke and flame. 2 By day, along th' astonished lands, The cloudy pillar glided slow; By night, Arabia's crimsoned sands. Returned the fiery column's glow. 3 Thus present still, though now unseen, When brightly shines the prosperous day,
Be thoughts of thee a cloudy screen,
To temper the deceitful ray!
4 And, O, when gathers on our path,
In shade and storm, the frequent night,
Be thou, long suffering, slow to wrath,
A burning and a shining light!
God speaking Peace to his People.
1 UNITE, my roving thoughts, unite
In silence soft and sweet;
And thou, my soul, sit gently down
At thy great Sovereign's feet.
2 Jehovah's awful voice is heard ;
Yet gladly I attend;
For, lo! the everlasting God
Proclaims himself my friend.
3 Harmonious accents to my soul
The sound of peace convey;
The tempest at his word subsides,
And winds and seas obey.
4 By all its joys, I charge my heart
To grieve his love no more,
But, charmed by melody divine,
To give its follies o'er.
5 Let this my every hour employ,
Till I thy glory see,
Enter into my Master's joy,
And find my heaven in thee !
429. 7 & 6s. M. (Peculiar.)
Confidence in God's Protection.
1 O MY soul, unceasing pray ;
In God alone confide;
He thy feeble steps shall stay,
Nor suffer thee to slide;
Lean on thy Redeemer's breast;
He thy spirit safely keeps ;
Rest in him, securely rest;
Thy Watchman never sleeps.
2 Neither sin, nor earth, nor hell,
Thy Keeper can surprise ;
Careless slumbers cannot steal
On his all-seeing eyes;
He is Israel's sure Defence;
Israel all his care shall prove,
Kept by watchful Providence,
And ever-waking Love.
3 See the Lord, thy Keeper, stand
Omnipotently near ;
Lo, he holds thee by thy hand,
And banishes thy fear;
He shall bless thy going out,
He shall bless thy coming in,
Kindly compass thee about,
And guard from every sin.
Rejoicing in God, our Father.
1 COME, shout aloud the Father's grace,
And sing the Saviour's love;
Soon shall ye join the glorious theme,
In loftier strains, above.
2 God, the eternal, mighty God,
To dearer names descends;
Calls you his treasure and his joy,
His children and his friends.
3 My Father, God! and may these lips
Pronounce a name so dear?
Not thus could heaven's sweet harmony
Delight my listening ear.
4 Thanks to my God for every gift
His bounteous hands bestow;
And thanks eternal for that love
Whence all these comforts flow.
7s. M. 6 L.
The Soul panting for God.
1 AS the hart, with eager looks,
Panteth for the water-brooks,
So my soul, athirst for thee,
Pants the living God to see;
When, O, when, with filial fear,
Lord, shall I to thee draw near ?
2 Why art thou cast down, my soul?
God, thy God, shall make thee whole :
Why art thou disquieted?
God shall lift thy fallen head,
And his countenance benign
Be the saving health of thine.
1 O FATHER, to thy mercy-seat
My soul for shelter flies:
"T is here I find a safe retreat
When storms and tempests rise.
2 My cheerful hope can never die,
If thou, my God, art near;
Thy grace can raise my comforts high,
And banish every fear.
3 My great Protector and my Lord,
Thy constant aid impart,
O, let thy kind, thy gracious word
Sustain my trembling heart.
4 O, never let my soul remove
From this divine retreat;
Still let me trust thy power and love,
And dwell beneath thy feet.
L. M. 6 L.
Rejoicing in God.
1 THOU hidden Source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love divine,
My Help and Refuge from my foes,
Secure I am if thou art mine.
And, lo! from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Father, in thy name.
2 Thy mighty name salvation is;
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love :
To me, through thy dear Son, are given
Pardon and holiness and heaven.
3 Father my all in all thou art,
My rest in toil, my ease in pain ;
The balm to heal each broken heart;
In storms my peace, in loss my gain,
My joy beneath the worldling's frown;
In shame my glory and my crown ;·
4 In want my plentiful supply;
In weakness my almighty power;
In bonds my perfect liberty;
My refuge in temptation's hour;
My comfort 'midst all grief and pain,
My life in death, my endless gain.
Trust in God under Affliction.
1 COMMIT thou all thy griefs
And ways into his hands,
To his sure trust and tender care,
Who earth and heaven commands:
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