And Thine own Holy Spirit send,
To melt a heart so hard.
I DEAR child, and dost thou feel thy sin
A load of pain and grief,
Producing darksome fears within?
Jesus can give relief.
2 Is there within thy aching breast
A void which none can fill?
Christ died, and therefore CAN give rest;
He lives, and therefore WILL.
3 Thy night will soon to day give place,
And all the pain remove;
"Tis grace that makes thee long for grace;
"Tis love that thirsts for love.
234 They who Seek shall Find. 1 THE child, however young in years, Who feels an inward smart,
And longs for Christ with cries and tears,
In Jesus has a part.
2 The child who seeks the Saviour's face,
In His good time shall find;
He never mocks a thirst for grace,
Or scorns a willing mind.
3 The child who longs in truth to know
The way to joys above,
Is being led by Christ below
To His eternal love.
235 Early Desires for God.
1 How soft the words the Saviour speaks! How kind the promises He makes!
A bruised reed He never breaks,
Nor will He quench the smoking flax.
2 The humble poor He'll not despise,
Nor on the contrite sinner frown;
His ear is open to their cries,
He quickly sends salvation down.
3 When His rich grace in early minds,
Like tender buds, begins to shoot,
He guards the plants from threat'ning winds,
And ripens blossoms into fruit.
4 With humble souls He bears a part
In all the sorrows they endure;
Tender and gracious is His heart,
His promise is for ever sure.
5 He sees the struggles that prevail
Between the powers of grace and sin,
He kindly listens while they tell
The bitter pangs they feel within.
6 Though pressed with fears on every side,
They know not how the strife may end;
Yet He will soon the cause decide,
And judgment unto victory send.
236 The Friend of Children. 7.6 double.
1 THOUGH Sinful, weak, and erring,
The God who dwells in light
Will hear a child preferring
His praises, day and night;
Will stoop from heaven to listen
E'en when an infant kneels ;
And mark the tears that glisten
For every woe he feels.
2 Immanuel once invited
The youngest to His love;
And now He smiles delighted
Upon them from above:
All things are His in heaven,
And all on earth beside,
And shall be freely given
To all for whom He died.
237 Praise for Temporal Blessings. L.M.
1 O BLESS the Lord, the just, the good,
Who fills our hearts with joy and food;
Who pours His blessings from the skies,
And loads our days with rich supplies!
2 He sends the sun his circuit round,
To cheer the fruits, to warm the ground;
He bids the clouds with plenteous rain
Refresh the thirsty earth again.
3 'Tis to His care we owe our breath,
And all our near escapes from death;
Safety and health to God belong;
He heals the weak, and guards the strong.
4 He makes the saint and sinner prove
The common blessings of His love;
Though the wide difference that remains
Is endless joy or endless pains.
1 How pleasant for a child to sing The goodness of the heavenly King,
Who lives above the sun and stars,
And everlasting glory wears!
2 He loves to hear a youthful tongue
Address Him in a humble song,
With praise for health, and food, and friends,
And all the good His mercy sends.
3 0 may I walk in wisdom's ways!
She'll bless my youth and crown my days,
And lead me, in a pleasant road,
To heaven, to glory, and to God.
Providence Reviewed.
1 ALMIGHTY Father, gracious Lord,
Kind Guardian of my days,
Thy mercies let my heart record
In songs of grateful praise.
2 In life's first dawn, my tender frame
Was Thy indulgent care;
Long ere I could pronounce Thy Name,
Or breathe the infant prayer.
3 Each rolling year new favours brought
From Thy exhaustless store;
But ah! in vain my labouring thought
Would count Thy mercies o'er.
4 Let sweet reflection through my days
Thy bounteous kindness trace,
And dearer blessings claim my praise,—
The blessings of Thy grace.
1 ONCE was heard the song of children, By the Saviour when on earth;
Joyful in the sacred temple
Shouts of youthful praise had birth;
Loud to David's Son broke forth.
2 Palms of victory strewn around Him,
Garments spread beneath His feet,
Prophet of the Lord they crowned Him,
In fair Salem's crowded street;
While hosannas
From the lips of children greet.
3 Blessed Saviour, now triumphant,
Glorified and throned on high,
Mortal lays, from man or infant,
Vainly here Thy praises try;
But hosannas
Swell the chorus of the sky.
I PRAISE ye the Lord! 'tis good to raise
Our hearts and voices in His praise;
His nature and His works unite
To make this duty our delight.
2 He formed the stars, those heavenly flames; He counts their numbers, calls their names; His wisdom's vast, and knows no bound, A deep where all our thoughts are drowned. 3 Sing to the Lord, extol Him high, Who spreads the clouds around the sky; There He prepares the fruitful rain, Nor lets the drops descend in vain. 4 He makes the grass the hills adorn, And clothes the smiling fields with corn;
|