Your Redemption Draweth Nigh.
It is I; be not afraid.
Matt. xiv. 27.
When Power divine, in mortal form,
Hushed with a word the raging storm,
In soothing accents Jesus said,
"Lo! it is I; be not afraid."
So when in silence nature sleeps,
And lonely watch the mourner keeps,
One thought shall every pang remove,-
Trust, feeble man, thy Maker's love.
Blest be the voice that breathes from heaven
To every heart in sunder riven,
He reigns; the Lord, the Saviour reigns,
Praise him in evangelic strains;
Let the whole earth in songs rejoice,
And distant islands join their voice.
Deep are his counsels and unknown;
But grace and truth support his throne;
Though gloomy clouds his way surround,
Justice is their eternal ground.
In robes of judgment, lo! he comes;
Shakes the wide earth and cleaves the tombs;
Before him burns devouring fire;—
When love, and joy, and hope are fled, The mountains melt, the seas retire. "Lo! it is I; be not afraid."
God calms the tumult and the storm;
He rules the seraph and the worm:
No creature is by him forgot
Of those who know, or know him not.
And when the last dread hour is come,
And shuddering nature waits her doom,
This voice shall wake the pious dead,
"Lo! it is I; be not afraid."
Sir James Edward Smith, ab. 1826.
The resurrection of the just.
Luke xiv. 14.
His enemies, with sore dismay,
Fly from the sight and shun the day;
Then lift your heads, ye saints! on high,
And sing, for your redemption's nigh.
203 As thy days, so shall thy strength be.
Let me but hear my Saviour say,
"Strength shall be equal to thy day,”-
Then I rejoice in deep distress,
Upheld by all-sufficient grace.
I can do all things, or can bear
L. M. All suffering, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While he my sinking head sustains.
201
No, I'll repine at death no more,
But with a cheerful grasp resign
To the cold dungeon of the grave
These dying, withering limbs of mine.
Let worms devour my wasting flesh,
And crumble all my bones to dust;
My God shall raise my frame anew
At the revival of the just.
Break, sacred morning, through the skies,
Bring that delightful, dreadful day;
Cut short the hours, dear Lord, and come;
Thy lingering wheels, how long they stay!
Our weary spirits faint to see
The light of thy returning face,
And hear the language of those lips,
Where God has shed his richest grace.
Haste, then, upon the wings of love,
Rouse all the pious sleeping clay;
That we may join in heavenly joys.
And sing the triumph of the day.
Sing ye praises with understanding. Psalm xlvii. 7.
205 2 Sing of the manger where he lay, Sing of the tears he wiped away; Sing of the battles he hath fought, Sing of the mercies he hath brought. 3 Sing of the cross on which he died. Sing of his bleeding hands and side; Sing of the blood for sinners spilt, Sing of the blood that cancels guilt. 4 Sing of the tomb where Jesus lay, Sing of the stone they rolled away; Sing of the morn when Christ arose, Sing how he triumphed o'er his foes, 206 5 Sing of the grace Christ waits to give, Sing how he bids us come and live; Sing of our pardon bought with blood, Sing of our peace he made with God. 6. Sing how he lives to intercede, Sing how he waits our cause to plead; Sing how the sad in him are blest, Sing how the weary here may rest.
7 Sing of the day when he shall come,
Sing of the trump that shakes the tomb;
Sing of the heavenly mansions fair,
Sing of the crowns that we shall wear.
207 Redemption through his blood.
Eph. I. 7.
Saviour of sinners, Lamb of God,
Thou hast redeemed us by thy blood;
Now to the dying we proclaim
Life and salvation through thy name.
Captives in Satan's fetters bound,
Hear ye the gospel's joyful sound;
Jesus on Calvary's rugged tree,
Suffered and died to set you free.
Ransom for all, O Lamb of God,
We have redemption through thy blood;
Now to the lost we gladly call
Come sinners come, Christ died for all.
Ye who are saved, come, swell the strain,
Worthy the Lamb for sinners siain;
Till with the blest your song shall rise,
"Worthy the Lamb!" in Paradise.
Blessing and Honoq and Glory and Fower.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Matt. v. 8.
208
L. M. 210
Blest are the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty;
Treasures of grace to them are given,
And crowns of joy laid up in heaven.
Blest are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart;
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.
Blest are the meek, who stand afar
From rage
and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause against the great.
Blest are the souls that thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness;
They shall be well supplied and fed
With living streams, and living bread.
Blest are the merciful, who prove
By acts their sympathy and love;
From Christ, the Lord, shall they obtain
Like sympathy and love again.
Blest are the pure, whose hearts are clean
From the defiling powers of sin;
With endless pleasure they shall see
A God of spotless purity.
Blest are the men of peaceful life,
Who quench the coals of growing strife;
They shall be called the heirs of bliss,
The sons of God, the God of peace.
Blest are the sufferers, who partake
Of pain and shame for Jesns' sake!
Their souls shall triumph in the Lord,
Glory and joy are their reward.
Behold, I go bound in the spirit.
Acts, xx. 22.
What though the bonds of love divine
Tenderly round our hearts entwine;
Yet at our heavenly Master's call,
Calmly we bid farewell to all.
Cho.-Parting upon time's stormy shore,
Soon may we meet to part no more
Now thongh our eyes with tears are dim
Joyful we sing our parting hymn,
Pure are the joys that Christians taste
Hearing the gospel of God's grace;
Meeting around the sacred board,
Eating the supper of the Lord.
Bright is the home to which we go,
There shall our hearts no sorrow know;
Clouds never shadow that shining shore,
There shall the ransomed part no more.
Hands must unclasp, but hearts shall twine
Members of Christ, the living Vine:
Oh, when the storms of time are past
Safe may we rest with Him at last.
Christ, who is our Life.
Col. iii. 4.
211
Jesus, our Kinsman and our God,
Arrayed in majesty and blood,
Thou art our life; our souls in Thee
Possess a full felicity.
All our immortal hopes are laid
On Thee, our Surety and our Head;
Thy cross, thy cradle, and thy throne,
Are big with glories yet unknown.
Oh, let my soul forever lie
Beneath the blessings of Thine eye;
209 To Him be glory both now and forever. L. M. 'Tis heaven on earth, 'tis heaven above,
To see Thy face, and taste Thy love.
Isaac Watts, 1734.
shield and guard, And my exceeding great reward. And my exceeding great reward 998 Tol Jay Jadi alvos 91 518 Jes10
He also is a son of Abraham. Luke xix. 9.
213
Come, O thou Son of God, to me,
May I a child of Abraham be;
Be thou my portion, shield, and guard,
And my exceeding great reward.
With Abraham's God to be my guide,
With tent and altar side by side,
O may I tread the pilgrim's road,
And like the fathers walk with God.
The world my pilgrim tent may mock,
And hew their dwellings from the rock;
But when their trust and hope shall flee,
My mansion shall remain for me.
Earth's palaces can never lure
My heart from its conviction sure;
While I with faith's anointed eyes
Behold my City in the skies.
So I pursue my pilgrim path,
Nor dread earth's scorn, nor fear its wrath;
As stranger on the earth confessed,
Till I shall reach my heavenly rest.
Soon shall that City fair descend:
My eyes shall gaze upon my Friend;
And He who hath my place prepared,
Shall be my portion and reward.
We shall reign on the earth. Rev. v. 10.
L. M. Peace! earth's last battle has been won, Earth's days of conflict now are o'er; The Prince of peace ascends the throne, And war has ceased from shore to shore.
Rest! the world's night of toil is past,
Each storm is hushed above, below;
Creation's joy has come at last,
After six thousand years of woe.
Messiah reigns! earth's King has come,
Its diadems are on his brow;
Its rebel kingdoms have become
His everlasting kingdom now.
The earth again is paradise,
The desert blossoms as the rose;
Clothed in its robes of bridal bliss
Creation has forgot its woes.
O! long-expected, absent long,
Star of creation's troubled gloom;
Let heaven and earth break forth in song,
Messiah! Saviour! art thou come?
For thou hast bought us with thy blood,
And thou wast slain to set us free;
Thou madest us kings and priests to God
And we shall reign on earth with thee.
Horatius Bonar, b. 1808.
215 Soltt ich aus furcht vor Menschenkindern. L.M. 217 Behold, he cometh with clouds.
Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
The Spirit's course in me restrain?—
Or, undismayed in deed and word,
Be a true witness for my Lord?
Awed by a mortal's frown, shall I
Conceal the word of God most high?
How then before Thee shall I dare
To stand, or how thine anger bear?
Shall I, to soothe the' unholy throng,
Soften thy truths, and smooth my tongue
To gain earth's gilded toys, or flee
The cross, endured, my Lord, by thee?
What then is man whose scorn I dread,
Whose wrath or hate makes me afraid?
An heir of death! to sin a slave!
An empty bubble on the wave!
Yea, let men rage, since thou wilt spread
Thy shadowing wings around my head;
Since in all pain thy tender love
Will still my sweet refreshment prove.
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The love of Christ does me constrain
To seek the wandering souls of men;
With cries, entreaties, tears, to save,
To snatch them from the gaping grave.
For this let men revile my name;
No cross I shun, I fear no shame:
All hail, reproach! and welcome, pain!
Only thy terrors, Lord, restrain.
My life, my blood, I here present,
If for thy truth they may be spent;
Fulfil thy sovereign counsel, Lord!
Thy will be done, thy name adored!
Give me thy strength, O God of power;
Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,
Thy faithful witness will I be;
'Tis fixed; I can do all through thee!
J. J. Winkler, 1670-1722. Tr. J. Wesley, 1739.
Righteousness and strength. Isa. xlv. 24.
218
O Lord, my strength and righteousnes,
Walk with me through life's wilderness,
Be Thou my helper, Saviour, friend,
And guide me to my journey's end.
Help me to watch and strive and pray,
And trust thy mercy day by day;
That I may ever faithful be,
And win through Christ the victory.
When dangers, foes and snares surround,
Oh, may I watching still be found;
No foe nor evil shall I fear,
When Thou, my sun and shield, art near.
When on my shoulder lies thy cross,
And all things earthly seem like dross,
Help me to honor still thy name,
And glory in thy sacred shame.
And when my warfare shall be passed,
And Christ shall come for me at last.
May I a crown of life receive,
And with my Lord in glory live.
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