Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine, If Thou art my Sun and my Song; Say, why do I languish and pine, And why are my winters so long? O drive these dark clouds from my sky, Thy soul-cheering Presence restore; Or take me unto Thee on high, Where winter and clouds are no more. 47. THE BELIEVER'S SAFETY. Psalm xci. INCARNATE GOD! the soul that knows Thy wisdom, faithfulness, and love, In vain the fowler spreads his net, When, like a baleful pestilence, F No midnight terrors haunt their bed, No arrow wounds by day; Unhurt on serpents they shall tread, Angels, unseen, attend the saints, The angels' Lord Himself is nigh Crosses and changes are their lot, 48. Another. THAT man no guard or weapon needs, Through burning sands or mountain snows. Released from guilt, he feels no fear, Redemption is his shield and tower; He sees his Saviour always near, To help in every trying hour. Though I am weak, and Satan strong, His love possessing, I am blest, With Him I still shall be at home. If placed beneath the northern pole, Though winter reigns with rigour there; His gracious beams would cheer my soul, And make a spring throughout the year. Or if the desert's sun-burnt soil My lonely dwelling e'er should prove, His presence would support my toil, Whose smile is life, whose voice is love. 49. HE LED THEM BY A RIGHT WAY. WHEN Israel was from Egypt freed, The Lord, who brought them out, To enter Canaan soon they hoped; *Exod. xiii. 17. See Hymn on Psalm xciv. 17, page 364. When the Red Sea their passage stopp'd, And Pharaoh march'd behind. The desert fill'd them with alarms For water and for food; They often murmur'd by the way, In the Red Sea, that stopp'd them first, The rocks gave water for their thirst, By fire and cloud their way was shown And Amalek was overthrown The way was right their hearts to prove, Just so the true believer's path Through many dangers lies; Though dark to sense, 'tis right to faith, And leads us to the skies. 50. WHAT SHALL I RENDER ?* FOR mercies, countless as the sands, From Jesus my Redeemer's hands, Alas! from such a heart as mine, Yet this acknowledgment I'll make For all He has bestow'd; Salvation's sacred cup I'll take, And call upon my God. The best returns for one like me, I cannot serve Him as I ought, * Book iii., Hymn 67. |