2 And now, in age and grief, thy Name
Doth still my languid heart inflame,
And bow my faltering knee:
O, yet this bosom feels the fire;
This trembling hand and drooping lyre
Have yet a strain for thee!
3 Yes; broken, tuneless, still, O Lord,
This voice, transported, shall record
Thy goodness, tried so long;
Till, sinking slow, with calm decay,
Its feeble murmurs melt away
Into a seraph's song.
The aged disciple's prayer.
FOREWARN'D by my Redeemer's love,
I soon shall lay body down;
But ere my soul from earth remove,
O may I put thine image on.
2 Saviour! thy meek and lowly mind
Be to thine aged servant given;
And glad I'll drop this tent, to find
My everlasting home in heaven.
The dying believer.
DEATHLESS spirit, now arise.
Soar, thou native of the skies-
Pearl of price by Jesus bought,
To his glorious likeness wrought :-
2 Go to shine before the throne;
Deck the Mediator's crown;
Go, his triumphs to adorn;
Made for God, to God return.
3 Angels, joyful to attend,
Hov'ring round thy pillow bend;
Wait to catch the signal given,
And convey thee quick to heaven.
4 Burst thy shackles; drop thy clay;
Sweetly breathe thyself away;
Singing, to thy crown remove,
Swift of wing, and fired with love.
5 Shudder not to pass the stream:
Venture all thy care on Him-
Him, whose dying love and power
Still'd its tossing, hush'd its roar.
6 Safe is the expanded wave,-
Gentle as a summer's eve;
Not one object of his care
Ever suffer'd shipwreck there.
7 See the haven full in view;
Love divine shall bear thee through:
Trust to that propitious gale;
Weigh thine anchor, spread thy sail.
8 Saints in glory, perfect made,
Wait thy passage through the shade;
Swiftly to their wish be given;
Kindle higher joy in heaven.
The dying Christian to his soul.
VITAL spark of heavenly flame,
Quit, O quit this mortal frame. Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying, O the pain, the bliss of dying! Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife, And let me languish into life.
2 Hark! they whisper: angels say,Sister spirit, come away!
-What is this absorbs me quite,Steals my senses, shuts my sight,— Drowns my spirit, draws my breath? Tell me, my soul, can this be death?
3 The world recedes: it disappears;
Heaven opens on my eyes; my ears
With sounds seraphic ring.
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O grave, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?
Riches of God's word.
HE counsels of redeeming grace
And here the Saviour's lovely face
Our raptured eyes behold.
2 Here light descending from above
Directs our doubtful feet;
Here promises of heavenly love
Our ardent wishes meet.
3 Our num'rous griefs are here redress'd,
And all our wants supplied:
Naught we can ask to make us blest
Is in this book denied.
4 For these inestimable gains,
That so enrich the mind,
O may we search with eager pains,
Assured that we shall find.
Excellency and sufficiency.
ATHER of mercies, in thy word
What of less glory shines;
Forever be thy Name adored
For these celestial lines.
2 Here may the wretched sons of want Exhaustless riches find;
Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.
3 Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast;
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.
4 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys,
Attend the blissful sound.
5 0 may these heavenly pages be
Our ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may we see,
And still increasing light.
6 Divine Instructer, gracious Lord,
Be thou forever near;
Teach us to love thy sacred word,
And view the Saviour there.
Light and glory of the sacred page.
WHAT glory gilds the sacred page!
Majestic, like the sun,
It gives a light to every age;
It gives, but borrows none.
2 The power that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
Its truths upon the nations rise:
They rise, but never set.
3 Lord! everlasting thanks be thine
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.
4 Our souls rejoicingly pursue
The steps of Him we love,
Till glory break upon our view
In brighter worlds above.
The Spirit's enlightening influences.
YOME, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire;
Det us thine influence prove;
Source of the old prophetic fire;
Fountain of life and love.
2 Come, Holy Ghost, for moved by thee
The prophets wrote and spoke:
Unlock the truth, thyself the key;
Unseal the sacred book.
3 Expand thy wings, Celestial Dove;
Brood o'er our nature's night;
On our disorder'd spirits move,
And let there now be light.
4 God, through himself, we then shall know,
If thou within us shine;
And sound, with all thy saints below,
The depths of love divine.
ATHER of all, in whom alone
One bright, celestial ray dart down,
And cheer thy sons beneath.
2 While in thy word we search for thee,
(We search with trembling awe ;)
Open our eyes, and let us see
The wonders of thy law.
3 Now let our darkness comprehend
The light that shines so clear;
Now the revealing Spirit send,
And give us ears to hear.
4 Before us make thy goodness pass,
Which here by faith we know;
Let us in Jesus see thy face,
And die to all below.
|