2 For my selfishness and pride
Thou hast withdrawn thy grace;
Left me long to wander wide,
An outcast from thy face;
But I now my sins confess,
And mercy, mercy, I implore;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.
3 Sin's deceitfulness hath spread
A hardness o'er my heart;
But if thou thy Spirit shed,
The stony shall depart
Shed thy love, thy tenderness,
And let me feel thy soft'ning power;
Love me freely, seal my peace,
And bid me sin no more.
876
3d P. M. 4 6s & 2 8s. Seeking restoration.
WE
HERE is the Saviour now,
Whose smiles I once possess'd?
Till he return, I bow,
By heavy grief oppress'd:
My days of happiness are gone,
And I am left to weep alone.
2 Where can the mourner go,
And tell his tale of grief?
Ah, who can soothe his wo,
Ah, who can give relief?
Earth cannot heal the wounded breast,
Or give the troubled conscience rest.
3 Jesus, thy smiles impart; My gracious Lord, return, Bind up my broken heart,
And bid me cease to mourn: Then shall this night of sorrow flee, And peace and heaven be found in thee.
877
HOW
Forgiveness implored.
shall a lost sinner in pain,
Recover his forfeited peace
When brought into bondage again,
What hope of a second release?
Will mercy itself be so kind
To spare a backslider like me?
And O, can I possibly find
Such plenteous redemption in thee?
2 O Jesus, of thee I inquire,
If still thou art able to save,-
The brand to pluck out of the fire,
And ransom my soul from the grave?
The help of thy Spirit restore;
O, show me the life-giving blood;
And pardon a sinner once more,
And bring me again unto God.
878
Vain repentances.
IMES without number have I pray'd,-
T This only once forgive;
Relapsing when thy hand was stay'd,
And suffer'd me to live:
2 Yet now the kingdom of thy peace,
Lord, to my heart restore;
Forgive my vain repentances,
And bid me sin no more.
879
Resolution to return.
YES, from this instant, now,
cry;
To my
My base ingratitude I feel;
Vilest of all thy children, I;
Not worthy to be call'd thy son;
Yet will I thee my Father own.
2 Guide of my life hast thou not been,
And rescued me from passion's power?
Ten thousand times preserved from sin,
Nor let the greedy grave devour?
And wilt thou now thy wrath retain,
Nor ever love thy child again?
3 If thou hast call'd me to return,-
If weeping at thy feet I fall,—
The prodigal thou wilt not spurn,
But pity and forgive me all,
In answer to my Friend above,—
In honour his bleeding love.
880
The wanderer returning. oft this wretched heart
How oft my roving thoughts depart,
Forgetful of his word.
2. Yet mercy calls,-Return;
Saviour, to thee I come:
My vile ingratitude I mourn;
O take the wanderer home!
3 Thy love, so free, so sweet,
Blest Saviour, adore;
O, keep me at thy sacred feet,
And let me rove no more.
881
Restored by grace.
JESU
ESUS, if thy free grace
Again hath raised me up,
And call'd me still to seek thy face,
And given me back my hope,-
Thy timely help afford,
Thy loving-kindness show;
O keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.
2 By me, my Saviour, stand, In sore temptation's hour;
O save me with thine out-stretch'd hand, And show forth all thy power.
Be mindful of thy word;
Sufficient grace bestow;
O keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.
3 Give me a holy fear,
And fix it in my heart;
That thus I may from evil near
With timely care depart;
Be every sin abhorr'd,
Till thou destroy the foe;
O keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.
882
Rejoicing in Christ's restoring love.
SPEAK that word again;
It cheers my drooping heart:
How sweetly doth it soothe my pain,
And bid my fears depart.
2 And dost thou deign to own A worm so vile as I?
And may I still approach thy throne,
And Abba, Father, cry?
3 My Saviour, by his word,
Hath turn'd my night to day;
And all those heavenly joys restored,
Which I had sinn'd away.
4 I wonder and adore:
The grace is all divine:
Lord, keep me, that I sin no more
Against such love as thine.
12th P. M. 76, 76, 78, 76. Tears of joy.
ORD, and is thine anger gone,—
And art thou pacified?
After all that I have done,
Dost thou no longer chide?
Let thy love my heart constrain,
And all my restless passions sway:
Keep me, lest I turn again
Out of the narrow way.
2 To the cross, thine altar, bind Me with the cords of love; Freedom never let me find
From thee, my Lord, to move : That I never, never more
May with my much-loved Master part, To the posts of mercy's door, O nail my willing heart!
3 See my utter helplessness, And leave me not alone; O preserve in perfect peace,
And seal me for thine own:
More and more thyself reveal,
Thy presence let me always find;
Comfort, and confirm, and heal
My feeble, sin-sick mind.
As the apple of thine eye, Thy weakest servant keep; Help me at thy feet to lie,
And there forever weep:
Tears of joy mine eyes o'erflow,
That I have any hope of heaven;
Much of love I ought to know,
For I have much forgiven.
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