2 We meet with one accord
In our appointed place,
And wait the promise of our Lord,—
The Spirit of all grace.

3 Like mighty rushing wind
Upon the waves beneath,

Move with one impulse every mind;
One soul, one feeling breathe.

4 The young, the old, inspire
With wisdom from above;

And give us hearts and tongues of fire, To pray, and praise, and love.

5 Spirit of light! explore,
And chase our gloom away,

With luster shining more and more,
Unto the perfect day.

James Montgomery.

Let rays of heavenly love

S. M.

Amid our gloom and darkness shine,
And point our souls above.

2 Turn us with gentle voice
From every sinful way,

And bid the mourning saint rejoice,
Though earthly joys decay.

3 By thine inspiring breath
Make every cloud of care,
And e'en the gloomy vale of death,
A smile of glory wear.

4 O fill thou every heart
With love to all our race;
Great Comforter, to us impart
These blessings of thy grace.

Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney.

THE SCRIPTURES.

288

God's word, quick and powerful.
HY word, almighty Lord,
Where'er it enters in,

THY

Is sharper than a two-edged sword,
To slay the man of sin.

2 Thy word is power and life;
It bids confusion cease,

And changes envy, hatred, strife,
To love, and joy, and peace.

3 Then let our hearts obey
The gospel's glorious sound;

And all its fruits, from day to day,
Be in us and abound.

289

S. M.

James Montgomery.

Spreading the Scriptures.

ESUS, the word bestow,

JES

The true immortal seed;

S. M.

Thy gospel then shall greatly grow,
And all our land o'erspread;

Through earth extended wide

Shall mightily prevail,

Destroy the works of self and pride,

And shake the gates of hell.

2 Its energy exert

In the believing soul;

Diffuse thy grace through every part,
And sanctify the whole;

Its utmost virtue show

In pure consummate love, And fill with all thy life below, And give us thrones above.

Charles Wesley.

290

L. M.

The brightening glory of the Gospel. [PON the Gospel's sacred page The gathered beams of ages shine; And, as it hastens, every age

But makes its brightness more divine. 2 On mightier wing, in loftier flight, From year to year does knowledge soar; And, as it soars, the Gospel light Becomes effulgent more and more. 3 More glorious still, as centuries roll, New regions blest, new powers unfurled, Expanding with the expanding soul, Its radiance shall o'erflow the world,— 4 Flow to restore, but not destroy; As when the cloudless lamp of day Pours out its floods of light and joy, And sweeps the lingering mists away.

291

W

Delight in the Bible.

Sir John Bowring.

L. M. 61.

HEN quiet in my house I sit,
Thy book be my companion still;
My joy thy sayings to repeat,
Talk o'er the records of thy will,
And search the oracles divine,
Till every heart-felt word be mine.
2 O may the gracious words divine,
Subject of all my converse be;
So will the Lord his follower join,

And walk and talk himself with me:
So shall my heart his presence prove,
And burn with everlasting love.
3 Oft as I lay me down to rest,
O may the reconciling word
Sweetly compose my weary breast;
While on the bosom of my Lord
I sink in blissful dreams away,
And visions of eternal day.

4 Rising to sing my Saviour's praise,
Thee may I publish all day long;
And let thy precious word of grace
Flow from my heart, and fill my tongue:
Fill all my life with purest love,
And join me to the Church above.

292

The two revelations.

Charles Wesley.

L. M.

HE heavens declare thy glory, Lord; In every star thy wisdom shines; But when our eyes behold thy word, We read thy name in fairer lines. 2 The rolling sun, the changing light, And nights and days, thy power confess, But the blest volume thou hast writ, Reveals thy justice and thy grace. 3 Sun, moon, and stars, convey thy praise Round the whole earth, and never stand: So when thy truth began its race,

It touched and glanced on every land. 4 Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest, Till through the world thy truth has run: Till Christ has all the nations blessed That see the light, or feel the sun. 5 Great Sun of righteousness, arise, Bless the dark world with heavenly light; Thy gospel makes the simple wise,

Thy laws are pure, thy judgments right. 6 Thy noblest wonders here we view, In souls renewed, and sins forgiven: Lord, cleanse my sins, my soul renew, And make thy word my guide to heaven.

293

The everlasting word.

Isaac Watts.

L. M.

THE starry firmament on high,
And all the glories of the sky,
Yet shine not to thy praise, O Lord,
So brightly as thy written word.

2 The hopes that holy word supplies,
Its truths divine and precepts wise,
In each a heavenly beam I see,
And every beam conducts to thee.

3 Almighty Lord, the sun shall fail,
The moon forget her nightly tale,
And deepest silence hush on high
The radiant chorus of the sky;

4 But, fixed for everlasting years,
Unmoved amid the wreck of spheres,
Thy word shall shine in cloudless day,
When heaven and earth have passed away.

Sir Robert Grant.

L. M.

294
The Saviour seen in the Scriptures.
NOW
OW let my soul, eternal King,
To thee its grateful tribute bring;
My knee with humble homage bow;
My tongue perform its solemn vow.

2 All nature sings thy boundless love,
In worlds below and worlds above;
But in thy blessed word I trace
Diviner wonders of thy grace.

3 There, what delightful truths I read!
There, I behold the Saviour bleed:
His name salutes my listening ear,
Revives my heart and checks my fear.
4 There Jesus bids my sorrows cease,
And gives my laboring conscience peace;
He lifts my grateful thoughts on high,
And points to mansions in the sky.

5 For love like this, O let my song, Through endless years, thy praise prolong; Let distant climes thy name adore,

Till time and nature are no more.

Ottiwell Heginbotham.