2 He knew us, when we knew not him, Was with us, though unseen; His favours came to us unsought,
His love has wondrous been.
3 He keeps us now, securely keeps,
Whatever foe assails:
With vigilance that never sleeps,
With pow'r that never fails.
4 Then let us, while we dwell below,
Obey our Father's voice;
To all his dispensations bow,
And in his name rejoice.
5 How sweet to hear him say at last,
"Ye blessed children, come;
The days of banishment are past,
And heav'n is now your home!"
1 WHEN languor and disease invade This trembling house of clay, 'Tis sweet to look beyond the cage, And long to soar away.
2 Sweet to look inward, and attend
The whispers of his love;
Sweet to look upward to the throne,
Where Jesus pleads above.
3 Sweet on thy faithfulness to rest,
Whose love can never end;
Sweet on thy covenant of grace
For all things to depend.
4 Sweet in the confidence of faith,
To trust thy truth divine:
Sweet to lie passive in thy hands,
And have no will but thine.
5 If such the sweetness of the streams,
What will the fountain be,
Where saints and angels draw their bliss,
Immediately from thee!
Philippians i, 23. (L.M.)
1 TO Jesus, the crown of my hope,
My soul is in haste to be gone:
O bear me, ye cherubim, up,
And waft me away to his throne.
2 O then shall the veil be remov'd,
And round me thy brightness be pour'd;
I shall meet him whom absent I lov'd,
I shall see whom unseen I ador❜d.
3 And then, never more shall the fears,
The trials, temptations, and woes,
Which darken this valley of tears,
Intrude on my blissful repose.
4 Or, if yet remember'd above,
Remembrance no sadness shall raise;
They'll be but new signs of thy love,
New themes for my wonder and praise.
5 Thus the strokes which from sin and from pain Shall set me eternally free,
Will but strengthen and rivet the chain,
Which binds me, my Saviour, to thee!
1 WHEN Jordan hush'd his waters still, And silence slept on Zion's hill;
When Bethlehem's shepherds, through the night,
Watch'd o'er their flocks by starry light:
2 On wheels of light, on wings of flame, The glorious hosts of Zion came :
High heav'n with songs of triumph rung, While thus they struck their harps and sung: 3 0 Zion, lift thy raptur'd eye,
The long expected hour is nigh;
The joys of nature rise again,
The Prince of Salem comes to reign!
4 He comes, to cheer the trembling heart,
Bids Satan and his host depart;
Again the day-star gilds the gloom,
Again the bow'rs of Eden bloom!
5 O Zion, lift thy raptur'd eye, The long expected hour is nigh: The joys of nature rise again,
The Prince of Salem comes to reign!
Exodus xxxiii, 22. (7's.)
1 ROCK of ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee:
Let the water and the blood,
From thy riven-side which flow'd,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r!
2 Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfil thy law's demands:
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone!
3 Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling:
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
4 While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of ages! cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee!
Galatians vi, 14. (L. M.)
1 WE sing the praise of him who died,
Of him who died upon the cross:
The sinner's hope let men deride,
For this we count the world but loss.
2 The cross! it takes our guilt away,
It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy day,
And sweetens every bitter cup.
3 It makes the coward spirit brave,
And nerves the feeble arm for fight;
It takes the terrors from the grave,
And gilds the bed of death with light.
4 The balm of life, the cure of woe,
The measure and the pledge of love;
'Tis all that sinners want below,
'Tis all that angels know above.
Psalm xxvi, 8. (L. M.)
1 DEAR is the sabbath morn to me,
When village bells awake the day,
And by their sacred minstrelsy,
Call me from earthly cares away.
2 And dear to me the winged hour,
Spent in thy hallow'd courts, O Lord;
To feel devotion's soothing power,
And catch the manna of thy word.
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