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I see, or think I see,

A glimmering from afar;

A beam of day that shines for me,
To save me from despair.

Forerunner of the sun,
It marks the pilgrim's way;
I'll gaze upon it while I run,
And watch the rising day.

180.

P.M.-Prayer for Seriousness.

1 THOU God of glorious majesty,
To thee, against myself, to thee,
A worm of earth, I cry;

An half-awaken'd child of man;
An heir to endless bliss or pain;
A sinner born to die.

2 Lo! on a narrow neck of land,
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand,
Secure, insensible;

A point of time, a moment's space,
Removes me to that heavenly place,
Or shuts me up in hell.

3 O God, mine inmost soul convert!
And deeply on my thoughtful heart
Eternal things impress;

Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And tremble on the brink of fate,
And wake to righteousness.

4 Before me place in dread array,
The pomp of that tremendous day,

When thou with clouds shalt come,

To judge the nations at thy bar:
And tell me, Lord, shall I be there,
To meet a joyful doom?

5 Be this my one great business here,
With serious industry, and fear,
Eternal bliss to' insure;

Thine utmost counsel to fulfil,
And suffer all thy righteous will,
And to the end endure.

6 Then, Saviour, then, my soul receive,
Transported from this vale, to live
And reign with thee above;
Where faith is sweetly lost in sight,
And hope in full supreme delight,
And everlasting love.

181.

C.M.-The alarmed Sinner's Remedy against Despair.
1 WHEN rising from the bed of death,
O'erwhelm'd with guilt and fear,
I see my Maker face to face,

O how shall I appear!

2 If yet, while pardon may be found,
And mercy may be sought,

My heart with inward horror sinks,
And trembles at the thought;

3 When thou, O Lord! shalt stand disclos'd In majesty severe,

And sit in judgment on my soul,

O how shall I appear!

4 But thou hast told the troubled mind, Who does her sins lament,

The timely tribute of her tears

Shall endless wo prevent.

5 Then, see the sorrows of my heart,
Ere yet it be too late;

And hear my Saviour's dying groans,
To give those sorrows weight.

6 For never shall my soul despair
Her pardon to procure,
Who knows thine only Son has died,
To make her pardon sure.

182.

L.M.-The convinced Sinner applying to Christ. 1 AWAK'D from sin's delusive sleep, My heavy guilt I feel and weep; Beneath a weight of woes opprest, Jesus, I run to thee for rest.

2 O from thy throne of bliss above,
Shed down a look of heavenly love;
That balm shall sweeten all my pain,
And sad soul shall smile again.
my

3 By thy divine transforming power,
My ruin'd nature raise, restore,
And let my life and temper shine,
In fair conformity to thine.

183.

P.M.-Prayer of a convinced Sinner.

1 FATHER of Lights, from whom proceeds
Whate'er thy every creature needs;
Whose goodness providently nigh,
Feeds the young ravens when they cry:
To thee I look, my heart prepare;
Suggest and hearken to my prayer.
2 Since by thy light myself I see,
Naked, and poor, and void of thee;
Thy eyes must all my thoughts survey,
Preventing what my lips would say;
Thou seest my wants, for help they call,
And, ere I speak, thou know'st them all.
3 Thou know'st the baseness of my mind,
Wayward, and impotent, and blind!
Thou know'st how unsubdu'd my will,
Averse from good, and prone to ill!

Thou know'st how wide my passions rove, Nor check'd by fear, nor charm'd by love! 4 Fain would I know, as known by thee, And feel the indigence I see;

Fain would I all my vileness own,
And deep beneath my burden groan:
Abhor the pride that lurks within,
Detest and loathe myself and sin.
5 Ah, give me, Lord, myself to feel!
My total misery reveal:

Ah! give me, Lord, (I still would say,)
A heart to mourn, a heart to pray:
My business this, my only care,
My life, my every breath be prayer.

184.

C.M.-The contrite Heart. Isa. lvii.15.

1 THE Lord will happiness divine
On contrite hearts bestow;

Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
A contrite heart, or no?

2 I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
Insensible as steel;

If aught is felt, 'tis only pain,
To find I cannot feel.

3 I sometimes think myself inclin'd
To love thee if I could,
But often feel another mind,
Averse from all that's good.

4 My best desires are faint and few,
I fain would strive for more,
But when I cry "My strength renew,'
Seem weaker than before.

5 Thy saints are comforted I know,
And love thy house of prayer;
I therefore go where others go,
But find no comfort there.

6 O make this heart rejoice or ache;
Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken, break,
And heal it, if it be.

185.

C.M.-The humility and submission of the Penitent. Ezek. xvi. 63.

1 O INJUR'D Majesty of heaven,

Look from thy holy throne,

While prostrate rebels own with grief
What treasons they have done.
2 Thy grace, when sin abounded most,
Reigns with superior sway;

And pardons, bought with Jesus' blood,
To rebels doth display.

3 While love its grateful anthems tunes,
Tears mingle with the song;

My heart with tender anguish bleeds,
That I such grace should wrong.

4 How shall I lift these guilty eyes
To mine offended Lord?

Or how, beneath his heaviest strokes,
Pronounce one murmuring word.

5 Remorse and shame my lips have seal'd,
But O! my Father, speak;

And all the harmony of heaven

Shall through the silence break.

186.

C.M.-The Penitent brought back from the Pit. Job xxxiii. 27, 28.

1 THE Lord, from his exalted throne,

In majesty array'd,

Looks with a melting pity down

On all that seek his aid.

2 When touch'd with penitent remorse,
Our follies past we mourn,

With what a tenderness of love
He meets our first return!

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