2 O let my soul to life restor'd, 3 Thine eyes in me the sheep behold, 4 Now listens, if perchance its ear The shepherd's well-known voice may hear; 5 Great Ruler of this earthly ball, O seek thou him, who thee has sought, 211. S.M.-Hope reviving. 1 AND shall I sit alone, 2 3 Oppress'd with grief and fear; If he my Father be, His pity he will shew; From cruel bondage set me free, And inward peace bestow. If still he silence keep, 'Tis but my faith to try; He knows and feels whene'er I weep, 4 Then will I humbly wait, Nor once indulge despair; My sins are great, but not so great As his compassions are, 212. C.M.—Backsliding Israel invited to return to God. Jer. iii. 12, 13. Nor force such goodness to exert 2 Thus saith the Lord, "My mercy flows 66 And, after all its millions sav'd, Its sway is still supreme. 3 "Own but the follies thou hast done, "And mourn thy sins in dust, "And soon thy trembling heart shall learn "To hope, and love, and trust." 4 All-gracious God, thy voice we own; Our souls in humble silence wait 213. C.M.-The Backslider recollecting himself in his Affliction. 1 THE Lord, how kind are all his ways, He frowns, and scourges, and rebukes, 2 With thorns, he fences up our path, To guard us from the death, that lurks 3 When other lovers, sought in vain, He opens his indulgent arms, 4 Return, ye wandering souls, return, Call back the memory of the days, 5 Behold, O Lord, we fly to thee, 214. C.M.-The Lamentation of a Sinner. 1 O LORD, turn not thy face away 2 Thy mercy-gates are open wide 3 We need not to confess our fault, What we have done, and what we are, 4 Wherefore, to beg and to entreat, 5 And need we then, O Lord, repeat 6 Mercy, O Lord-mercy we seek: For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer, 215. C.M.-Creatures vain, and God the Salvation of his People. 1 HOW long shall dreams of creature bliss Our flattering hopes employ, And mock our fond deluded eyes, 1 2 Why from the mountains and the hills Is our salvation sought, While our eternal Rock's forsook, 3 The living spring neglected flows Yet we, with anxious, fruitless toil, 4 These fatal errors, gracious God, To thee our roving eyes direct, 216. P.M.-The Backslider's Prayer. 1 WEARY of wandering from my God, For thee, not without hope, I mourn; A Friend before the Throne of Love. Open thine arms, and take me in! 3 Thou know'st the way to bring me back, My fallen spirit to restore; Oh! for thy truth and mercy's sake, prayer. 4 The stone to flesh again convert; This rebel heart by love subdue, 6 Ah, give me, Lord, the tender heart, That trembles at the' approach of sin: A godly fear of sin impart; Implant and root it deep within, 217. C.M.-God's Complacency in his Thoughts of Peace towards his 1 VILER than dust, O Lord, are we; And doth thy gracious heart o'erflow 2 And dost thou with delight reflect 3 And can thy often injur'd love That thou to all our lengthen'd woes 4 Why droop our hearts? why flow our eyes, 5 To all thy other favours add And death itself shall hear us sing, |