4 Because the Lord our God is good, His mercy is for ever sure:
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
Salvation! O the joyful sound!
'Tis pleasure to our ears;
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.
2 Buried in sorrow and in sin,
At hell's dark door we lay;
But we arise by grace divine,
To see a heavenly day.
3 Salvation! let the echo fly
The spacious earth around;
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound.
Prayer for Grace. L. M.
Come, gracious Lord, descend and dwell,
By faith and love in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel
The joys that cannot be expressed.
2 Come, fill our hearts with inward strength, Make our enlarged souls possess,
And learn the height, and breadth, and length
Of thine immeasurable grace.
3 Now, to the God whose power can do More than our thoughts or wishes know, Be everlasting honours done,
By all the church, through Christ his Son.
Before Sermon. 7s.
Lord, we come before thee now,
At thy feet we humbly bow;
O! do not our suit disdain;
. Shall we seek thee, Lord, in vain?
2 Lord, on thee our souls depend;
In compassion, now descend;
Fill our hearts with thy rich grace;
Tune our lips to sing thy praise.
3 In thine own appointed way,
Now we seek thee, here we stay;
Lord, we know not how to go,
Till a blessing thou bestow.
4 Send some message from thy word, That may joy and peace afford; Let thy Spirit now impart,
Full salvation to each heart.
5 Comfort those who weep and
Let the time of joy return;
Those who are cast down, lift up,
Make them strong in faith and hope.
6 Grant that all may seek and find
Thee a God supremely kind:
Heal the sick, the captive free;
Let us all rejoice in thee.
Before Sermon. L. M.
Thy presence, gracious God, afford;
Prepare us to receive thy word;
Now let thy voice engage our ear,
And faith be mixed with what we hear.
2 Distracting thoughts and cares remove,
And fix our hearts and hopes above;
With food divine may we be fed,
And satisfied with living bread.
3 To us thy sacred word apply,
With sovereign power and energy;
And may we in true faith and fear,
Reduce to practice what we hear.
Before or after Sermon. C. M.
Almighty God, thy word is cast,
Like seed into the ground;
Now let the dew of heaven descend,
And righteous fruits abound.
2 Let not the foe of Christ and man
This holy seed remove;
But give it root in every heart,
To bring forth fruits of love.
3 Let not the world's deceitful cares
The rising plant destroy;
But let it yield, a hundred-fold,
The fruits of peace and joy.
4 Oft as the precious seed is sown, Thy quickening grace bestow,
That all, whose souls the truth receive,
Its saving power may know.
Close of Worship. L. M.
Dismiss us with thy blessing, Lord,
Help us to feed upon thy word;
All that has been amiss forgive,
And let thy truth within us live.
2 Though we are guilty, thou art good;
Wash all our works in Jesus' blood:
Give every fettered soul release,
And bid us all depart in peace.
Love of Scripture. C. M.
O how I love thy holy law!
'Tis daily my delight:
And thence my meditations draw
Divine advice by night.
2 My waking eyes prevent the day
To meditate thy word:
My soul with longing melts away,
To hear thy gospel, Lord.
3 Thy heavenly words my heart engage,
And well employ my tongue,
And in my tiresome pilgrimage
Yield me a heavenly song.
4 Am I a stranger, or at home,
'Tis my perpetual feast;
Not honey dropping from the comb
So much allures the taste.
5 No treasures so enrich the mind;
Nor shall thy word be sold
For loads of silver well refined,
Nor heaps of choicest gold.
6 When nature sinks, and spirits droop, Thy promises of grace
Are pillars to support my hope,
And there I write thy praise.
Greatness of God. C. M.
Great God! how infinite art thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.
2 Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Ere seas or stars were made;
Thou art the ever living God,
Were all the nations dead.
3 Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present in thy view;
To thee, there's nothing old appears;
Great God! there's nothing new.
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