1 Salvation! O the joyful sound!
"Tis pleasure to our ears;
A sovereign balm for ev'ry 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 heav'nly day.
3 Salvation! let the echo fly
The spacious earth around;
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound.
377. Excellence of the Gospel. S. M.
1 Behold, the morning sun
Begins his glorious way:
His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey.
2 But where the Gospel comes,
It spreads diviner light:
It calls dead sinners from their tombs,
And gives the blind their sight.
3 I hear thy word with love,
And I would fain obey:
Send thy good Spirit from above,
To guide me, lest I stray.
4 0, who can ever find
The errors of his ways?
Yet, with a bold presumptuous mind,
I would not dare transgress.
5 Warn me of ev'ry sin;
Forgive my secret faults:
And cleanse this guilty soul of mine,
Whose crimes exceed my thoughts.
6 While with my heart and tongue
I spread thy praise abroad,
Accept the worship and the song,
My Saviour and my God.
378. Going to Church. C. M.
1 How did my heart rejoice to hear
My friends devoutly say,
"In Zion let us all appear,
"And keep the solemn day!"
2 I love her gates, I love the road!
The church, adorn'd with grace,
Stands like a palace built for God,
To show his milder face.
3 Up to her courts, with joys unknown, The holy tribes repair ;
The Son of David holds his throne,
And sits in judgment there.
4 He hears our praises and complaints;
And, while his awful voice
Divides the sinners from the saints,
We tremble, and rejoice!
5 Peace be within this sacred place,
And joy a constant guest!
With holy gifts and heav'nly grace
Be her attendants blest.
6 My soul shall pray for Zion still,
While life or breath remains;
Here my best friends, my kindred dwell,
Here God my Saviour reigns.
379. Anticipation of Heaven. L. M.
1 Now let our souls, on wings sublime,
Rise from the vanities of time;
Draw back the parting veil and see
The glories of eternity.
2 Born by a new celestial birth,
Why should we grovel here on earth?
Why grasp at transitory toys,
So near to heaven's eternal joys?
3 Shall aught beguile us on the road,
When we are walking back to God?
For strangers into life we come,
And dying is but going home.
4 Welcome, sweet hour of full discharge,
That sets our longing souls at large,
Unbinds our chains, breaks up our cell,
And gives us with our God to dwell.
5 To dwell with God, to feel his love,
Is the full heaven enjoy'd above;
And the sweet expectation now,
Is the young dawn of heaven below.
380. Holiness and Grace. L. M.
1 So let our lips and lives express
The holy Gospel we profess;
So let our works and virtues shine,
To prove the doctrine all divine.
2 Thus shall we best proclaim abroad
The honors of our Saviour God:
When his salvation reigns within,
And grace subdues the power of sin.
3 Our flesh and sense must be denied,
Passion and envy, lust and pride;
While justice, temperance, truth, and love,
Our inward piety approve.
4 Religion bears our spirits up,
While we expect that blessed hope,
The bright appearance of the Lord,
And faith stands leaning on his word.
381. Ingratitude Deplored. S. M.
1 Is this the kind return,
Are these the thanks we owe,
Thus to abuse eternal love,
Whence all our blessings flow?
2 To what a stubborn frame
Has sin reduc'd our mind;
What strange, rebellious wretches we,
And God as strangely kind.
3 Turn, turn us, mighty God,
And mould our souls afresh;
Break, sov'reign grace, these hearts of stone, And give us hearts of flesh.
4 Let past ingratitude
Provoke our weeping eyes,
And hourly as new merciés fall,
Let hourly thanks arise.
382. Morning Prayer Meeting. S. M.
1 How sweet the melting lay
Which breaks upon the ear,
When at the hour of rising day
Christians unite in prayer.
2 The breezes waft their cries
Up to Jehovah's throne;
He listens to their heaving sighs,
And sends his blessings down.
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