3 Lord, have mercy when we know First how vain this world below; When its darker thoughts oppress, Doubts perplex, and fears distress ; When the earliest gleam is given Of the bright but distant heaven; Then thy fostering grace afford; Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!
Breathing after Holiness.
1 O, THAT the Lord would guide my ways To keep his statutes still!
O, that my God would grant me grace
To know and do his will!
2 O, send thy Spirit down, to write Thy law upon my heart!
Nor let my tongue indulge deceit, Nor act the liar's part.
3 From vanity turn off mine eyes; Let no corrupt design, Nor covetous desires, arise Within this soul of mine.
4 Order my footsteps by thy word, And make my heart sincere ; Let sin have no dominion, Lord, But keep my conscience clear.
5 Make me to walk in thy commands; "T is a delightful road;
Nor let my head, nor heart, nor hands, Offend against my God.
Pleasures of a good Conscience.
1 LORD, how secure and blest are they Who feel the joys of pardoned sin!
Should storms of wrath shake earth and sea Their minds have heaven and peace within. 2 The day glides sweetly o'er their heads, Made up of innocence and love; And soft and silent as the shades,
Their nightly minutes gently move.
3 Quick as their thoughts their joys come on, But fly not half so swift away!
Their souls are ever bright as noon,
And calm as summer evenings be.
4 How oft they look to th' heavenly hills, Where groves of living pleasures grow! And longing hopes and cheerful smiles Sit undisturbed upon their brow.
Freedom from Error, Guilt, and Folly. 1 BLEST Instructer! from thy ways Who can tell how oft he strays? Save from error's growth our mind, Leave not, Lord, one root behind. 2 Purge us from the guilt that lies. Wrapt within our heart's disguise; Let us thence, by thee renewed, Each presumptuous sin exclude. 3 Let our tongues, from error free, Speak the words approved by thee: To thine all-observing eyes Let our thoughts accepted rise.
4 While we thus thy name adore, And thy healing grace implore, Blest Instructer! bow thine ear: God our strength! propitious hear.
1 O LORD, thy heavenly grace impart, And fix my frail, inconstant heart; Henceforth my chief desire shall be To dedicate myself to thee.
2 Whate'er pursuits my time employ, One thought shall fill my soul with joy; That silent, secret thought shall be, That all my hopes are fixed on thee. 3 Thy glorious eye pervadeth space; Thy presence, Lord, fills every place; And, wheresoe'er my lot may be, Still shall my spirit cleave to thee. 4 Renouncing every worldly thing, And safe beneath thy spreading wing, My sweetest thought henceforth shall be, That all I want I find in thee.
1 SOFT are the fruitful showers that bring The welcome promise of the spring, And soft the vernal gale :
Sweet the wild warblings of the grove, The voice of nature and of love,
That gladden every vale.
2 But softer in the mourner's ear Sounds the mild voice of mercy near, That whispers sins forgiven; And sweeter far the music swells, When to the raptured soul she tells Of peace and promised heaven.
3 Fair are the flowers that deck the ground; And groves and gardens, blooming round, Unnumbered charms unfold:
Bright is the sun's meridian ray, And bright the beams of setting day, That robe the clouds in gold.
4 But far more fair the pious breast, In richer robes of goodness dressed, Where heaven's own graces shine; And brighter far the prospects rise, That burst on faith's delighted eyes, From glories all divine.
1 "JOY to those that love the Lord!" Saith the sure, eternal word; Not of earth the joy it brings, Tempered in celestial springs. 2 'T is the joy of pardoned sin When we feel 't is well within ; 'T is the joy that fills the breast When the passions sink to rest. 3 'T is a joy that, seated deep, Leaves not when we sigh and weep; Spreads itself in virtuous deeds, Sighs for woe, in pity bleeds. 4 Stern and awful are its tones When the patriot martyr groans, And, the death-pulse beating high, Rapture blends with agony.
5 Tend'rer is the form it wears, Touched in love, dissolved in tears, When, subdued, at Jesus' feet, Sinners clasp the mercy-seat.
6 Joy e'en here! a budding flower, Struggling with the storm and shower, Till its season to expand,
Planted in its native land.
CHRISTIAN AFFECTIONS AND LIFE.
1 PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.
2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh, The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye, When none but God is near.
3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech That infant lips can try,
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach The Majesty on high.
4 Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, The Christian's native air,
The watchword at the gates of death He enters heaven with prayer.
5 Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice,
6 In prayer, on earth, the saints are one; They 're one in word and mind; When with the Father and the Son Sweet fellowship they find.
7 O Thou, by whom we come to God, The Life, the Truth, the Way, The path of prayer thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray!
« AnteriorContinuar » |