For I have walked the happy round,
That circles Zion's holy ground,
And gladly swelled the choral lays
That hymned my great Redeemer's praise,
What time the hallowed arch along,
Responsive swelled the solemn song.
Ah! why, by passing clouds oppressed,
Should vexing thoughts distract my breast?
Turn, turn to him in every pain,
Whom never suppliant sought in vain;
Thy strength, in joy's ecstatic day,
Thy hope, when joy has passed away.
Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
FOUNTAIN of light and living breath,
Whose mercies never fail nor fade;
Fill me with life that hath no death,
Fill me with light that hath no shade;
Appoint the remnant of my days
To see thy power, and sing thy praise.
Lord God of gods-before whose throne
Stand storms of fire! O, what shall we
Return to Heaven, that is our own,
When all the world belongs to thee?
We have no offering to impart,
But praises and a wounded heart.
O thou, that sitt'st in heaven, and see'st
My deeds without, my thoughts within,
Be thou my prince, be thou my priest,
Command my soul, and cure my sin:
How bitter my afflictions be
I care not, so I rise to thee.
What I possess, or what I crave,
Brings no content, great God, to me,
If what I would, or what I have,
Be not possest, and blest in thee:
What I enjoy, O make it mine,
In making me, that have it, thine.
When plighted faith forgets its vows,
When earth and all things in it change,
O Lord, thy mercies fail me never
Where once thou lov'st thou lov'st forever.
Great God, whose kingdom hath no end,
Into whose secrets none can dive,
Whose mercy none can apprehend,
Whose justice none can feel,
What my dull heart cannot aspire
To know, Lord, teach me to admire!
FROM the depths of grief and fear,
O Lord! to thee my soul repairs;
From thy heaven bow down thy ear,
Let thy mercy meet my prayers.
O, if thou mark'st
What's done amiss,
What soul so pure,
Can see thy bliss?
But, with thee, sweet mercy stands,
Sealing pardons, working fear;
Wait, my soul, wait on his hands,
Wait mine eye, O wait mine ear.
If he his eye,
Or tongue affords,
Watch all his looks,
Catch all his words.
As a watchman waits for day,
And looks for light, and looks again; When the night grows old and gray,
To be relieved he calls amain;
So look, so wait,
So long mine eyes,
To see my Lord,
My sun arise.
Wait ye saints, wait on our Lord,
For from his tongue sweet mercy flows;
Wait on his cross, wait on his word,
Upon that tree redemption grows.
He will redeem
From sin and wrath,
From death and hell.
Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. -1 Peter 5: 7.
WHEN anxious thoughts the bosom fill,
And skies look dark above,
How sweet, reposing on his will,
To feel that God is love!
To him our mean affairs
Are most minutely known;
He weighs the burden of our cares,
And numbers every groan.
When fails each earthly confidence,
And friends grow cold and strange,
I rest on thine omnipotence,
On love that cannot change.
This trust can ne'er delude,
Thy goodness is most wise;
And in thy bounteous plenitude,
My wealth, my portion lies.
O, let me still a father's hand
In all my ways perceive;
And, when I cannot understand,
Be humble and believe;
Till what I know not now,
Shall all be clearly shown,
When at thy throne my soul shall bow,
And know as I am known.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.- Psalm 42: 11.
O, LET my trembling soul be still,
While darkness veils this mortal eye;
And wait thy wise, thy holy will,
Wrapped yet in fears and mystery.
I cannot, Lord, thy purpose see,
Yet all is well-since ruled by thee.
When mounted on thy clouded car,
Thou send'st thy darker spirits down,
I can discern thy light afar,
Thy light sweet beaming through thy frown!
And should I faint a moment then
I think of thee, and smile again.
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