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304.

I WHEN long the soul had slept in chains,

And man to man was stern and cold; When love and worship were but strains That swept the gifted chords of old, By shady mount and peaceful lake

A meek and lowly stranger came: The weary drank the words he spake, The poor and feeble blessed his name.

2 He went where frenzy held its rule,

Where sickness breathed its spell of pain: By famed Bethesda's mystic pool,

And by the darkened gate of Nain. He soothed the mourner's troubled breast, He raised the contrite sinner's head, And on the loved ones' lowly rest, The light of better life he shed.

3 Father, the spirit Jesus knew,

We humbly ask of thee to-day, That we may be disciples true

Of him, to love and light the way.

Bright be the places where we tread Amid earth's suffering and its poor, Till we shall come where tears are shed And broken sighs are heard no more.

305.

I THUS far the Lord hath led me on,
Thus far his power prolongs my days;
And every evening shall make known
Some fresh memorial of his grace.
I lay my body down to sleep:

Peace be the pillow for my head;
O, let thy holy angels keep

Their watchful stations round my bed!

2 Thy love divine forbids my fear:
O, may thy presence ne'er depart!
And in the morning may I hear

Thy loving-kindness in my heart. And when the sleep of death shall come, Still may I trust thy mighty love,

See heaven's sunshine through the gloom, And gladly seek my home above.

I OUR Father God! not face to face
May mortal sense commune with thee,
Nor lift the curtains of that place
Where dwells thy secret majesty ;
Yet wheresoe'er our spirits bend
In reverent faith and humble prayer,
Thy promised blessing will descend,
And we shall find thy spirit there.

2 Lord! be the spot where now we meet
An open gateway into heaven;
Here may we sit at Jesus' feet,
And feel our deepest sins forgiven;
Here may desponding care look up,
And sorrow lay its burden down,
Or learn of him to drink the cup,
To bear the cross, and win the crown.

3 Here may the sick and wandering soul
To truth still blind, to sin a slave,
Find better than Bethesda's pool,
Or than Siloam's healing wave.

And may we learn, while here apart From the world's passion and its strife, That thy true shrine's a loving heart, And thy best praise a holy life!

307.

1 My Father, grant thy presence nigh
To bear aloft my sinking soul,
When sorrow o'er my pathway here
In widely whelming waves doth roll.
O, teach mine else unguarded heart
The clouds of gloomy doubt to shun,
To bow unto thy chastening hand,
And meekly say, "Thy will be done!"

2 Though dark to us thy ways may seem,
Thy needful chastisements severe,
Thou dost not willingly afflict,
Nor grieve thy erring children here.
O, teach my heart to lean on thee,
To faith and resignation won,

To see thy love in all its ways,

And humbly say, "Thy will be done!"

308.

I FOR thee, O dear, dear country,
Mine eyes their vigils keep;
For very love, beholding

Thy happy name, they weep.

The mention of thy glory

Is unction to the breast,
And medicine in sickness,
And love, and light, and rest.

2 With jasper glow thy bulwarks,
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The sardius and the topaz

Unite in thee their rays:
Thine ageless walls are bonded
With amethyst unpriced;
The saints build up its fabric,
The corner-stone is Christ.

309.

1 GOD is my strong salvation:
What foe have I to fear?
In darkness and temptation,
My Light, my Help is near.
Though hosts encamp around me,
Firm in the fight I stand;
What terror can confound me,

With God at my right hand?

3 O one, O only mansion!
O Paradise of joy!

Where tears are ever banished,
And smiles have no alloy;
There grief is turned to pleasure,
Such pleasure as, below,

No human voice can utter,

No human heart can know.

4 Strive, man, to win that glory;
Toil, man, to gain that light;
Send hope before to grasp it
Till hope be lost in sight!
Exult, O dust and ashes!

The Lord shall be thy part;
His only, his forever,

Thou shalt be and thou art!

2 Place on the Lord reliance, My soul, with courage wait; His truth be thine affiance,

When faint and desolate; His might thy heart shall strengthen, His love thy joy increase ; Mercy thy day shall lengthen, The Lord will give thee peace.

I BRIEF life is here our portion,
Brief sorrow, short-lived care;
The life that knows no ending,
The tearless life, is there!
O happy retribution!

Short toil, eternal rest;

For mortals and for sinners

A mansion with the blest!

2 There grief is turned to pleasure, -
Such pleasure as, below,
No human voice can utter,

No human heart can know;
And after fleshly weakness,

And after this world's night,
And after storm and whirlwind,
Are calm, and joy, and light.

3 And now we fight the battle,

But then shall wear the crown
Of full and everlasting

And passionless renown;
And he whom now we trust in,
Shall then be seen and known,
And they that know and see him
Shall have him for their own.

4 The morning shall awaken,
The shadows flee away,
And each true-hearted servant
Shall shine as doth the day;
For God, our King and Portion,
In fulness of his grace,
We then shall see forever,
And worship face to face.

311.