494.

Living to God.

Он, draw me, Father, after thee!
So shall I run and never tire ;
With gracious words still comfort me;
Be thou my hope, my sole desire :
Free me from every weight; nor fear
Nor sin can come, if thou art here.
From all eternity, with love
Unchangeable thou hast me viewed;
Ere knew this beating heart to move,
Thy tender mercies me pursued:
Ever with me may they abide,
And close me in on every side!
In suffering be thy love my peace,
In weakness be thy love my power;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
My God, in that important hour,
In death as life be thou my guide,

THOU hidden Source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love Divine,

My help and refuge from my foes,
Secure I am if thou art mine.

And, lo! from sin and grief and shame
I hide me, Father, in thy name.
Father, my all in all thou art,
My rest in toil, my ease in pain ;
The healing of my broken heart;
In strife, my peace; in loss, my gain;
My smile beneath the cold world's frown;
In shame, my glory and my crown;
In want, my plentiful supply;
In weakness, my almighty power;
In bonds, my perfect liberty;
My light in evil's darkest hour;
In grief, my joy unspeakable;

And bear me thro' death's whelming tide. My life in death, my all in all.

Moravian.

Charles Wesley.

Our strength thy grace, our rule thy word, 501.
Our end the glory of the Lord.

By thine unerring spirit led,
We shall not in the desert stray,
We shall not full direction need,
Nor miss our providential way;
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, Almighty love, is near.

500.

Wesleyan.

God a Refuge.
FORTH from the dark and stormy sky,
Lord, to thine altar's shade we fly;
Forth from the world, its hope and fear,
Father, we seek thy shelter here:
Weary and weak, thy grace we pray ;
Turn not, O Lord, thy guests away!

Long have we roamed in want and pain,
Long have we sought thy rest in vain ;

N

For Union with God.

O Love, how cheering is thy ray!
All pain before thy presence flies;
Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away,
Where'er thy healing beams arise.
O Father, nothing may I see,

And nought desire or seek, but thee!

Unwearied may I this pursue,
Undaunted to this prize aspire ;
Each hour within my soul renew
This holy flame, this heavenly fire;
And day and night be all my care
To guard the sacred treasure there.

Oh, that I as a little child
May follow thee, and never rest,
Till sweetly thou hast breathed a mild
And lowly mind into my breast!
Nor ever may we parted be,
Till I become at one with thee.
209

Wesleyan.

VARINA. C. M.

Johann C. H. Rink.

Arr. by George Frederick Root. 1849

LE

502. "My Times are in Thy Hand." Ps. xxxi. 15. 503.

FATHER, I know that all my life

Is portioned out for me:

The changes that will surely come

I do not fear to see.

I ask thee for a present mind,
Intent on pleasing thee.

I ask thee for a thoughtful love,

Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles,

And wipe the weeping eyes; A heart at leisure from itself,

To soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do,

Or secret thing to know:
I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.
Wherever in the world I am,

In whatsoe'er estate,

I have a fellowship with hearts
To keep and cultivate;

A work of lowly love to do
For Him on whom I wait.

Anna L. Waring.

For Daily Strength.

I ASK thee for the daily strength,

To none that ask denied,
A mind to blend with outward life,
While keeping at thy side;
Content to fill a little space,

If thou be glorified.

And if some things I do not ask

Among my blessings be,

I'd have my spirit filled the more

With grateful love to thee;
More careful, not to serve thee much,
But please thee perfectly.

Briars and thorns beset our path,

That call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot,

An earnest need for prayer;
But lowly hearts, that lean on thee,
Are happy anywhere.

In service which thy will appoints,
There are no bonds for me;
My inmost heart is taught the truth
That makes thy children free:
A life of self-renouncing love
Is one of liberty.

Anna L. Waring. 1850