The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
2 Once they were mourning here below,
And wet their couch with tears;
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins, and doubts, and fears.
3 I ask them whence their victory came;
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to his death.
4 They mark'd the footsteps that He trod;
(His zeal inspired their breast;)
And, following their incarnate God,
Possess the promised rest.
5 Our glorious Leader claims our praise,
For his own pattern given;
While the long cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heaven.
Help in spiritual warfare.
1 FOR ever blessed be the Lord,
My Saviour and my shield;
He sends his Spirit with his word,
To arm me for the field.
2 When sin and hell their force unite,
He makes my soul his care;
Instructs me to the heavenly fight,
And guards me through the war.
3 A friend and helper so Divine,
Doth my weak courage raise;
He makes the glorious victory mine,
And his shall be the praise.
The consolation of Gospel hope.
1 WHEN I can read my title clear
To mansions in the skies,
I bid farewell to every fear,
And wipe my weeping eyes.
2 Should earth against my soul engage,
And hellish darts be hurl'd,
Then I can smile at Satan's rage,
And face a frowning world.
3 Let cares, like a wild deluge, come,
And storms of sorrow fall;
May I but safely reach my home,
My God, my heaven, my all.
4 There shall I bathe my weary soul,
In seas of heavenly rest,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast.
Love beyond measure.
1 THY ceaseless, unexhausted love,
Unmerited and free,
Delights our evil to remove,
And helps our misery.
2 Thou waitest to be gracious still,
Thou dost with sinners bear;
That saved, we may thy goodness feel,
And all thy grace declare.
3 Thy goodness and thy truth to me,
To every soul abound:
A vast, unfathomable sea,
Where all our thoughts are drown'd.
Its streams the whole creation reach,
So plenteous is the store;
Enough for all, enough for each,
Enough for evermore.
5 Faithful, O Lord, thy mercies are;
A Rock that cannot move :
A thousand promises declare
Thy constancy of love.
6 Throughout the universe it reigns,
Unalterably sure;
And while the truth of God remains,
The goodness must endure.
For power to watch, and pray, and persevere.
A CHARGE to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky;
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfil ;—
O may it all my powers engage,
To do my Master's will!
Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;
And, O! thy servant, Lord, prepare,
A strict account to give :
Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely;
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall for ever die.
For a clean heart and a right spirit.
10 FOR a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free!
A heart that always feels thy blood,
So freely spilt for me!
2 A heart, resign'd, submissive, 'meek,
My great Redeemer's throne;
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone!
3 An humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true, and clean!
Which neither life nor death can part
From Him that dwells within!
4 A heart in every thought renew'd,
And full of love divine;
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good,-
A copy, Lord, of thine!
5 Fruit of thy gracious lips, on me
Bestow that peace unknown;
The hidden manna, and the tree
Of life, and the white stone.
6 Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart,
Come quickly from above;
Write thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new, best name of love.
For faith in the promise of God.
I WHEN floods of grief assault the mind,
And o'er the conscience roll,
Where shall the mourner comfort find,
To sooth his troubled soul?
2 Lord, Thou hast said, "Seek ye my face:" And shall we seek in vain?
And will the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf, when we complain?
3 Ah! no: the ear of sovereign grace
Attends the mourner's prayer;
The mourner always finds a place
To breathe his sorrows there.
4 Thy Spirit heals the troubled soul,
With guilty fears oppress'd;
Thy Spirit makes the wounded whole,
And gives the weary rest.
5 The saints who now behold thy face,
Were sinners once, as we;
Then why should we distrust thy grace,
Since grace has made them free?
6 O for a heart to trust the Lord,
Who bids our sorrows cease!
For faith to claim that gracious word,
"Sinner! depart in peace!”
Christ coming to seek and save the lost.
I THE true good Shepherd, God's own Son,
From all eternity,
Moved by his love, exchanged his throne
For human misery;
His wandering sheep, gone far astray,
He sought with toil and pain,
And did for all a ransom pay,
To bring them home again.
2 One of those sheep, in deserts lost,
Art thou, my sin-sick soul;
His life it hath the Shepherd cost,
To save and make thee whole :
Now hear his voice with gratitude,
Call on his saving name;
For thee He shed his precious blood,
And now his own doth claim.
Jesus a compassionate High-Priest.
1 WHEN gathering clouds around I view,
And days are dark, and friends are few,
On Him I lean, who, not in vain,
Experienced every human pain;
He sees my wants, allays my fears,
And counts and treasures up my tears.
2 If ought should tempt my soul to stray,
From heavenly wisdom's narrow way,
To flee the good I would pursue,
Or do the sin I would not do,-
Still He, who felt temptation's power,
Shall guard me in that dangerous hour.
3 If wounded love my bosom swell,
Deceived by those I prized too well,
He shall his pitying aid bestow,
Who felt on earth severer wo,
At once betray'd, denied, or fled,
By those that shared his daily bread.
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