God the Pilgrim's Guide and Strength.
GUIDE me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land:
I am weak-but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing streams do flow;
Let the fiery cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong Deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield.
8 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside:
Bear me through the swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan's side;
Songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.
The Christian's Safety in God.
IF life's pleasures charm thee,
Give them not thy heart,
Lest the gift ensnare thee,
From thy God to part;
His favor scek,
His praises speak,
Fix here thy hopes' foundation:
Serve him, and he
The Rock of thy Salvation.
2 Dangers may approach thee; Let them not alarm;
Christ will ever watch thee,
He'll protect from harm;
He near thee stands,
With mighty hands,
To ward off each temptation:
To Jesus fly,
He's ever nigh,
The Rock of thy Salvation.
Looking from Earth to Heaven.
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 hurled;
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.
The heavenly Canaan.
THERE is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Eternal day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
2 There everlasting spring abides,
And never-fading flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.
3 Sweet fields, beyond the swelling flood,
Stand dressed in living green:
So to the Jews fair Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.
4 But timorous mortals start and shrink,
To cross this narrow sea;
And linger, trembling, on the brink,
And fear to launch away.
5 Oh, could we make our doubts remove,
Those gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love
With unbeclouded eyes;—
6 Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o'er,
Not Jordan's stream-nor death's cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore.
Mourning over departed Comforts.
SWEET was the time, when first I felt
The Saviour's pardoning blood,
Applied to cleanse my soul from guilt,
And bring me home to God.
2 Soon as the morn the light revealed,
His praises tuned my tongue;
And when the evening shades prevailed,
His love was all my song.
3 In prayer my soul drew near the Lord,
And saw his glory shine
And when I read his holy word,
I called each promise mine.
4 But now-when evening shade prevailsMy soul in darkness mourns:
And when the morn the light reveals,
No light to me returns.
5 Rise, Lord, and help me to prevail—
Oh make my soul thy care!
I know thy mercy cannot fail;
Let me that mercy share.
Mourning over departed Comforts. OH where is now that glowing love, That marked our union with the Lord? Our hearts were fixed on things above, Nor could the world a joy afford.
2 Where is the zeal that led us then
To make our Saviour's glory known?
That freed us from the fear of men,
And kept our eye on him alone?
3 Where are the happy seasons spent
In fellowship with him we loved?
The sacred joy-the sweet content,
The blessedness that then we proved?
4 Behold, again, we turn to thee;
Oh cast us not away, though vile!
No peace we have-no joy we see,
O Lord our God, but in tny smile.
ONCE I thought my mountain strong,
Firmly fixed, no more to move;
Then my Saviour was my song,
Then my soul was filled with love:
Those were happy, golden days,
Sweetly spent in prayer and praise.
2 Little then myself I knew,
Little thought of Satan's power;
Now I feel my sins anew,
Now I feel the stormy hour;
Sin has put my joys to flight,
Sin has turned my day to night.
3 Saviour, shine, and cheer my soul,
Bid my dying hopes revive;
Make my wounded spirit whole,
Far away the tempter drive:
Speak the word, and set me free,
Let me live alone to thee.
Backsliding and Returning.
WHY is my heart so far from thee,
My God, my chief delight?
Why are my thoughts no more by day
With thee, no more by night?
2 When my forgetful soul renews
The savor of thy grace,
My heart presumes I cannot lose
The relish all my days.
3 But ere one fleeting hour is past,
The flattering world employs
Some sensual bait to seize my taste, And to pollute my joys.
4 Wretch that I am!-to wander thus, In chase of false delight!
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