To thy church and thee a stranger,
Pleas'd with what displeased thee;
Lost, yet could perceive no danger,
Wounded, yet no wound could see,
But unwearied thou pursu❜dst me:
Still thy calls repeated came,
Till on Calv'ry's mount I view'd thee,
Bearing my reproach and blame,
Then o'erwhelm'd with shame and sorrow,
Whilst I view each pierced limb,
Tears bedew the scourge's furrow,
Mingling with the purple stream,
no more at Mary wonder
Dropping tears upon the grave,
Earnest asking all around her,
Where is he who dy'd to save?
Dying love her heart attracted,
Soon she felt its rising pow'r;
He who Mary thus affected
Bids his mourners weep no more,
29. Unchangeable Love. C. M.
OUR God, how firm his promise stands,
E'en when he hides his face,
He trusts in our Redeemer's hands
His glory and his grace.
Beneath his smiles my heart hath liv'd,
And part of heav'n possess'd,
I thank him for the grace receiv'd,
And trust him for the rest.
Jesus, my God, I know his name,
His name is all my trust;
He will not put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.
Thus will he own my worthless name
Before his Father's face;
And in the New Jerusalem
Assign my soul a place.
WHEN darkness long has veil'd my mind,
And smiling day once more appears,
Then, my Redeemer, then I find
The folly of my doubts and fears.
Straight I upbraid my wand'ring heart,
And blush that I should ever be
So prone to act so base a part,
And harbour one hard thought of thee.
O let me then at length be taught
What still I am so slow to learn,
That God is love, and changes not,
Nor knows the shadow of a turn,
Sweet truth, and easy to repeat;
But when my faith is sharply try'd,
I find myself a learner yet,
Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide.
But oh my Lord, one look from thee
Subdues the disobedient will,
Drives doubt and discontent away,
And thy rebellious worm is still,
Thou art as willing to forgive
As I am ready to repine;
Thou, therefore, all the praise receive, Be shame and self-abhorrence mine. 31. Amazing Love. C. M.
ALAS, and did my Saviour bleed!
And did my Sov'reign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groan'd upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree?
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When God the mighty Maker dy'd
For man, his creature's sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face,
While thy dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness;
And melt my eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne'er repay
That debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
O help me so to do.
32. Unchangeable Love. 104.
If Jesus is ours
We have a true Friend,
Whose goodness endures
The same to the end;
Our comforts may vary, Our frames may decline; We cannot miscarry,
Our aid is divine.
Though God may delay
To shew us his light,
And heaviness may
Endure for a night;
Yet joy in the morning
Shall surely abound,
No shadow of turning
In Jesus is found.
The hills may depart,
And mountains remove,
But faithful thou art,
O Fountain of love!
The Father hath graven
Our names on thy hands;
Our building in heaven
Eternally stands.
A moment he hid
The light of his face,
Yet firmly decreed
To save us by grace; And though he reprov'd us,
And still may reprove,
For ever he lov'd us,
And ever will love.
Then tune every string
To Jesus's name, With Angel's we'll sing
The song of the Lamb;
Thee ev'ry believer
Shall joyfully praise,
Thou bountiful giver
Of glory and grace.
33. The same. 6. 8,
O MY distrustful heart,
How small thy faith appears! But greater, Lord, thou art
Than all my doubts and fears; Did Jesus once upon me shine? Then Jesus is for ever mine. Unchangeable his will
Whatever be my frame,
His loving heart is still
Eternally the same;
My soul through many changes goes,
His love no variation knows.
Thou, Lord, wilt carry on,
And perfectly perform
The work thou hast begun
In me a sinful worm;
'Midst all my fears, and sin, and woe, Thy Spirit will not let me go.
The bowels of thy grace
At first did freely move,
I still shall see thy face,
And feel that God is love;
My soul into thy arms I cast,
I know I shall be sav'd at last,
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