4 O may our willing hearts confess
Thy sweet, thy gentle sway;
Glad captives of thy matchless grace,
Thy righteous rule obey.

303

S. M.

Vital Union to Christ.

DODDRIDGE.

DEAR Saviour, we are thine

By everlasting bands;

Our hearts, our souls, we would resign
Entirely to thy hands.

2 To thee we still would cleave
With ever-growing zeal;

If millions tempt us Christ to leave,
O, let them ne'er prevail.

3 Thy Spirit shall unite

Our souls to thee, our Head;
Shall form us to thy image bright,
And teach thy paths to tread.

4 Death may our souls divide
From these abodes of clay;
But love shall keep us near thy side,
Through all the gloomy way.

5 Since Christ and we are one,

Why should we doubt or fear?
If he in heaven hath fixed his throne,
He'll fix his members there.

304

1

COULD we speak the matchless worth,

Could we the glories forth,

Which in our Saviour shine,

We'd soar, and touch the heavenly strings, And vie with Gabriel, while he sings,

In notes almost divine.

2 We'd sing the precious blood he spilt-
Our ransom from the dreadful guilt
Of sin and wrath divine;

We'd sing his glorious righteousness,
In which all-perfect, heavenly dress
We shall forever shine.

3 We'd sing the characters he bears,
And all the forms of love he wears,
Exalted on his throne:

In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
We would, to everlasting days,
Make all his glories known.

4 Well, the delightful day will come, When our dear Lord will bring us home, And we shall see his face:

Then, with our Saviour, Brother, Friend,
A blest eternity we 'll spend,
Triumphant in his grace.

Christ precious.

BEDDOME.

JESUS! delightful, charming name!

It spreads a fragrance round;
Justice and mercy, truth and peace,
In union here are found.

2 He is our life, our joy, our strength;
In him all glories meet;

He is a shade above our heads,

A light to guide our feet.

3 The thickest clouds are soon dispersed If Jesus shows his face;

To weary, heavy-laden souls

He is the resting-place.

4 When storms arise and tempests blow,
He speaks the stilling word;

The threatening billows cease to flow,
The winds obey their Lord.

5 Through every age he 's still the same;
But we ungrateful prove,

Forget the savor of his name,
The sweetness of his love.

306

Jesus precious to them that believe.

JESUS, I love thy charming name;

music to my ear;

Fain would I sound it out so loud
That earth and heaven might hear.

2 Yes, thou art precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels to thee are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust.

3 All my capacious powers can wish
In thee doth richly meet;
Nor to my eyes is light so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet.

4 Thy grace shall dwell upon my heart,
And shed its fragrance there,

The noblest balm of all its wounds,
The cordial of its care.

5 I'll speak the honors of thy name
With my last, laboring breath,
And, dying, clasp thee in my arms,
The antidote of death.

307

1

DEAREST of all the names above,

My Saviour and my God,

Who can resist thy heavenly love,
Or trifle with thy blood?

2 'Tis by the merits of thy death
The Father smiles again;
"Tis by thine interceding breath
The Spirit dwells with men.

3 Till God in human flesh I see,
My thoughts no comfort find;
The holy, just, and sacred Three
Are terrors to my mind.

4 But if Immanuel's face appear,
My hope, my joy, begin;

His name forbids my slavish fear;
His grace removes my sin.

5 While Jews on their own law rely,
And Greeks of wisdom boast,

I love th' incarnate mystery,
And there I fix my trust.

308

1

PRAISE TO CHRIST.

C. M.

Praise to the Redeemer.

WATTS.

PLUNGED in a gulf of dark despair,

We wretched sinners lay,
Without one cheerful beam of hope,
Or spark of glimmering day

2 With pitying eyes the Prince of
Beheld our helpless grief;
He saw, and -O, amazing love!-
He flew to our relief.

grace

3 Down from the shining seats above,
With joyful haste he fled,

Entered the grave in mortal flesh,
And dwelt among the dead.

4 O, for this love, let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
The Saviour's praises speak.

5 Angels, assist our mighty joys;
Strike all your harps of gold;

But when you raise your highest notes,
His love can ne'er be told.

309

Condescension of Christ.

HE Saviour! O, what endless charms
Dwell in that blissful sound!

Its influence every fear disarms,
And spreads delight around.

2 Here pardon, life, and joy divine,
In rich profusion flow,

For guilty rebels, lost in sin,

And doomed to endless woe.

3 The mighty Former of the skies Descends to our abode,

While angels view with wondering eyes And hail th' incarnate God.

4 How rich the depths of love divine!
Of bliss, a boundless store!
Dear Saviour, let me call thee mine;
I cannot wish for more.

5 On thee alone my hope relies;
Beneath thy cross I fall,

My Lord, my life, my sacrifice,
My Saviour, and my all.

310

1

Τ

C. M.

Love of Christ celebrated.

STEELE.

our Redeemer's glorious name
Awake the sacred song!

O, may his love-immortal flame-
Tune every heart and tongue.

2 His love what mortal thought can reach?
What mortal tongue display?
Imagination's utmost stretch

In wonder dies away.

3 Dear Lord, while we, adoring, pay
Our humble thanks to thee,
May every heart with rapture say,
"The Saviour died for me."

4 O, may the sweet, the blissful theme
Fill every heart and tongue,

Till strangers love thy charming name,
And join the sacred song.

311

1

C. M.

Wonders of Redemption.

BEDDOME.

HOW great the wisdom, power, and grace

Which in redemption shine!

The heavenly host with joy confess

The work is all divine.

2 Before his feet they cast their crowns,—
Those crowns which Jesus gave,-

And, with ten thousand thousand tongues,
Proclaim his power to save.