512

I

O should once Thy smile divine
Cease upon my soul to shine,

What were heaven or earth to me?
Whom have I in each but Thee?

L.M.

I commune with mine own heart.

MY

Psalm lxxvii. 6.

God, permit me not to be

A stranger to myself and Thee;
Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove,
Forgetful of my highest love.

2 Why should my passions mix with earth,
And thus debase my heavenly birth?
Why should I cleave to things below,
And let my God, my Saviour, go?

WATTS.

3 Call me away from flesh and sense;
One sovereign word can draw me thence;
I would obey the voice divine,
And all inferior joys resign.

4 Be earth with all her scenes withdrawn ;
Let noise and vanity be gone;

In secret silence of the mind

My heaven, and there my God, I find.

Lead me by Thine own hand,
Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be or rough,
It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it leads
Right onward, to Thy rest.
2 I dare not choose my lot;
I would not, if I might;
Choose Thou for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright.
The kingdom that I seek
Is Thine! so let the way
That leads to it be Thine,
Else I must surely stray.

3 Not mine, not mine the choice,
In things or great or small;
Be Thou my guide, my strength,
My wisdom and my all.
Choose Thou for me my friends,
My sickness or my health;
Choose Thou my cares for me,
My poverty or wealth.

7s. Six lines.

W. WALSHAM HOW.

514 Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life.

I

Matthew vii. 14.

LORD, Thy children guide and keep,

As with feeble steps they press
On the pathway rough and steep,
Through this weary wilderness.
Holy Jesu, day by day,

Lead us in the narrow way.

2 There are stony ways to tread ;

Give the strength we sorely lack;
There are tangled paths to thread;
Light us, lest we miss the track.
Holy Jesu, day by day,

Lead us in the narrow way.

3 There are sandy wastes that lie

Cold and sunless, vast and drear,
Where the feeble faint and die;

Grant us grace to persevere.

Holy Jesu, day by day,
Lead us in the narrow way.

4 There are soft and flowery glades,
Decked with golden-fruited trees.
Sunny slopes and scented shades;
Keep us, Lord, from slothful ease.
Holy Jesu, day by day,

Lead us in the narrow way.

5 Upward still to purer heights,
Onward yet to scenes more blest,
Calmer regions, clearer lights,

Till we reach the promised rest.
Holy Jesu, day by day,

Lead us in the narrow way.

515

I

10 4, 104, IO IO. J. H. NEWMAN. A pillar of fire.—Neh. ix. 12.

EAD, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!

LE

The night is dark, and I am far from home-
Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene-one step enough for me.

2 I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Should'st lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, Pride ruled my will; remember not past years. 3 So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still Will lead me on,

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone ;

And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

516

I

0

THOU, whom heaven's bright host revere,
Receive our humble prayer;

God of our fathers, lend Thine ear,

And take us to Thy care.

2 Thou art our sun, whose rays divine
Shed gladness o'er the heart;
O'er all the universe they shine,
And light and life impart.

3 Thou art our shield, our sure defence,
In peril's darkest hour;

Ne'er may we place our confidence
But in Thy saving power.

4 To those, O mortals truly blessed!
Who in Thy presence live,
Whate'er Thy wisdom knows is best
Thy bounteous hand will give.

5 Grace shall through life their steps attend,
To guide their heavenward way,
And glory crown them at the end
In realms of endless day.

IOS.

W. H. BURLEIGH.

517 For Thy Name's sake lead me and guide me.

I

L

Psalm xxxi. 3.

EAD us, O Father! in the paths of peace ; Without Thy guiding hand we go astray, And doubts appal, and sorrows still increase; Lead us through Christ, the true and living

way.

2 Lead us, O Father! in the paths of truth;

Unhelped by Thee, in error's maze we grope, While passion stains and folly dims our youth, And age comes on uncheered by faith and hope.

3 Lead us, O Father! in the paths of right;
Blindly we stumble when we walk alone,
Involved in shadows of a darksome night,
Only with Thee we journey safely on.
4 Lead us, O Father! to Thy heavenly rest,

However rough and steep the path may be,
Through joy or sorrow, as Thou deemest best,
Until our lives are perfected in Thee.

8,75.

HASTINGS.

518 Lead me, O Lord, in Thy righteousness.

I

Psalm v. 8.

Pilgrims in this vale of tears,
Through the changes yet decreed us,
Till our last great change appears.