HYMN CCLXXXV. Long Metre. or b
A Hymn for the Humane Society.
1 WHO, from the shades of gloomy night,
When the last tear of hope is shed,
Can bid the soul return to light,
And break the slumber of the dead?
2 No human skill that heart can warm,
Which the cold blast of nature froze ;
Recal to life the perish'd form;
The secret of the grave disclose.
3 But thou, our saving God, we know,
Canst arm the mortal hand with power
To bid the stagnant pulses flow,
The animating heat restore.
4 Thy will, ere nature's tutor❜d band
Could with young life, these limbs unfold;
Did the imprison'd brain expand,
And all its countless fibres told.
5 As from the dust, thy forming breath
Could the unconscious being raise;
So can the silent voice of death
Wake at thy call, in songs of praise.
6 Since twice to die is ours alone,
And twice the birth of life to see ;
O let us, suppliant at thy throne,
Devote our second life to thee.
HYMN CCLXXXVI. Long Metre.
I WHO shall the Lord's elect condemn ?
'Tis God who justifies their souls;
And mercy, like a mighty stream,
O'er all their sins divinely rolls.
2 Who shall adjudge the saints to hell?
'Tis Christ who suffer'd in their stead;
And, the salvation to fulfil,
Behold him rising from the dead!
3 He lives! he lives! and reigns above, For ever interceding there;
Who shall divide us from his love? Or what shall tempt us to despair? 4 Shall persecution or distress, Famine, or sword, or nakedness?
He who hath lov'd us, bears us through,
And makes us more than conquerors too.
5 Faith has an overcoming power,
It triumphs in the dying hour;
Christ is our life, our joy, our hope,
Nor can we sink with such a prop.
6 Not all that men on earth can do,
Nor powers on high, nor powers below,
Shall cause his mercy to remove,
Or wean our hearts from Christ our love.
HYMN CCLXXXVII. C. M. * or b
Death and the Resurrection.
1 WHY do we mourn departing friends,
Or shake at death's alarms?
'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends,
To call them to his arms.
2 Why should we tremble to convey
Their bodies to the tomb?
There Jesus' sacred body lay,
And left a long perfume.
3 The graves of all his saints he bless'd,
And soften'd every bed:
Where should the dying members rest,
But with the dying head?
4 Thence he arose, ascended high,
And show'd our feet the way;
Up to the Lord our flesh shall fly,
At the great rising day.
5 Then shall the last loud trumpet sound,
And bid our friends arise;
Awake, ye nations, from the ground;
Ye saints, ascend the skies.
Looking at Things unseen.
1 WHY should the world's alluring toys Detain our hearts and eyes; Regardless of immortal joys,
And strangers to the skies!
-2 These transient scenes will soon decay,
They fade upon the sight;
And quickly will their brighter day
Be lost in endless night.
3 Their brightest day! alas, how vain!
With conscious sighs we own;
Whilst clouds of sorrow, care and pain
O'ershade the smiling noon.
4 O could our thoughts and wishes fly
Above these gloomy shades,
To those bright worlds beyond the sky
Which sorrow ne'er invades.
5 There joys unseen by mortal eyes
Or reason's feeble ray,
In ever blooming prospect rise,
Unconscious of decay.
6 Lord, send a beam of light divine
To guide our upward aim;
With one reviving ray of thine
Our languid hearts inflame.
7 Then shall, on faith's sublimest wing,
Our ardent wishes rise,
To those bright scenes where pleasures spring Immortal in the skies.
HYMN CCLXXXIX. Long Metre.
1 WITH cheerful voices rise and sing
The praises of our God and King;
For he alone can minds unite,
And bless with conjugal delight.
2 This wedded pair, O Lord, inspire
With heavenly love, that sacred fire;
From this blest moment may they prove
The bliss divine of marriage love.
3 O may they both increasing find
Substantial pleasures of the mind;
Happy together may they be,
And both united, Lord, to thee.
4 To you, blest pair, your God hath given
To taste the love which reigns in heaven;
His gift with all your powers improve,
And cultivate that virtuous love.
5 So may you live as truly one;
And when your work on earth is done,
Rise, hand in hand, to heaven, and share
The joys of love for ever there!
1 WITH deep contrition, grief and shame,
The thief his crimes confess'd,
Then turn'd his dying eyes to Christ,
And thus his prayer address'd:
2 "When to thy kingdom thou shalt come,
"O Lord, remember me."
"This day, with me in paradise
"Thy happy soul shall be."
3 Thus spake the Saviour to a wretch
Who languish'd at his side;
Whilst on the fatal tree he hung,
And bled, and groan'd, and died.
4 Jesus, thou Son, and Heir of heaven,
Thou Lord of all below;
Though then unjustly thou wast brought
To infamy and woe ;
5 Yet quickly from that dreadful scene
In triumph thou didst rise,
Burst through the prison of the grave,
And gain'd thy native skies!
6 Exalted to thy Father's throne,
Pardon and life to give;
The penitent thou still dost hear,
And bid the sinner live.
Altered from STENNET.
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