THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, SUFFERING AND TRUST

643.

C. M.

1 WHEN I survey life's varied scene, Amid the darkest hours

Sweet rays of comfort shine between,

And thorns are mixed with flowers.

2 Lord, teach me to adore thy hand,
From whence my comforts flow,
And let me in this desert land
A glimpse of Canaan know.

3 And oh whate'er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign hand denies,
Accepted at thy throne of grace
Let this petition rise:

4 Give me a calm, a thankful heart,
From every murmur free;

The blessings of thy grace impart,
And let me live to thee.

5 Let the sweet hope that thou art mine My path of life attend,

Thy presence through my journey shine,
And bless its happy end!

644.

Anne Steele, 1760.

PSALM 66.

C. M.

1 Now shall my solemn vows be paid
To that Almighty Power,

Who heard the long requests I made
distressful hour.

In my

2 My lips and cheerful heart prepare
To make his mercies known;

Come, ye that fear my God, and hear
The wonders he hath done.

3 When on my head huge sorrows fell, I sought his heavenly aid;

He saved my sinking soul from hell,
And death's eternal shade.

4 If sin lay covered in my heart,
While prayer employed my tongue,
The Lord had shown me no regard,
Nor I his praises sung.

5 But God, his name be ever blest,
Hath set my spirit free,

Nor turned from him my poor request,
Nor turned his heart from me.

645.

Isaac Watts, 1719.

PSALM 40.

C. M.

1 I WAITED patient for the Lord,
He bowed to hear my cry;
He saw me resting on his word,
And brought salvation nigh.

2 He raised me from a horrid pit
Where mourning long I lay,
And from my bonds released my feet,
Deep bonds of miry clay.

3 Firm on a rock he made me stand,
And taught my cheerful tongue
To praise the wonders of his hand,
In a new thankful song.

4 I'll spread his works of grace

abroad;

The saints with joy shall hear, And sinners learn to make my God Their only hope and fear.

Isaac Watts, 1719.

646.

L. M.

1 THE billows swell, the winds are high,
Clouds overcast my wintry sky;
Out of the depths to thee I call;
My fears are great, my strength is small.

2 O Lord, the pilot's part perform,
And guide and guard me through the

storm!

Defend me from each threatening ill;
Control the waves; say,

still!"

66

Peace, be

3 Amidst the roaring of the sea,
My soul still hangs her hopes on thee;
Thy constant love, thy faithful care,
Is all that saves me from despair.

4 Tho' tempest-tossed, and half a wreck,
My Saviour through the floods I seek;
Let neither winds nor stormy main
Force back my shattered bark again.

647.

William Cowper, 1779.

L. M.

1 THUS far my God hath led me on,
And made his truth and mercy known;
My hopes and fears alternate rise,
And comforts mingle with my sighs.

2 Through this wide wilderness I roam,
Far distant from my blissful home;
Lord, let thy presence be my stay,
And guard me in this dangerous way.

3 My soul, with various tempests tossed, Her hopes o'erturned, her projects crossed,

Sees every day new straits attend,

And wonders where the scene will end.

4 Is this, dear Lord, that thorny road Which leads us to the mount of God? Are these the toils thy people know, While in the wilderness below?

5 'Tis even so thy faithful love Doth all thy children's graces prove; 'Tis thus our pride and self must fall, That Jesus may be All in All.

648.

John Fawcett, 1782.

L. M.

[led,

1 GOD of my life, whose gracious power
Through varied deaths my soul hath
Or turned aside the fatal hour,
Or lifted up my sinking head;
2 In all my ways thy hand I own,
Thy ruling providence I see ;
Assist me still my course to run,
And still direct my paths to thee.
3 Whither, oh whither should I fly,

But to my loving Saviour's breast,
Secure within thine arms to lie,

And safe beneath thy wings to rest? 4 I have no skill the snare to shun,

But thou, O Christ, my wisdom art; I ever into ruin run,

But thou art greater than my heart. 5 Foolish, and impotent, and blind,

Lead me a way I have not known;
Bring me where I my heaven may find
The heaven of loving thee alone.

649.

Charles Wesley, 1740.

89 & 78.

1 COME, thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above:
Praise the mount; I'm fixed upon it;
Mount of God's unchanging love.

2 Here I raise my Ebenezer ;
Hither by thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed with precious blood.
3 Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now. like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it;
Seal it from thy courts above.

Robert Robinson, 1757.

650.

8s & 7s.

1 GENTLY, Lord, oh, gently lead us
Through this lonely vale of tears;
Through the changes thou 'st decreed us,
Till our last great change appears:
When temptation's darts assail us,
When in devious paths we stray,
Let thy goodness never fail us;
Lead us in thy perfect way.

2 In the hour of pain and anguish,

In the hour when death draws near,
Suffer not our hearts to languish,

Suffer not our souls to fear:
And, when mortal life is ended,
Bid us on thy bosom rest;