3 Then will I at thine altar bend;
My harp its softest notes shall raise,
And from my lips to heaven ascend

The song of thankfulness and praise.
4 Why then, my soul, art thou cast down?
Why art thou anxious and distress'd?
Hope thou in God, his mercy own,
For I shall yet enjoy his rest.

775

C. M.

Trusting in the mercy of God.
HY, O my soul, O why depress'd,
And whence thine anxious fears?

WHY,

Let former mercies fix thy trust,

And check thy rising tears. 2 Affliction is a stormy deep,

Where wave succeeds to wave; Though o'er my head the billows sweep, I know the Lord can save.

3 His grace and mercy trust, my soul,
Nor murmur at his rod :

In vain the waves of trouble roll,
While he is still thy God.

776

All-sufficiency of His grace.

JESUS, my Lord, my God,

Thy promise I embrace;

S. M.

And hail, beneath the Father's rod,
Thy all-sufficient grace.

2 My oft-repeated prayer

The kindest answer gains,
When, by thy gracious aid, I bear
Life's keen and varied pains.

3 Should dread of want oppress,
And men or fiends assail,-
Infirmities my frame oppress,
And earthly comforts fail,-

4 Still may I trust in thee,

And calm each rising fear;
For none of these can injure me
While thou, O Christ, art near.
5 My faith as gold refine;
Each grace and virtue prove;
That in my spotless life may shine
The light of perfect love.

6 Thus shall thy mighty power
Upon thy servant rest;

Who glories in the trying hour,
By thee upheld and blest.

777

The Lord my portion.

C. M.

ETERNAL Source of joys divine,

To thee my soul aspires;

O! could I say,-The Lord is mine! 'Tis all my soul desires.

2 My hope, my trust, my life, my Lord, Assure me of thy love;

O! speak the kind, transporting word, And bid my fears remove.

3 Then shall my thankful powers rejoice, And triumph in my God,

Till heavenly rapture tune my voice
To spread thy praise abroad.

778

C. M.

In His presence there is fulness of joy.
HY gracious presence, O my God,
All that I wish contains;

THY

With this, beneath affliction's load,
My heart no more complains.
2 This can my every care control,-
Gild each dark scene with light:
This is the sunshine of the soul;

Without it all is night.

3 0 happy scenes above the sky,
Where thy full beams impart
Unclouded beauty to the eye,
And rapture to the heart.

4 Her portion in those realms of bliss,
My spirit longs to know;
My wishes terminate in this,

Nor can they rest below.

5 Lord, shall the breathings of my heart Aspire in vain to thee?

Confirm my hope, that where thou art
I shall forever be.

6 Then shall my cheerful spirit sing
The darksome hours away,

And rise, on faith's expanded wing,
To everlasting day.

779

S. M.

Whoso trusteth in the Lord shall be safe.
OMMIT thou all thy griefs

COMMI

And ways into His hands,

To his sure trust and tender care
Who earth and heaven commands;
Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey:
He shall direct thy wand'ring feet,-
He shall prepare thy way.

2 Thou on the Lord rely,

So, safe, shalt thou go on;
Fix on his work thy steadfast eye,
So shall thy work be done.
No profit canst thou gain

By self-consuming care;

To him commend thy cause,-his ear

Attends the softest prayer.

780

G

He ruleth all things well.

IVE to the winds thy fears;

UT Hope, and be undismay'd;

S. M.

God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;
God shall lift up thy head;

Through waves, and clouds, and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou his time, so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.

2 Still heavy is thy heart?

Still sink thy spirits down?
Cast off the weight,-let fear depart,
And every care be gone.
What though thou rulest not;

Yet heaven, and earth, and hell,
Proclaim,-God sitteth on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.

3 Leave to his sov'reign sway
To choose and to command:

So shalt thou, wond'ring, own his way,
How wise, how strong his hand!
Far, far above thy thought

His counsel shall appear,

When fully he the work hath wrought

That caused thy needless fear.

781

He careth for you.

L. M.

EACE, troubled soul, thou need'st not fear;

PEA

Thy great Provider still is near;

Who fed thee last, will feed thee still:
Be calm, and sink into his will.

2 The Lord, who built the earth and sky,
In mercy stoops to hear thy cry;
His promise all may freely claim :
Ask and receive in Jesus' name.

3 Without reserve give Christ your heart;
Let him his righteousness impart;
Then all things else he'll freely give;
With him you all things shall receive.
4 Thus shall the soul be truly blest,
That seeks in God his only rest;
May I that happy person be,
In time and in eternity.

782

C. M.

Deliverance is at hand.

MY span of life will soon be done,

The passing moments say;

As length'ning shadows o'er the mead,
Proclaim the close of day.

20 that my heart might dwell aloof
From all created things;

And learn that wisdom from above,
Whence true contentment springs.

3 Courage, my soul; thy bitter cross,
In every trial here,

Shall bear thee to thy heaven above,
But shall not enter there.

4 The sighing ones, that humbly seek
In sorrowing paths below,

Shall in eternity rejoice,

Where endless comforts flow.

5 Soon will the toilsome strife be o'er,

Of sublunary care,

And life's dull vanities no more

This anxious breast ensnare.

6 Courage, my soul; on God rely;
Deliv'rance soon will come;

A thousand ways has Providence
To bring believers home.