That love shall vainer loves expel,
That fear, all fears beside,
3 And O, by error's force subdu'd,
Since oft my stubborn will
Prepost'rous shuns the latent good,
And grasps the specious ill.
4 Not to my wish, but to my want, Do thou thy gifts apply;
Unask'd, what good thou knowest, grant, What ill, though ask'd, deny.
God's parental character.
1 My Father!-cheering name!
O may I call thee mine!
Give me with humble hope to claim
A portion so divine.
2 This can my fears control,
And bid my sorrows fly;
What real harm can reach my soul
Beneath Father's eye?
3 Whate'er thy will denies,
I calmly would resign;
For thou art just, and good, and wise;
O bend my will to thine!
4 Whate'er thy will ordains,
O give me strength to bear;
Still let me know a father reigns,
And trust a father's care.
5 If anguish rend this frame,
And life almost depart;
Is not thy mercy still the same
To cheer my drooping heart?
6 Thy ways are little known
To my weak, erring sight;
Yet shall my soul, believing, own
That all thy ways are right.
7 My Father!—blissful name!
Above expression dear!
If thou accept my humble claim,
I bid adieu to fear.
HYMN CXXXIII. Six Line L. M.
1 The Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
2 When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountains pant,
To fertile vales, and dewy meads,
My weary, wand'ring steps he leads;
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
3 Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord! art with me still;
Thy friendly staff shall give me aid,
And guide me thro' the dreadful shade.
4 Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile;
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With lively greens and herbage crown'd,
And streams shall murmur all around.
HYMN CXXXIV. P. M.
Gratitude for support and consolation.
1 How vast is the tribute I owe
Of gratitude, homage, and praise,
To the giver of all I possess,
The life and the length of my days!
2 Thou alone, the great author of all!
The faithful, unchangeable friend!
Thou alone all our griefs canst remove,
Thou alone from all evils defend.
3 When the sorrows I boded were come, I pour'd out my sighs and my tears; And to him who alone can relieve
My soul breath'd her vows and her prayers.
4. When my heart throbb'd with pain and
alarm,
When paleness my cheek overspread,
When sickness pervaded my frame;
Then my soul on my Maker was staid.
5 When death's awful image was nigh,
And no mortal was able to save,
Thou didst brighten the valley of death,
And illumine the gloom of the grave.
6 In mercy thy presence dispels
The shades of calamity's night;
And turns the sad scene of despair
To a morning of joy and delight.
7 Great Source of my comforts restor❜d!
Thou healer and balm of my woes!
Thou hope and desire of my soul!
On thy mercy I'll ever repose.
8 How boundless the gratitude due
To thee, O thou God of my praise,
The fountain of all I possess,
The life and the light of my days!
Security of the righteous in time of danger.
1 Thy dreadful power, Almighty God,
Thy works, to speak, conspire ;
This earth declares thy fame abroad,
With water, air, and fire.
2 At thy command, in glaring streaks
The ruddy lightning flies;
Loud thunder the creation shakes,
And rapid tempests rise.
3 Now gath'ring glooms obscure the day,
And shed a solemn night;
And now the heavenly engines play,
And shoot devouring light.
4 Th' attending sea thy will performs,
Waves break around the shore,
And toss, and foam amidst the storms,
And dash, and rage, and roar.
5 The earth, and all her trembling hills,
Thy marching footsteps own;
A shudd'ring fear her bosom fills,
Her hideous caverns groan.
6 Great God! when terrors thickest throng Through all the mighty space,
And rattling thunders roar along,
And the fierce lightnings blaze;
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