Bo of thy spirit, Lord,
Thy spirit may we share ;
Deep in our hearts inscribe thy word,
And place thy image there.
Charity essential to the Christian Character. 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3
1 THOUGH every grace my speech adorned
That flows from every tongue;
Though I could rise to loftier strains
Than ever angels sung:—
2 Though with prophetic lore inspired,
I made all mysteries plain;
Yet, were I void of Christian love,
These gifts were all in vain.
3 Though I dispense with liberal hand,
My goods to feed the poor;
Or, firm to conscience and to truth,
A martyr's fate endure :-
4 Nay, though my faith, with boundless power, Ev'n mountains could remove;
'Twere all in vain, should I be found
A stranger still to love.
341. C. M.
God the Preserver of frail Man.
1 THOUGH Others, confident and vain,
Nor death, nor danger fear,
We would a lively sense maintain,
That death is ever near.
2 Just like the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay;
A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.
3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And droops if one be gone:
Strange that a harp of thousand strings,
Should keep in tune so long!
4 'Tis God alone upholds our frame,
Who reared it from the dust:
Hosanna to his mighty name,
In whom is all our trust!
Christ the Image of the Invisible God.
1 THOU, Lord! by mortal eyes unseen,
And by thine offspring here unknown,
To manifest thyself to men,
Hast set thine image in thy Son.
2 As the bright sun's meridian blaze
O'erwhelms and pains our feeble sight,
But cheers us with his softer rays
When shining with reflected light;-
3 So, in thy Son, thy power divine,
Thy wisdom, justice, truth, and love,
With mild and pleasing lustre shine,
Reflected from thy throne above.
4 Though Jews, who granted not his claim,
Contemptuous turned away their face,
Yet those, who trusted in his name,
Beheld in him thy truth and grace.
5 0 thou! at whose almighty word
Fair light at first from darkness shone,
Teach us to know our glorious Lord,
And trace the Father in the Son.
6 While we thine image there displayed,
With love and admiration view,
Form us in likeness to our Head,
That we may bear thine image too.
Thou hast been our Dwelling-place in all Generations.' Ps. xc
1 THOU, Lord! through every changing scene,
Hast to thy saints a refuge been;
Through every age, eternal God!
Their pleasing home, their safe abode.
2 In thee our fathers sought their rest;
In thee our fathers still are blessed;
And, while the tomb confines their dust,
In thee their souls abide, and trust.
3 Lo! we are risen, a feeble race,
Awhile to fill our fathers' place:
Our helpless state with pity view,
And let us share their refuge too.
4 Through all the thorny paths we trace
In this uncertain wilderness,
When friends desert, and foes invade,
Revive our heart, and guard our head.
To thee our infant race we leave;
Them may their fathers' God receive,
That voices yet unformed may raise
Succeeding hymns of humble praise!
Doddridge.
344. L. M.
God omnipresent. Ps. cxxxix.
1 THOU, Lord! by strictest search, hast known My rising up and lying down;
My secret thoughts are known to thee,
Known long before conceived by me.
2 Thine eye my bed and path surveys,
My public haunts, my private ways;
Thou know'st what 'tis my lips would vent,
My yet unuttered words' intent.
3 Surrounded by thy power I stand,
On every side I find thy hand:
O skill for human reach too high!
Too dazzling bright for mortal eye!
4 Oh! could I so perfidious be
To think of once deserting thee,
Where, Lord! could I thy influence shun,
Or whither from thy presence run?
5 If up to heaven I take my flight,
'Tis there thou dwell'st enthroned in light:
Not death can hide what thou would'st spy.
And hell lies naked to thine eye.
6 If I the morning's wings could gain,
And fly beyond the western main,
Thy swifter hand would first arrive,
And there arrest thy fugitive.
7 Or, should I try to shun thy sight
Beneath the sable wings of night;
One glance from thee, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.
8 Search, try, O God! my thoughts and heart,
If mischief lurk in any part;
Correct me where I go astray,
And guide me in thy perfect way.
345. c. M.
Penitent Supplication.
1 THOU, Lord! in mercy wilt regard
The upright and sincere:
Thou wilt, with gracious eye, behold
The penitential tear.
2 Thou canst restrain wild passion's sway,
The power of vice control;
Restore bright reason's ray divine,
To purify the soul.
3 O God! from error turn my feet,
That I no more may stray;
And guide my steps direct and safe
In virtue's peaceful way.
4 Let me no more, with wilful mind,
Thy righteous laws offend:
Then shall I know nor guilt nor fear,
Since thou wilt be my Friend.
Living habitually in the Fear of God. Prov. xxiii. 17.
1 THRICE happy men, who, born from heaven, While yet they sojourn here,
Each day of life with God begin,
And spend it in his fear!
|