Imatges de pàgina
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2 Oh for those humble, contrite tears
Which from repentance flow!

That sense of guilt, which trembling fears
The long suspended blow!

3 Saviour, to me in pity give
For sin the deep distress,

The pledge thou wilt at last receive,
And bid me die in peace!-

4 Oh fill my soul with faith and love,
And strength to do thy will;
Raise my desires and hopes above,
Thyself to me reveal.

276

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Repentance in View of Divine Patience.
AND are we, wretches, yet alive!
And do we yet rebel!

"Tis boundless-'tis amazing love!
That bears us up from hell!

2 The burden of our weighty guilt
Would sink us down to flames;
And threatening vengeance rolls above,
To crush our feeble frames.

3 Almighty goodness cries-" Forbear"-
And straight the thunder stays;
And dare we now provoke his wrath,
And weary out his grace?

mp 4 Lord-we have long abused thy love,
Too long indulged our sin;

Our aching hearts now bleed to see
What rebels we have been.

mf15 No more, ye lusts, shall ye command;
No more will we obey:

Stretch out, O God, thy conquering hand,
And drive thy foes away.

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Ingratitude deplored.

IS this the kind return?

Are these the thanks we owe?
Thus to abuse eternal love,

Whence all our blessings flow!

2 To what a stubborn frame
Has sin reduced our mind.

What strange, rebellious wretches we!
And God as strangely kind!

3 Turn-turn us, mighty God!
And mould our souls afresh!

mf Break, sovereign grace, these hearts of stone, And give us hearts of flesh.

4 Let past ingratitude

Provoke our weeping eyes;

And hourly, as new mercies fall,

278

Let hourly thanks arise.

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Indwelling Sin lamented.

WITH tears of anguish I lament,
Before thy feet, my God,

My passion, pride, and discontent,
And vile ingratitude.

2 Sure there was ne'er a heart so base,
So false as mine has been;
So faithless to its promises,

So prone to every sin.

3 How long, dear Saviour, shall I feel
These struggles in my breast?

When wilt thou bow my stubborn will,
And give my conscience rest?

mf 4 Break, sovereign grace-oh break the charm, And set the captive free:

Reveal, great God, thy mighty arm,
And haste to rescue me.

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GOD of mercy!-God of grace!
Hear our sad, repentant songs,
Oh restore thy suppliant race,
Thou, to whom our praise belongs!
2 Deep regret for follies past,
Talents wasted-time misspent ;
Hearts delased by worldly cares,
Thankless for the blessings lent,-
3 Foolish fears, and fond desires,
Vain regrets for things as vain,
Lips too seldom taught to praise,
Oft to murmur and complain;-

Norwich

4 These and every secret fault,
Filled with grief and shame, we own;
Humbled at thy feet we lie,

Seeking pardon from thy throne!
5 God of mercy! God of grace!
Hear our sad, repentant songs,
Oh restore thy suppliant race,
Thou, to whom our praise belongs!

280

C. P. M.

The Penitent surrendering.

Aithlone.

LORD, thou hast won-at length I yield;
My heart, by mighty grace compelled,
Surrenders all to thee:

Against thy terrors long I strove,
But who can stand against thy love?-
Love conquers even me.

2 If thou hadst bid thy thunders roll,
And lightnings flash to blast my soul,
I still had stubborn been:
But mercy has my heart subdued,
A bleeding Saviour I have viewed,
And now, I hate my sin.

mf 3 Now, Lord, I would be thine alone;
Come, take possession of thine own,
For thou hast set me free;

Released from Satan's hard command,
See all my powers in waiting stand,
To be employed by thee.

S. M.

Haverhill. Cedron.

Repentance in View of Christ's Compassion.

281

DID Christ o'er sinners weep,

P

And shall our cheeks be dry?
Let floods of penitential grief
Burst forth from every eye.

2 The Son of God in tears-
The wondering angels see!
Be thou astonished, O my soul!
He shed those tears-for thee.

3 He wept that we might weep-
Each sin demands a tear ;-

mf In heaven alone no sin is found,
And there's no weeping there.

282

C. M.

Medfield. Bether.

DEAR Saviour! when my thoughts recall
The wonders of thy grace,
Low at thy feet, ashamed, I fall,

And hide this wretched face.

2 Shall love like thine be thus repaid?
Ah! vile, ungrateful heart!

By earth's low cares detained-betrayed
From Jesus to depart :-

3 From Jesus-who alone can give
True pleasure, peace, and rest:
When absent from my Lord, I live
Unsatisfied, unblest.

4 But he, for his own mercy's sake,
My wandering soul restores:
He bids the mourning heart partake
The pardon it implores.

5 Oh! while I breathe to thee, my Lord,
The humble, contrite sigh,
Confirm the kind, forgiving word,
With pity in thine eye!

6 Then shall the mourner at thy feet
Rejoice to seek thy face;

And, grateful, own how kind-how sweet
Is thy forgiving grace.

283

78. Norwich. Pleyel's Hymn.

DEPTH of mercy!-can there be
Mercy still reserved for me!
Can my God his wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners spare?
2 I have long withstood his grace;
Long provoked him to his face;
Would not bear his gracious calls;
Grieved him by a thousand falls.
3 Yet how great his mercies are!
Me he still delights to spare;
Cries "How shall I give thee up?"
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

4 Jesus, answer from above:
Is not all thy nature love?
Wilt thou not the wrong forget?—
Lo, I fall before thy feet.

5. Now incline me to repent!
Let me now my fall lament!
Deeply my revolt deplore!
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

C. M.

Wachusett. Lebanon.

284 Sins bewailed as causing the Death of Christ.

OH, if my soul was formed for wo,
How would I vent my sighs!
Repentance should like rivers flow
From both my streaming eyes.

2 'Twas for my sins my dearest Lord
Hung on the cursed tree,
And groaned away a dying life,
For thee, my soul, for thee.

3 Oh, how I hate those lusts of mine,
That crucified my Lord;

Those sins, that pierced and nailed his flesh
Fast to the fatal wood!

f 4 Yes, my Redeemer-they shall die-
My heart has so decreed;

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Nor will I spare the guilty things
That made my Saviour bleed.

5 While with a melting, broken heart,
My murdered Lord I view-

I'll raise revenge against my sins,
And slay the murderers too.

P

f

285

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Self-righteous Hopes renounced.

VAIN are the hopes the sons of men
On their own works have built;
Their hearts by nature all unclean,
And all their actions guilt.

2 Let Jew and Gentile stop their mouth,
Without a murmuring word;

Let all the race of man confess
Their guilt before the Lord.

3 In vain we ask God's righteous law
To justify us now;

Since to convince, and to condemn
Is all the law can do.

4 Jesus, how glorious is thy grace!—
When in thy name we trust,

Our faith receives a righteousness
That makes the sinner just.

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