Imatges de pàgina
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291

5 Oh wondrous love!-to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead thy gracious name.

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1 THOU Lord of all above,
And all below the sky,
Prostrate before thy feet I fall,
And for thy mercy cry.

2 Forgive my follies past,

The crimes which I have done;
Oh, bid a contrite sinner live,
Through thine incarnate Son.

3 Guilt, like a heavy load,

Upon my conscience lies;
To thee I make my sorrows known,
And lift my weeping eyes.

4 The burden which I feel,

Thou only canst remove;

Do thou display thy pardoning grace,
And thine unbounded love.

5 One gracious look of thine

Will ease my troubled breast:
Oh! let me know my sins forgiven,
And I shall then be blest.

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Absence from God deprecated.

1 OH thou, whose tender mercy hears
Contrition's humble sigh;

Whose hand indulgent wipes the tears
From sorrow's weeping eye;—

2 See, Lord, before thy throne of grace,
A wretched wanderer mourn:
Hast thou not bid me seek thy face?
Hast thou not said-'Return'?

3 And shall my guilty fears prevail
To drive me from thy feet?
Oh! let not this dear refuge fail,
This only safe retreat.

4 Absent from thee, my Guide! my Light!
Without one cheering ray,

Through dangers, fears, and gloomy night,
How desolate my way!

292

5 Oh! shine on this benighted heart,
With beams of mercy shine!
And let thy healing voice impart
A taste of joy divine.

293

S. M.

Returning to Christ.

mf 11 YE sons of earth, arise!

Ye creatures of a day!

Haverhill. Hudson

Redeem the time-be bold-be wise,
And cast your bonds away.

2 The year of gospel-grace,
With us rejoice to see;
And thankfully in Christ embrace
Your proffered liberty.

Aff 3 Blest Saviour-Lord of all!
Thee help us to receive;
Obedient to thy gracious call,
Oh, bid us turn and live!

4 Our former years misspent,
Now let us deeply mourn;
And, softened by thy grace, repent,
And to thine arms return!

294

C. M.

Grafton. Lebanon

1 HOW oft, alas! this wretched heart
Has wandered from the Lord!
How oft my roving thoughts depart,
Forgetful of his word!

2 Yet sovereign mercy calls-' Return.
Dear Lord, and may I come?
My vile ingratitude I mourn:
Oh, take the wanderer home.

3 And canst thou-wilt thou yet forgive,
And bid my crimes remove?
And shall a pardoned rebel live,
To speak thy wondrous love.
4 Almighty grace, thy healing power,
How glorious-how divine!

That can to life and bliss restore

A heart so vile as mine.

5 Thy pardoning love-so free-so sweet!— Dear Saviour, I adore;

Oh keep me at thy sacred feet,

And let me rove no more.

295

L. M.

Medway. Middlebury.
1 RETURN, my roving heart, return,
And life's vain shadows chase no more;
Seek out some solitude to mourn,

And thy forsaken God implore.

2 0 thou great God, whose piercing eye
Distinctly marks each deep retreat,
In these sequestered hours draw nigh,
And let me here thy presence meet.
3 Through all the windings of my heart,
My search let heavenly wisdom guide;
And still its beams unerring dart,
Till all be known and purified.

296

L. M.

4 Then let the visits of thy love,
My inmost soul be made to share,
Till ev'ry grace combine to prove
That God has fixed his dwelling there.
Windham. Hamburg.
1 AH! wretched, vile, ungrateful heart,
That can from Jesus thus depart;
Thus fond of trifles vainly rove,
Forgetful of a Saviour's love.
2 Dear Lord, to thee I would return,
And at thy feet repenting mourn:
There let me view thy pardoning love,
And never from thy sight remove.
3 Oh, let thy love, with sweet control,
Bind every passion of my soul;
Bid every vain desire depart,
And dwell forever in my heart.

297

C. M.

Baldwin. Litchfield

1 MY Saviour, let me hear thy voice
Pronounce the word of peace;
And all my warmest powers shall join
To celebrate thy grace.

2 With gentle voice, call me thy child,
And speak my sins forgiven;

The accents mild shall charm mine ear
Like all the harps of heaven.

mf 3 With joy, where'er thy hand shall lead,

P

f

Len

The darkest path I'll tread;

With joy I'll quit these mortal shores,
And mingle with the dead.

4 When dreadful guilt is done away,
No other fears we know;

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That hand, which seals our pardon sure,
Shall crowns of life bestow.

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Faith, the Evidence of Things not seen.
1 FAITH is the brightest evidence
Of things beyond our sight;
It pierces through the vail of sense,
And dwells in heavenly light.
2 It sets time past in present view,
Brings distant prospects home,
Of things a thousand years ago,
Or thousand years to come.

3 By faith we know the world was made
By God's almighty word;

We know the heavens and earth shall fade
And be again restored.

4 Abrah'm obeyed the Lord's command,
From his own country driven;
By faith he sought a promised land,
But found his rest in heaven.

5 Thus through life's pilgrimage we stray,
The promise in our eye;

299

By faith we walk the narrow way,
That leads to joy on high.

S. M. Mornington. Southfield.

Source and Office of Faith.

1 FAITH-'tis a precious grace,
Where'er it is bestowed;
It boasts a high, celestial birth,
And is the gift of God.

2 Jesus it owns as King,

And all-atoning Priest;
It claims no merit of its own,
But looks for all in Christ.

3 To him it leads the soul,

When filled with deep distress;
Flies to the fountain of his blood,
And trusts his righteousness.

4 Since 'tis thy work alone,
And that divinely free;

Lord, send the Spirit of thy Son,
To work this faith in me.

300

f

Len

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1 MISTAKEN souls, that dream of heaven
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys, and síns forgiven,
While they are slaves to lust!
2 Vain are our fancy's airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead;
None but a living power unites
To Christ, the living head.
3 "Tis faith that purifies the heart;
"Tis faith that works by love;
That bids all sinful joys depart,
And lifts the thoughts above.
4 This faith shall every fear control
By its celestial power:

301

With holy triumph fill the soul
In death's approaching hour.

L. M.

Walking by Faith.

1 'TIS by the faith of joys to come,

Duke Street

We walk through deserts dark as night;
Till we arrive at heaven, our home,

Faith is our guide-and faith our light.
2 The want of sight she well supplies;
She makes the pearly gates appear;
Far into distant worlds she pries,
And brings eternal glories near.
3 Cheerful we tread the desert through,
While faith inspires a heavenly ray,
Though lions roar-and tempests blow,
And rocks and dangers fill the way.

302

C. M.

Patmos. Dedham.

1 FAITH adds new charms to earthly bliss, And saves us from its snares:

It yields support in all our toils,

And softens all our cares.

2 The wounded conscience knows its power, The healing balm to give;

That balm the saddest heart can cheer,

And make the dying live.

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