IV. CHAMBER of sickness! much to thee I owe, Though dark thou be; The lessons it imports me most to know, A sacred seminary thou hast been, Chamber of sickness! suffering and alone, The blessed beams of heavenly truth have shone On me, forlorn, With such a hallowed vividness and power Chamber of sickness! 'midst thy silence, oft Which though it fall like dew on flowers, so soft, Into the aching heart's unseen recess, With power no earthly accents could possess. Chamber of sickness! in that bright abode If, through the mercy of my Saviour God, This theme shall tune my golden harp's soft laysThat in thy shelter passed my earthly days. V. FATHER, Thy gentle chastisement To warn me back to Thy control; The errors of my heart I know But, like the morning clouds, decay, Forgive the weakness I deplore; And let Thy grace abound in me, That I may trust my heart no more, And VI. THERE is a secret in the ways of God With His own children, which none others know, And pass the reach of all that now disturbs By which His wisdom has prepared His saints We welcome clouds which bring the former rain, VII. LORD, how mysterious are Thy ways! Great God! I would not ask to see If light and bliss attend my days, Is darkness and distress my share? At length through every cloud shall shine Yet this my soul desires to know; Be this my only wish below; VIII. LIVING or dying, Lord, I would be Thine! O, what is life? Living or dying, Lord, I would be Thine! O, what is death, When the poor breath In parting, can the soul to Thee resign? Her trust doth prove- Throughout my days Be constant praise Uplift to Thee from out this heart of mine: So shall I be Brought nearer Thee Living or dying, Lord, I would be Thine! |