878

1

4 I ask not how or when,
But be my Saviour then;
Grant in death my sole desire,
Bid me lay this body down,
Joyful in thine arms expire,
Share thine everlasting crown.

87, 87, 47.

A Prayer for Missionaries.
PEED thy servants, Saviour, speed them,

SPEED

They were bound, but thou hast freed them,
Now they go to free the slaves;
Be thou with them:

"Tis thine arm alone that saves.

2 Friends, and home, and all forsaking,
Lord, they go at thy command;
As their stay thy promise taking,
While they traverse sea and land;
O be with them!

Lead them safely by the hand.

3 Speed them through the mighty ocean,
In the dark and stormy day;
When the waves in wild commotion
Fill all others with dismay,

Be thou with them,

Drive their terrors far away.

4 When they reach the land of strangers,
And the prospect dark appears,
Nothing seen but toils and dangers,
Nothing felt but doubts and fears,
Be thou with them:

Hear their sighs, and count their tears.

5 When they think of home, now dearer
Than it ever seemed before,
Bring the promised glory nearer,
Let them see that peaceful shore,
Where thy people

Rest from toil, and weep no more.

6 Where no fruit appears to cheer them,
And they seem to toil in vain,
Then in mercy, Lord, draw near them,
Then their sinking hopes sustain ;
Thus supported,

Let their zeal revive again.

7 In the midst of opposition,

Let them trust, O Lord, in thee; When success attends their mission, Let thy servants humbler be; Never leave them,

Till thy face in heaven they see:

8 There to reap in joy for ever

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Fruit that grows from seed here sown, There to be with him who never

Ceases to preserve his own,

And with gladness

Give the praise to him alone.

L. M. The Excellency of Christ's Religion

879

ET everlasting glories crown

my Lord;

Thy hands have brought salvation down,
And writ the blessing in thy word.

2 In vain our trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With long despair our spirit breaks,
Till we apply to thee alone.

3 How well thy blessed truths agree!
How wise and holy thy commands !
Thy promises, how firm they be!
How firm our hope and comfort stands !

4 Should all the forms that men devise Assault my faith with treacherous art, I'd call them vanity and lies,

And bind thy gospel to my heart.

880

1

FAT

ATHER of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines!

For ever be thy name adored
For these celestial lines.

2 Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;

Riches, above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

3 Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast;
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.

4 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life and everlasting joys

Attend the blissful sound.

5 Divine Instructer, gracious Lord,
Be thou for ever near;

Teach me to love thy sacred word,
And view my Saviour there.

L. M.

1

"The words that I speak unto you, they

are," &c.-John vi. 63.

JESUS, descended from the sky,

The power of God in man thou art;
Thyself, to whom I now apply,

Speak thy own words into my heart:
Thy words are more than empty sound,
Inseparably one with thee;
Spirit in them, and life is found,
And all the depths of Deity.

2 While, feebly gasping at thy feet,
A sinner in my sins I bow,
O might I now my Saviour meet,

881

And hear and feel thy sayings now!
Speak, and thy word the dead shall raise,
Shall me with spirit and life inspire;
Speak on, and fill my soul with grace,
And add me to thy deathless choir.

87,87.

"Thou hast the words," &c.-John vi. 68.

0

HOW blest the hour, Lord Jesus,
When we can to thee draw near,
Promises so sweet and precious
From thy gracious lips to hear!

2 Be with us this day to bless us,
That we may not hear in vain,
With the saving truths impress us,
Which the words of life contain.

3 See us eager for salvation

Sit, great Master, at thy feet,
And with breathless expectation
Hang upon thine accents sweet.

882

4 Open thou our minds, and lead us
Safely on our heavenward way;
With the lamp of truth precede us,
That we may not go astray.

5 Make us gentle, meek, and humble,
And yet bold in doing right;
Scatter darkness, lest we stumble;
Men walk safely in the light.

6 Lord, endue thy word from heaven
With such light, and love, and power,
That in us its silent leaven ·

May work on from hour to hour.
7 Give us grace to bear our witness
To the truths we have embraced,
And let others both their sweetness
And their quickening virtue taste.

883 "Of whom speaketh the prophet

1

this?"-Acts viii. 34.

JESUS I humbly seek,

And of himself enquire,

Did not the prophet speak

4-6s & 2-8 s.

Of thee, the world's Desire?
Thou poor, despised, afflicted man,
His meaning to my heart explain.

2 Art thou the Lamb of God

Who didst from heaven come,
Led by the multitude,

Before thy shearers dumb,

The patient, speechless man of woe,
By sinners crucified below?

3 Swept from the face of earth

Didst thou our sorrows bear,

Whose everlasting birth
God only can declare,