397

C. M.

The Benefit of Affliction.

PARADISE ST. COL.

1 O GOD, to thee my sinking soul
In deep distress doth fly;

Thy love can all my griefs control,
And all my wants supply.

2 How oft, when black misfortune's band
Around their victim stood,
The seeming ill, at thy command,
Hath changed to real good!

3 The tempest that obscured the sky,
Hath set my bosom free

From earthly care and sensual joy,
And turned my thoughts to thee.

4 Affliction's blast hath made me learn
To feel for others' woe,

And humbly seek, with deep concern,
My own defects to know.

5 Then rage, ye storms! ye billows, roar!
My heart defies your shock;
Ye make me cling to God the more
To God, my sheltering Rock.

398

C. M.

MERRICK.

Acquiescence in the divine Will.

1 AUTHOR of good, we rest on thee;

Thine ever-watchful eye

Alone our real wants can see,
Thy hand alone supply.

2 In thine all-gracious providence
Our cheerful hopes confide;
O, let thy power be our defence,
Thy love our footsteps guide.

3 And since, by passion's force subdued,
Too oft, with stubborn will,
We blindly shun the latent good,
And grasp the specious ill, -

4 Not what we wish, but what we want, Let mercy still supply;

The good unasked, O Father, grant;
The ill, though asked, deny.

399

L. M.

Trust and Submission.

NORTON.

1 MY God, I thank thee; may no thought E'er deem thy chastisements severe; But may this heart, by sorrow taught, Calm each wild wish, each idle fear.

2 Thy mercy bids all nature bloom;

The sun shines bright, and man is gay; Thine equal mercy spreads the gloom That darkens o'er his little day.

3 Full many a throb of grief and pain

Thy frail and erring child must know; But not one prayer is breathed in vain, Nor does one tear unheeded flow.

4 Thy various messengers employ;
Thy purposes of love fulfil;
And, mid the wreck of human joy,
Let kneeling faith adore thy will.

400

S. M.

Submission.

COWPER.

1 O LORD, my best desire fulfil,
And help me to resign

Life, health, and comfort to thy will,
And make thy pleasure mine.

2 Why should I shrink at thy command,
Whose love forbids my fears?
Or tremble at the gracious hand
That wipes away my tears?

3 No, rather let me freely yield
What most I prize to thee,
Who never hast a good withheld,
Or wilt withhold, from me.

4 Wisdom and mercy guide my way;
Shall I resist them both?

A

poor,

blind creature of a day, And crushed before the moth!

5 But, ah! my inward spirit cries,
Still bind me to thy sway;

Else the next cloud that veils the skies
Drives all these thoughts away.

401

C. M.

TOPLADY'S COL.

Habitual Resignation.

1 WITH God my Friend, the radiant sun
Sheds a more lively ray;

Each object smiles; all nature charms;
I chase my cares away.

2 Good when he gives, supremely good,
Nor less when he denies,
Afflictions from his gracious hand
Are blessings in disguise.

3 I cannot doubt his bounteous love,
Immeasurably kind;
To his unerring, gracious will
Be every wish resigned.

402

L. M.

God dwells with the Humble and Penitent.

WATTS.

1 THUS saith the high and lofty One: "I sit upon my holy throne;

My name is God; I dwell on high –
Dwell in my own eternity.

2 "But I descend to worlds below;
On earth I have a mansion too;
The humble spirit and contrite
Is an abode of my delight.

3 "The humble soul my words revive;
I bid the mourning sinner live,
Heal all the broken hearts I find,
And ease the sorrows of the mind."

4 O, may thy pardoning grace be nigh,
Lest we should faint, despair, and die;
Thus shall our better thoughts approve
The methods of thy chastening love.

318

1 LO, from the everlasting skies,
Gently as morning dews distil,
The Dove immortal downward flies,
With peaceful olive in his bill.

WATTS.

2 How sweet the voice of pardon sounds!
Sweet the relief to deep distress!
I feel the balm that heals my wounds,
And all my powers adore the grace.

404

S. M.

WATTS.

Forgiveness of Sin on Confession. Ps. 32. 1 O, BLESSED souls are they

Whose sins are covered o'er!
Divinely blest to whom the Lord
Imputes their guilt no more!

2 They mourn their follies past,

And keep their hearts with care;
Their lips and lives without deceit
Shall prove their faith sincere.
3 While I concealed my guilt,
I felt the festering wound,
Till I confessed my sins to thee,
And ready pardon found.

4 Let sinners learn to pray ;

Let saints keep near the throne;
Our help in times of deep distress
Is found in God alone.