O that I could for ever sit
With Mary at the Master's feet;
Be this my happy choice:
My only care, delight, and bliss,
My joy, my heaven on earth be this,
To hear the Bridegroom's voice. 48
ARK, my soul, it is the Lord :
Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee:
Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me ?
I deliver'd thee when bound,
And, when bleeding, heal'd thy wound;
Sought thee wandering, set thee right;
Turn'd thy darkness into light.
Can a woman's tender care
Cease towards the child she bare ?
Yes, she may forgetful be,
Yet will I remember thee.
Mine is an unchanging love,
Higher than the heights above;
Deeper than the depths beneath;
Free and faithful, strong as death.
Thou shalt see my glory soon,
When the work of grace is done;
Partner of my reign shalt be,-
Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me?
Lord, it is my chief complaint,
.
That my love is weak and faint;
Yet I love thee, and adore :
O for grace to love thee more.
49
OVEST thou me ?" I hear
my
Saviour say; Would that my heart had power to answer
“ Yea, “Thou knowest all things, Lord, in heaven
above “And earth beneath; thou knowest that I
love." But 'tis not so; in word, in deed, in thought, I do not, cannot love thee as I ought; Thy love must give that power, thy love alone; There's nothing worthy of thee but thine own. Lord, with the love wherewith thou lovest me, Reflected on thyself, I would love thee; Thence on my brethren shed, might it be seen By all around, that I with thee had been.
50 Do
not I love thee, O my Lord ?
Behold my heart, and see; And turn each cherish'd idol out
That dares to rival thee. Do not I love thee from
my
soul?
Then let me nothing love;
Dead be my heart to every joy,
When Jesus cannot move.
Is not thy name melodious still
To mine attentive ear ?
Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound
My Saviour's voice to hear ?
Hast thou a lamb in all thy flock
I would disdain to feed ?
Hast thou a foe, before whose face
I fear thy cause to plead ?
Would not mine ardent spirit vie
With angels round the throne,
To execute thy sacred will,
And make thy glory known?
Thou know'st I love thee, dearest Lord,
But 0! I long to soar
Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
And learn to love thee more.
51
ESUS, thy boundless love to me
O knit my thankful heart to thee,
And reign without a rival there :
Thine wholly, thine alone, I am;
Lord, with thy love my heart inflame :
O grant that nothing in my soul
May dwell, but thy pure love alone:
O may thy love possess me whole,
My joy, my treasure, and my crown;
All coldness from
my
heart remove,
May every act, word, thought be love.
O Love, how cheering is thy ray!
All pain before thy presence flies;
Care, anguish, sorrow melt away,
Where'er thy healing beams arise :
O Jesus, nothing may I see,
Nothing desire, or seek, but thee.
In suffering, be thy love my peace;
In weakness, be thy love my power;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
Jesus, in that important hour,
In death, as life, be thou my guide,
And save me, who for me hast died.
52
ORD, when my thoughts delighted rove
Amid the wonders of thy love,
The sight revives my drooping heart,
And bids invading fears depart!
Guilty and weak, to thee I fly,
On thy atoning blood rely,
And on thy righteousness depend,
My Lord, my Saviour, and my Friend !
Be all my heart, be all my days,
Devoted to thy single praise !
And let my glad obedience prove
How much I owe, how much I love!
The thunder-peals of Sinai roll:
O'tis not then we feel within
The full malignity of sin.
'Tis when by faith we turn our eyes
On Him, our Priest and Sacrifice;
Mark his mysterious pangs, and know
Our peace was purchased by his woe;
When in faith's happiest, holiest hours
We dare to call that Saviour ours,
'Tis then our hearts within us burn;
We look on him we pierced, and mourn.
'Tis then a voice is heard within,
Which breaks the tyrant yoke of sin;
For he, our load of guilt who bore,–
He bids us go and sin no more.” 54
HALL we go on to sin,
Because Thy grace
abounds ?
Or crucify the Lord again,
And
open
all his wounds ?
Forbid it, mighty God!
Nor let it e'er be said
That we, whose sins are crucified,
Should raise them from the dead.
We will be slaves no more,
Since Christ has made us free;
Has nail'd our tyrants to his cross,
And bought our liberty. 55
Y Saviour's ever watchful eye
Is over me for good; What will he not on me bestow,
Who hath himself bestow'd ?
Dear Lord, into thy faithful hands
My welfare I commit;
And to thy righteousness alone
For safety I retreat!
|