Psalms, Hymns, and Passages of Scripture, for Christian Worship

832 Ezek. xxxvii. 3. L. M. DODDRIDGE.

LOOK down, O Lord, with pitying eye:

See race

Sin spreads its trophies o'er the ground, And scatters slaughtered heaps around. 2 And can these mouldering corpses live ? And can these perished bones revive? That, mighty God, to Thee is known, That wondrous work is all Thine own.

3 Thy ministers are sent in vain,
To prophesy upon the slain,
In vain they call, in vain they cry,
Till Thine Almighty aid is nigh.

4 But if Thy Spirit deign to breathe,
Life spreads through all the realms of death,
Dry bones obey Thy powerful voice-
They move-they waken-they rejoice!

5 So when Thy trumpet's awful sound
Shall shake the heavens and rend the
ground,

The dead shall from their tombs arise,
And spring to life beyond the skies.

833

Isaiah li. 9.

L. M.

Now ancient

may the Mighty Arm awake,

days:

That Babylon's proud walls may shake,
And God His own fair temple raise.

2 Art Thou not still the same, O God?
The same to hear, the same to save,
As when Thy servant moved his rod
At Thy command and cleft the wave?

3 Thy power still sets the prisoner free;
Still wipes the mourner's tears away:
Thy power still makes the blind to see,
And turns the darkest night to day.

4 Shine, Lord, upon the world around:
To sinners let Thy grace be given:
So shall Thy people's songs abound,
And angels feel new joy in heaven.

834 Psalm xcvi. 10. C. M. GIBBONS.*

GREAT God, the nations of the earth

Are by

Thine;

And in Thy works, from nature's birth,
Thy power and glory shine.

2 But, Lord, Thy greater love hath sent
Thy gospel to our race;
Unveiling Thy divine intent

Of rich redeeming grace.

3 Soon may these gracious tidings roll
The spacious earth around,
Till every tribe and every soul
Shall hear the joyful sound!

4 When, to her sable sons conveyed,
Shall Afric learn Thy word,
And vassals long enslaved be made
The freemen of the Lord?

5 When shall the scattered wanderers meet,
That now in darkness rove,
And, gathered round Immanuel's feet,
Sing of His saving love?

6 O Lord, each faithful effort own,
To spread the gospel-rays;

And rear on sin's demolished throne
The temples of Thy praise.

835 Zech. iv. 10.

7's. C. WESLEY.

1 EE how great a flame aspires,
Kindled by a spark of grace.
Jesus' love the nations fires,
Sets the kingdoms on a blaze.
2 When He first the work begun,
Small and feeble was His day;
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way.

3 More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;

Sin's strong holds it overthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

4 Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as a human hand?

Now it spreads along the skies, Hangs o'er all the thirsty land. 5 Lo! the promise of a shower Drops already from above; But the Lord will shortly pour All the Spirit of His love."

836 John iil. 16.

S. M.

MAZING was the grace
Of God to sinful men,

T. SCALES.

That He should spare our fallen race,

And lift them up again.

So wondrous was His love,

He sent His own, His only Son,
Down from the courts above.

That Son He gave to die

In agony and shame,

That all may from perdition fly

Who trust His mighty name.

4 Love reigns and triumphs here,
The gospel is its voice;

Let men of every clime draw near,
And all the world rejoice.

837

Psalm cxix. 158. L. M. DODDRIDGE,

RISE, my tenderest thoughts, arise;

A Dissolve in grief, my streaming eyes;

And thou, my heart, with anguish feel
Those evils which thou canst not heal.

2 See human nature sunk in shame;
See scandals poured on Jesus' name;
The Father wounded through the Son;
The world abused, the soul undone.

3 See the short course of vain delight
Closing in everlasting night;

In flames that no abatement know,
Though briny tears for ever flow.

4 My God, I feel the mournful scene,
And my heart bleeds for dying men:
While fain my pity would reclaim,
And snatch the firebrands from the flame.

5 But feeble my compassion proves,
And can but weep where most it loves:
Thine own all-saving arm employ,
And turn these drops of grief to joy.

Be this Thy Zion's favoured hour:
Bid the bright morning star arise,
And point the nations to the skies.

2 Set up Thy throne where Satan reigns,
On Afric's shore, on India's plains,
On wilds and continents unknown;
And make the universe Thine own.

3 Speak, and the world shall hear Thy voice;
Speak, and the desert shall rejoice.
Scatter the gloom of heathen night,
And bid all nations hail the light.
4 Go, messengers of Christ, proclaim
Salvation through Immanuel's name :
To India's clime the tidings bear,
And plant the Rose of Sharon there.

839 Psalm 1xxiv. 20-22. S. M. WARDLAW.