Page images
PDF
EPUB

5 O what amazing joys they feel
While to their golden harps they sing,
And sit on every heavenly hill,

And spread the triumphs of their King 6 When shall the day, dear Lord, appear, That I shall mount to dwell above,

And stand and bow amongst them there, And view Thy face, and sing, and love?

526

1

Isaiah vi. 5. C. M.

FATHER, I long, I faint to see

The place of Thine abode;

WATTS.

I'd leave Thine earthly courts, and flee
Up to Thy seat, my God.

2 Here I behold Thy distant face,
And 'tis a pleasing sight;

But to abide in Thine embrace
Is infinite delight.

3 I'd part with all the joys of sense
To gaze upon Thy throne;
Pleasure springs fresh for ever thence,
Unspeakable, unknown.

4 There I would vie with all the host
In duty and in bliss;

While "less than nothing" I could boast, And "vanity" confess.

5 The more Thy glories strike mine eyes,
The humbler I shall lie;

Thus while I sink, my joys shall rise
Unmeasurably high.

527

Col. iii. 1, 2. 7.6.7.6.7.7.7.6. MADAN.

1 ISE, my soul, and stretch thy wings; Thy better portion trace:

Rise from transitory things,
Towards heaven, thy native place.

Sun, and moon, and stars decay;
Time shall soon this earth remove:
Rise, my soul, and haste away
To seats prepared above.

2 Rivers to the ocean run,

Nor stay in all their course:
Fire ascending seeks the sun :
Both speed them to their source,
So a soul that's born of God
Pants to view His glorious face;
Upward tends to His abode,
To rest in His embrace.

3 Cease, ye pilgrims, cease to mourn;
Press onward to the prize.
Soon your Saviour will return
Triumphant in the skies:
Yet a season, and we know,
Happy entrance will be given;
All our sorrows left below,

And earth exchanged for heaven.

528

Psalm xxxix. 12. 8.8.6. J. WESLEY. 'How free from every anxious thought, OW happy is the pilgrim's lot;

From worldly hope and fear! Confined to neither court nor cell, His soul disdains on earth to dwell, He only sojourns here.

2 Nothing on earth I call my own;
A stranger to the world unknown,
I all their goods despise :

I trample on their whole delight,
And seek a country out of sight,
A country in the skies.

3 There is my house and portion fair,
My treasure and my heart are there,
And my abiding home:

For me my elder brethren stay,
And angels beckon me away,
And Jesus bids me come.

529

1

[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

THOU whose throne is hid from men
By more than earthly rays,

Before whose face e'en seraphs shrink,
And tremble as they gaze,-

2 Here we Thy people sit forlorn,
In darkness doomed to dwell,
But soon Thy bright eternal day
That darkness shall dispel.

3 This day Thou hast in store for us,
This day, so fair and bright;
How faint the midday sun, compared
With its celestial light!

4 But ah! too long thou lingerest,
The long-expected day;

For why? this body's toilsome load
Must first be cast away.

5 But when my soul hath winged her flight, From earthly bonds set free,

To see Thee, love Thee, praise Thy name,
Her endless task shall be.

6 O may we so, blest Three in One,
Thy present light improve,
That we hereafter may enjoy
Thy glorious beams above.

HIS VOWS.

530 Phil. iii. 13.

8.8.8.8.6. OBERLIN.*

1 LORD, Thy heavenly grace impart,
And fix my frail inconstant heart;
Henceforth my chief desire shall be,
To dedicate myself to Thee;

To Thee, my God, to Thee.

2 Whate'er pursuits my time employ,
One thought shall fill my soul with joy,
That silent, secret thought shall be,
That all my hopes are fixed on Thee;
On Thee, my God, on Thee.

3 Thy glorious eye pervadeth space;
Thou 'rt present, Lord, in every place;
And wheresoe'er my lot may be,
Still shall my spirit cleave to Thee;
To Thee, my God, to Thee.

4 Renouncing every worldly thing,
Safe 'neath the covert of Thy wing,
My sweetest thought henceforth shall be
That all I want, I find in Thee;

In Thee, my God, in Thee.

531

1

Mark viii. 38.

L. M. GREGG.

JESUS, and can it ever be,

A mortal man ashamed of Thee?

Scorned be the thought by rich and poor;
My soul shall scorn it more and more.
2 Ashamed of Jesus! Sooner far
May evening blush to own a star:
Ashamed of Jesus! Just as soon
May midnight blush to think of noon.
3 Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend,
On whom my hopes of heaven depend?
No, when I blush, be this my shame,
That I no more revere His name.
4 Ashamed of Jesus! Yes, I may,
When I've no crimes to wash away;
No tears to wipe, no joys to crave,
And no immortal soul to save.

5 Till then-nor is the boasting vain-
Till then, I boast a Saviour slain:
And oh! may this my portion be,
That Saviour's not ashamed of me!

532

1

L'

Gal. vi. 14. C. M.

NEWTON.

ET worldly minds the world pursue;
What are its charms to me?

Once I admired its trifles too;
But grace has set me free.

2 Its pleasures now no longer please,
No more content afford:

Far from my heart be joys like these,
Now I have known the Lord.

3 As by the light of opening day
The stars are all concealed;
So earthly pleasures fade away,
When Jesus is revealed.

4 Creatures, no more divide my choice:
I bid you all depart.

His name, and love, and gracious voice
Have fixed my roving heart.

5. Now, Lord, I would be Thine alone,
And wholly live to Thee:

But may I hope that Thou wilt own
A worthless worm like me?

6 Yes, though of sinners e'en the worst,
I cannot doubt Thy will:

For, if Thou hadst not loved me first,
I had refused Thee still.

533 1 Cor. vi. 17. 8. M. DODDRIDGE.

1

M

Y Saviour, I am Thine,

By everlasting bands:

My name, my heart, I would resign:
My soul is in Thy hands.

2 To Thee I still would cleave

With ever-growing zeal :

Let millions tempt me Christ to leave,
They never shall prevail.

« PreviousContinue »