HYMN 273. S. M. Lisbon. [*] 1 BLEST Comforter Divine!
Let rays of heavenly love
Amidst our gloom and darkness shine,
And guide our souls above.
2 Draw, with thy "still small voice,"
From every sinful way;
And bid the mourning saint rejoice,
Though earthly Joys decay.
3 By thine inspiring breath
Make every cloud of care,
And e'en the gloomy vale of death,
A smile of glory wear.
4 Oh fill thou every heart
With love to all our race!
Great Comforter! to us impart
These blessings of thy grace.
HYMN 274. L. M. Alfreton. [*]
o1 COME, gracious Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With light and comfort from above;
Be thou our Guardian, thou our Guide;
O'er every thought and step preside.
2 The light of truth to us display,
And make us know and choose thy way:
Plant holy fear in every heart,
That we from God may not depart.
3 Lead us to holiness,-the road
That we must take to dwell with God;
Lead us to Christ, the living way,
Nor let us from his precepts stray.
s 4 Lead us to God, our final rest,
In his enjoyment to be blest;
Lead us to heaven, the seat of bliss,
Where pleasure in perfection is.
HYMN 275. C. M. Broomsgrove.
To the Holy Spirit.
ETERNAL Spirit! God of truth!
Our contrite hearts inspire;
Kindle the flame of heavenly love,
And feed the pure desire.
p 2 'Tis thine to soothe the sorrowing mind,
With guilt and fear oppressed;
"Tis thine to bid the dying live,
And give the weary rest.
-3 Subdue the power of every sin,
Whate'er that sin may be ;
That we, in singleness of heart,
May worship only thee.
-4 Then with our spirits witness bear,
That we are sons of God;
Redeemed from sin, and death, and hell,
Through Christ's atoning blood.
Arundel. [*]
Value of the Scriptures.
e 1 H By inspiration given!
OW precious is the book divine,
o Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine, To guide our souls to heaven.
e 2 It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts, In this dark vale of tears;
o Life, light, and joy, it still imparts, And quells our rising fears.
e 3 This lamp, through all the tedious night Of life, shall guide our way,
o Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.
HYMN 277. C. M. Dundee. [b or *]
The Soul.
1 WHAT is the thing of greatest price,
We whole creation round?
-That, which was lost in paradise,
That, which in Christ is found.
2 The soul of man,-Jehovah's breath!
That keeps two worlds at strife;
Hell moves beneath to work its death,
Heaven stoops to give it life.
3 God to reclaim it, did not spare
His well-beloved Son;
Jesus, to save it, deigned to bear
The sins of all in one.
4 And is this treasure borne below,
In earthly vessels frail?
Can none its utmost value know,
Till flesh and spirit fail?
5 Then let us gather round the cross,
This knowledge to obtain,
Not by the soul's eternal loss,
But everlasting gain.
The Blessings of the New Covenant.
1 GOD, in the gospel of his Son,
Makes his eternal counsels known:
Where love in all its glory shines,
And truth is drawn in fairest lines.
2 Here, sinners, of an humble frame,
May taste his grace, and learn his name;
May read in characters of blood,
The wisdom, power, and grace of God.
3 The prisoner here may break his chains;
The weary rest from all his pains;
The captive feel his bondage cease;
The mourner find the way of peace.
4 Here faith reveals to mortal eyes
A brighter world beyond the skies;
Here shines the light which guides our way
From earth to realms of endless day.
5 O grant us grace, Almighty Lord!
To read and mark thy holy word;
Its truth with meekness to receive,
And by its holy precepts live.
HYMN 279. L. M. Nazareth.
Religion. Prov. iv, 7.
e 1 EACH us, O Lord, the great concern,
To know thy will, thy name to love;
Our duty from thy word to learn,
And gain the wisdom from above.
2 Religion must be all in all,
Would we th' immortal prize obtain,
Retrieve the ruins of the fall,
And 'scape the death of endless pain.
3 Send thy good Spirit, Lord, we pray,
To sanctify and cleanse our heart;
May we repent, believe, obey,
And from thy service ne'er depart.
HYMN 280. L. M. Angels' Hymn. [*]
Value of Religion.
ELIGION bids all sin depart,
And folly flies her chastening rod;
She makes the humble, contrite heart
A temple of the living God.
e 2 Beyond the narrow vale of time,
Where bright celestial ages roll,
To scenes eternal, scenes sublime,
She points the way, and leads the soul.
3 At her approach the grave appears
p The gate of paradise restored;
Her voice the watching cherub hears,
And drops his double flaming sword.
4 Baptized with her renewing fire,
g We shall the crown of glory gain;
Rise when the hosts of heaven expire,
And reign with God, for ever reign.
Montgomery altered.
HYMN 281. C. M. Bangor. [b]
Frailty of Life.
FEW are thy days, and full of wo,
O man, of woman born!
Thy doom is written-" Dust thou art,
And shalt to dust return!"
2 Determined are the days that fly
Successive o'er thy head;
The numbered hour is on the wing,
Which lays thee with the dead.
3 Gay is thy morning: flattering hope
Thy sprightly steps attends;
But soon the tempest howls behind,
And the dark night descends!
4 Before its splendid hour, the cloud
Comes o'er the beam of light;
A pilgrim in a weary land,
Man tarries but a night.
HYMN 282. S. M. Olmutz. [*]
Uncertainty of Life.
TO-MORROW, Lord, is thine!
Lodged in thy sovereign hand;
And if its sun arise and shine,
It shines by thy command.
2 The present moment flies,
And bears our life away;
Oh make thy servants truly wise,
That they may live to-day.
3 Since on this fleeting hour
Eternity is hung,
Awaken, by thy mighty power,
The aged and the young.
4 One thing demands our care-
Be that one thing pursued;
Lest, slighted once, the season fair
Should never be renewed.
5 To Jesus may we fly,
Swift as the morning light,
Lest life's young golden beams should die
In sudden, endless night.
Doddridge alteren. HYMN 283. L. M. Dresden. [b]
Vanity of the World, and Happiness of Heaven. TOW vain is all beneath the skies! How transient every earthly bliss! How slender all the fondest ties,
That bind us to a world like this.
2 The evening cloud, the morning dew,
The withering grass, the fading flower,
Of earthly hopes are emblems true-
The glory of a passing hour!
3 But, though earth's fairest blossoms die,
And all beneath the skies is vain,
There is a land whose confines lie
Beyond the reach of care and pain.
b 4 Then let the hope of joys to come
Dispel our cares, and chase our fears:
If God be ours, we're travelling home,
Though passing through a vale of tears.
HYMN 284. C. M. Tolland. [*]
Seek first the Kingdom of God.
let a true ambition rise,
And ardor fire our breast,
To reign in worlds above the skies,
In heavenly glories drest.
2 Behold Jehovah's royal hand
A radiant crown display,
Whose gems with vivid lustre shine,
While stars and suns decay.
3 Away, each grovelling, anxious care,
Beneath a Christian's aim;
We spring to seize immortal joys,
In our Redeemer's name
|