My Lord, thyself alone
Can take me by the hand,
And lead me safely on
Into the promis'd land.
Thy power can subdue my foes,
Allay and sweeten all my woes.
Conduct me safely home,
My Saviour and my God;
Mercy is all I crave,
The merits of thy blood;
Redemption full I only see,
Out of myself alone in thee.
181. The Enjoyment of Christ: or, Delight in Worship. L. M.
FAR from my thoughts, vain world be gone,
Let my religious hours alone;
Fain would my eyes my Saviour see:
I wait a visit, Lord, from thee.
My heart grows warm with holy fire,
And kindles with a pure desire;
Come, my dear Jesus, from above,
And feed my soul with heav'nly love,
[The trees of life immortal stand
In fragrant rows at thy right-hand,
And in sweet murmurs by their side
Rivers of bliss perpetual glide.
Haste then, but with a smiling face,
And spread a table of thy grace;
Bring down a taste of truth divine,
And cheer my heart with sacred wine.]
Bless'd Jesus, what delicious fare!
How sweet thy entertainments are?
Never did angels taste above
Redeeming grace, and dying love.
Hail, great Immanuel, all divine!
In thee thy Father's glories shine;
Thou brightest, sweetest, fairest one,
That eyes have seen, or angels known.
182. Praise to the Redeemer. C. M. PLUNG'D in a gulph of dark despair We wretched sinners lay, Without one cheerful beam of hope, Or spark of glimm'ring day.
With pitying eyes, the Prince of Grace
Beheld our helpless grief;
He saw, and (O amazing love!)
He ran to our relief.
Down from the shining seats above
With joyful haste he fled,
Enter'd the grave in mortal flesh,
And dwelt among the dead.
He spoil'd the pow'rs of darkness thus,
And broke our iron chains:
Jesus hath freed our captive souls
From everlasting pains.
[In vain the baffled prince of hell His cursed projects tries;
We that were doom'd his endless slaves, Are rais'd above the skies.]
O! for this love, let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
The Saviour's praises speak.
[Yes, we will praise thee, dearest Lord!
Our souls are all on flame;
Hosanna round the spacious earth
To thine adored name.
Angels! assist our mighty joys,
Strike all your harps of gold;
But when you raise your highest notes,
His love can ne'er be told.]
183. Longing to Praise Christ better. L.M.
LORD, when my thoughts with wonder roll
O'er the sharp sorrows of thy soul,
And read my Maker's broken laws,
Repair'd and honour'd by thy cross;
When I behold death, hell, and sin,
Vanquish'd by that dear blood of thine:
And see the man that groan'd and dy'd,
Sit glorious by his Father's side;
My passions rise and soar above,
I'm wing'd with faith, and fir'd with love;
Fain would I reach eternal things,
And learn the notes that Gabriel sings.
But my heart fails, my tongue complains,
For want of their immortal strains;
And in such humble notes as these
Must fall below thy victories.
Well, the kind minute must appear
When we shall leave these bodies here,
These clogs of clay, and mount on high,
To join the songs above the sky.
184. Jesus-precious to them that believe.
ESUS, I love thy charming name,
"Tis music to my ear;
Fain would I sound it out so loud
That earth and heaven might hear.
Yes, thou art precious to my soul!
My transport and my trust:
Jewels to thee are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust.
All my capacious powers can wish,
In thee doth richly meet;
Nor to my eyes is life so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet.
Thy grace shall dwell upon my heart,
And shed its fragrance there;
The noblest balm of all its wounds,
The cordial of its care.
I'll speak the honours of thy name
With my last lab'ring breath;
And, dying, clasp thee in my arms—
The antidote of death.
185. A living and a dead Faith. c. M.
MISTAKEN Souls that dream of heav'n,
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys, and sins forgiv'n,
While they are slaves to lust.
Vein are our fancies, airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead;
None but a living faith unites
To Christ the living head.
"Tis faith that changes all the heart;
"Tis faith that works by love;
That bids all sinful joys depart,
And lifts the thoughts above.
'Tis faith that conquers earth and hell By a celestial pow'r;
This is the grace that shall prevail
In the decisive hour.
[Faith must obey her Father's will,
As well as trust his grace;
A pard'ning God is jealous still
For his own holiness.]
When from the curse he sets us free,
He makes our natures clean;
Nor would he send his Son to be
The minister of sin.
[His Spirit purifies our frame,
And seals our peace with God;
Jesus, and his salvation, came
By water and by blood.
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