O Thou that hearest when sinners cry,

Though all my sins before thee lie,

Behold me not with angry look,

But blot their memory from thy book.

2 Create my nature pure within,

And form my soul averse to sin;

Let thy good Spirit ne’er depart,

Nor hide thy presence from my heart.

3 I can not live without thy light,

Cast out and banished from thy sight;

Thy holy joys, my God, restore,

And guard me that I fall no more.

4 Though I have grieved thy Spirit, Lord,

His help and comfort still afford;

And let a sinner seek thy throne,

To plead the merits of the Son.

Weary of wandering from my God,

And now made willing to return,

I hear, and bow beneath the rod;

For thee, for thee alone, I mourn:

I have an Advocate above,

A Friend before the throne of love.

2 O Jesus, full of truth and grace!

More full of grace than I of sin;

Yet once again I seek thy face,

Open thine arms and take me in;

And freely my backslidings heal,

And love the faithless sinner still.

3 Thou knowest the way to bring me back,

My fallen spirit to restore;

O, for thy truth and mercy’s sake,

Forgive, and bid me sin no more!

The ruins of my soul repair,

And make my heart a house of prayer.

Before thy throne with tearful eyes,

My gracious Lord, I humbly fall;

To thee my weary spirit flies,

For thy forgiving love I call.

2 How free thy mercy overflows,

When sinners on thy grace rely!

Thy tender love no limit knows;

O, save me—justly doomed to die!

3 Yes! thou wilt save; my soul is free!

The gloom of sin is fled away;

My tongue breaks forth in praise to thee,

And all my powers thy word obey.

4 Hence while I wrestle with my foes—

The world, the flesh, the hosts of hell—

Sustain thou me till conflicts close,

Then endless songs my thanks shall tell.

O thou, whose tender mercy hears

Contrition’s humble sigh;

Whose hand indulgent wipes the tears

From sorrow’s weeping eye;

2 See Lord, before thy throne of grace,

A wretched wanderer mourn:

Hast thou not bid me seek thy face?

Hast thou not said—“Return?”

3 And shall my guilty fears prevail

To drive me from thy feet?

O, let not this dear refuge fail,

This only safe retreat!

4 Absent from thee, my Guide! my Light!

Without one cheering ray,

Through dangers, fears, and gloomy night,

How desolate my way.

5 O, shine on this benighted heart,

With beams of mercy shine!

And let thy healing voice impart

A taste of joy divine.

O for a closer walk with God!

A calm and heavenly frame!

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

2 Where is the blessedness I knew

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul-refreshing view

Of Jesus and his word?

3 What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!

How sweet their memory still!

But they have left an aching void

The world can never fill.

4 Return, O holy Dove, return,

Sweet messenger of rest;

I hate the sins that made thee mourn,

And drove thee from my breast.

5 The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee.

6 So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

Sweet was the time when first I felt

The Saviour’s pardoning blood

Applied to cleanse my soul from guilt,

And bring me home to God.

2 Soon as the morn the light revealed,

His praises tuned my tongue;

And, when the evening shade prevailed,

His love was all my song.

3 In prayer, my soul drew near the Lord,

And saw his glory shine;

And when I read his holy word,

I called each promise mine.

4 But now, when evening shade prevails,

My soul in darkness mourns;

And when the morn the light reveals,

No light to me returns.

5 Rise, Saviour! help me to prevail,

And make my soul thy care;

I know thy mercy can not fail;

Let me that mercy share.

O Saviour, lend a listening ear,

And answer my request!

Forgive, and wipe the falling tear,

Now with thy love my spirit cheer,

And set my heart at rest.

2 I mourn the hidings of thy face;

The absence of that smile,

Which led me to a throne of grace,

And gave my soul a resting-place

From earthly care and toil.

3 ’Tis sin that separates from thee

This poor benighted soul;

My folly and my guilt I see,

And now upon the bended knee,

I yield to thy control.

4 Up to the place of thine abode

I lift my waiting eye;

To thee, O holy Lamb of God!

Whose blood for me so freely flowed,

I raise my ardent cry.

Weeping soul, no longer mourn,

Jesus all thy griefs hath borne;

View him bleeding on the tree,

Pouring out his life for thee;

There thy every sin he bore:

Weeping soul, lament no more.

2 Cast thy guilty soul on him,

Find him mighty to redeem;

At his feet thy burden lay,

Look thy doubts and fears away;

Now by faith the Son embrace,

Plead his promise, trust his grace.

Pity, Lord! this child of clay,

Who can only weep and pray—

Only on thy love depend:

Thou who art the sinner’s Friend;

Thou the sinner’s only plea—

Jesus, Saviour, pity me!

2 From thy flock, a straying Lamb,

Tender Shepherd, though I am;

Now, upon the mountain cold,

Lost, I long to gain the fold,

And within thine arms to be:

Jesus, Saviour, pity me!

3 O, where stillest streams are poured,

In green pastures lead me, Lord!

Bring me back, where angels sound

Joy to the poor wanderer found:

Evermore my Shepherd be:

Jesus, Saviour, pity me!

Brother, hast thou wandered far

From the Father’s happy home,

With thyself and God at war?

Turn thee, brother—homeward come.

2 Hast thou wasted all the powers

God for noble uses gave?

Squandered life’s most golden hours?

Turn thee, brother—God can save.

3 He can heal thy bitterest wound,

He thy gentlest prayer can hear;

Seek him, for he may be found;

Call upon him—he is near.

Take me, O my Father! take me—

Take me, save me, through thy Son;

That which thou wouldst have me, make me;

Let thy will in me be done.

2 Long from thee my footsteps straying,

Thorny proved the way I trod;

Weary come I now, and praying—

Take me to thy love my God!

3 Fruitless years with grief recalling,

Humbly I confess my sin!

At thy feet, O Father, falling,

To thy household take me in.

4 Freely now to thee I proffer

This relenting heart of mine;

Freely, life and soul I offer,

Gift unworthy love like thine.

5 Once the world’s Redeemer, dying,

Bore our sins upon the tree;

On that sacrifice relying,

Now I look in hope to thee.

6 Father, take me! all forgiving,

Fold me to thy loving breast;

In thy love for ever living,

I must be for ever blest.

A weak and weary dove, with drooping wing,

And tired of wandering o’er this watery waste,

Jesus, my ark! once more a worthless thing,

To thee I fly, thy pardoning love to taste.

2 For since I left thy sweet, secure retreat,

In search of pleasures fair, though false and vain,

My peace—my joy have flown; no rest my feet

Have found; and now I turn to thee again!

3 I’ve sought for rest in friendship’s hallowed shrine,

But loved ones change, and earth’s endearments end;

No love is true and lasting, Lord, but thine;

Henceforth, Incarnate Love, be thou my friend.

4 I’ve sought to find a place to rest my feet

In fame’s alluring temple, bright and gay;

In health, and competence, and pleasures sweet,

But short and transient as the passing day.

5 Yet all in vain: o’er all this dreary waste

Of sin and sorrow, toil and care, and pain,

No spot I’ve found, my weary feet to rest;

And now, sweet ark, I fly to thee again.

Thy footsteps, Lord, with joy we trace,

And mark the conquests of thy grace;

Complete the work thou hast begun,

And let thy will on earth be done.

2 O, show thyself the Prince of Peace;

Command the din of war to cease;

O, bid contending nations rest,

And let thy love rule every breast!

3 Then peace returns with balmy wing;

Glad plenty laughs, the valleys sing;

Reviving commerce lifts her head,

And want, and woe, and hate, have fled.

4 Thou good and wise, and righteous Lord,

All move subservient to thy word;

O, soon let every nation prove

The perfect joy of Christian love!

While others pray for grace to die

O Lord, I pray for grace to live;

For every hour a fresh supply;

O see my need and freely give.

2 I do not dread the hour of death;

If I am thine, no fears remain;

I know that with my parting breath

I yield for ever mortal pain.

3 E’en if the darkness should appear

Too deep for faith as well as sight,

If I am thine, thou wilt be near,

And take me to thy heavenly light.

4 But O! my Lord, in life’s highway

I crave the sunshine of thy face;

And every moment of the day

I need thy strong supporting grace.

5 I dare not—will not—Lord, deny

That heart and feet both go astray;

Therefore the more to thee I cry

To keep me in the chosen way.

6 The more my sin and unbelief

Keep me from walking near to thee,

The more, Lord Jesus, is my grief—

The more I long thy face to see.

Blest is the man whose softening heart

Feels all another’s pain;

To whom the supplicating eye

Was never raised in vain;

2 Whose breast expands with generous warmth

A stranger’s woes to feel;

And bleeds in pity o’er the wound

He wants the power to heal.

3 He spreads his kind supporting arms,

To every child of grief;

His secret bounty largely flows,

And brings unasked relief.

4 To gentle offices of love,

His feet are never slow;

He views, through mercy’s melting eye,

A brother in a foe.

5 Peace from the bosom of his God,

The Saviour’s grace shall give;

And when he kneels before the throne,

His trembling soul shall live.

Bright Source of everlasting love,

To thee our souls we raise;

And to thy sovereign bounty rear

A monument of praise.

2 Thy mercy gilds the path of life

With every cheering ray,

Kindly restrains the rising tear,

Or wipes that tear away.

3 To tents of woe, to beds of pain,

Our cheerful feet repair,

And with the gifts thy hand bestows,

Relieve the mourners there.

4 The widow’s heart shall sing for joy;

The orphan shall be fed;

The hungering soul we’ll gladly point

To Christ, the living Bread.

Lord, lead the way the Saviour went,

By lane and cell obscure,

And let our treasures still be spent

Like his, upon the poor.

2 Like him, through scenes of deep distress,

Who bore the world’s sad weight,

We, in their gloomy loneliness,

Would seek the desolate.

3 For thou hast placed us side by side

In this wide world of ill;

And, that thy followers may be tried,

The poor are with us still.

4 Small are the offerings we can make;

Yet thou hast taught us, Lord,

If given for the Saviour’s sake,

They lose not their reward.

Beneath the shadow of the cross,

As earthly hopes remove,

His new commandment Jesus gives,

His blesséd word of love.

2 O, bond of union, strong and deep!

O, bond of perfect peace!

Not e’en the lifted cross can harm,

If we but hold to this.

3 Then, Jesus, be thy Spirit ours!

And swift our feet shall move

To deeds of pure self-sacrifice,

And the sweet tasks of love.

Scorn not the slightest word or deed,

Nor deem it void of power;

There’s fruit in each wind-wafted seed,

That waits its natal hour.

2 A whispered word may touch the heart,

And call it back to life;

A look of love bid sin depart,

And still unholy strife.

3 No act falls fruitless, none can tell

How vast its power may be,

Nor what results infolded dwell

Within it silently.

4 Work on, despair not, bring thy mite,

Nor care how small it be,

God is with all that serve the right,

The holy, true, and free.

Make channels for the streams of love,

Where they may broadly run;

And love has overflowing streams,

To fill them every one.

2 But if at any time we cease

Such channels to provide,

The very founts of love for us

Will soon be parched and dried.

3 For we must share, if we would keep,

That blessing from above;

Ceasing to give, we cease to have:

Such is the law of love.

O be not faithless! with the morn

Cast thou abroad thy grain!

At noontide faint not thou forlorn,

At evening sow again!

Blessed are they, whate’er betide,

Who thus all waters sow beside.

2 Thou knowest not which seed shall grow,

Or which may die, or live;

In faith, and hope, and patience, sow!

The increase God shall give

According to his gracious will—

As best his purpose may fulfill.

3 O, could our inward eye but view,

Our hearts but feel aright,

What faith, and love, and hope can do,

By their celestial might,

We should not say, till these be dead,

The power that marvels wrought is fled.

She loved her Saviour, and to him

Her costliest present brought;

To crown his head, or grace his name,

No gift too rare she thought.

2 So let the Saviour be adored,

And not the poor despised,

Give to the hungry from your hoard,

But all, give all to Christ.

3 Go, clothe the naked, lead the blind,

Give to the weary rest;

For sorrow’s children comfort find,

And help for all distressed;

4 But give to Christ alone thy heart,

Thy faith, thy love supreme;

Then for his sake thine alms impart,

And so give all to him.

What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone

Around thy steps below;

What patient love was seen in all

Thy life and death of woe!

2 For, ever on thy burdened heart

A weight of sorrow hung;

Yet no ungentle, murmuring word

Escaped thy silent tongue.

3 Thy foes might hate, despise, revile,

Thy friends unfaithful prove;

Unwearied in forgiveness still,

Thy heart could only love.

4 O give us hearts to love like thee!

Like thee, O Lord, to grieve

Far more for others’ sins than all

The wrongs that we receive.

5 One with thyself, may every eye,

In us, thy brethren, see

The gentleness and grace that spring

From union, Lord! with thee.

O gracious Lord, whose mercies rise

Above our utmost need,

Incline thine ear unto our cry,

And hear the orphan plead.

2 Bereft of all a mother’s love,

And all a mother’s care,

Lord, whither shall we flee for help?

To whom direct our prayer?

3 To thee we flee, to thee we pray;

Thou shalt our Father be:

More than the fondest parent’s care

We find, O Lord, in thee.

4 Already Thou hast heard our cry,

And wiped away our tears:

Thy mercy has a refuge found

To guard our helpless years.

5 O, let thy love descend on those

Who pity to us show;

Nor let their children ever taste

The orphan’s cup of woe.

Where shall the child of sorrow find

A place for calm repose?

Thou! Father of the fatherless,

Pity the orphan’s woes!

2 What friend have I in heaven or earth,

What friend to trust but thee?

My father’s dead, my mother’s dead,

My God! “remember me.”

3 Thy gracious promise now fulfill,

And bid my troubles cease;

In thee the fatherless shall find

Pure mercy, grace, and peace.

4 I’ve not a secret care or pain

But he that secret knows;

Thou, Father of the fatherless,

Pity the orphan’s woes.

Help us, O Lord, thy yoke to wear,

Delighting in thy will;

Each other’s burdens learn to bear,

The law of love fulfill.

2 He that hath pity on the poor,

Doth lend unto the Lord:

And, lo! his recompense is sure;

For more shall be restored.

3 To thee our all devoted be,

In whom we move, and live;

Freely we have received from thee;

And freely may we give.

4 And while we thus obey thy word,

And every want relieve,

O may we find it, gracious Lord!

More blest than to receive.

Hush the loud cannon’s roar,

The frantic warrior’s call,

Why should the earth be drenched with gore?

Are we not brothers all?

2 Want, from the wretch depart;

Chains, from the captive fall;

Sweet mercy, melt the oppressor’s heart:

Sufferers are brothers all.

3 Churches and sects, strike down

Each mean partition wall;

Let love each harsher feeling drown:

Christians are brothers all.

4 Let love and truth alone

Hold human hearts in thrall,

That heaven its work at length may own,

And men be brothers all.

O praise our God to-day,

His constant mercy bless,

Whose love hath helped us on our way,

And granted us success.

2 O happiest work below,

Earnest of joy above,

To sweeten many a cup of woe,

By deeds of holy love!

3 Lord! may it be our choice

This blesséd rule to keep:

Rejoice with them that do rejoice,

And weep with them that weep.

Sow in the morn thy seed;

At eve hold not thy hand;

To doubt and fear, give thou no heed;

Broadcast it o’er the land.

2 Thou knowest not which shall thrive—

The late or early sown;

Grace keeps the precious germ alive,

When and wherever strown;

3 The good, the fruitful ground

Expect not here nor there;

On hillside and in dale ’tis found;

Go forth, then, everywhere!

4 And duly shall appear,

In verdure, beauty, strength,

The tender blade, the stalk, the ear,

And the full corn at length.

5 Thou canst not toil in vain;

Cold, heat, the moist and dry,

Shall foster and mature the grain

For garners in the sky.

6 Thence, when the glorious end—

The day of God—is come,

The angel-reapers shall descend,

And heaven cry, Harvest-home.

What though earthly friends may frown,

Why should I dejected be?

Father, let thy will be known,

Let me find my all in thee.

Never let my soul despair,

God will hear the orphan’s prayer;

God will hear,

God will hear the orphan’s prayer.

2 Sorrow’s child I long have been,

Often for unkindness mourned;

Friendless orphan, poor and mean,

By the proud and wealthy scorned.

Still to God will I repair,

God will hear the orphan’s prayer;

God will hear,

God will hear the orphan’s prayer.

3 Earthly comforts fade and die,

Sorrows oft our joys attend;

But if we on God rely,

He will prove a constant friend.

On him I’ll cast every care,

He regards the orphan’s prayer;

He regards,

He regards the orphan’s prayer.

He that goeth forth with weeping,

Bearing precious seed in love,

Never tiring, never sleeping,

Findeth mercy from above.

2 Soft descend the dews of heaven;

Bright the rays celestial shine;

Precious fruits will thus be given,

Through the influence all divine.

3 Sow thy seed; be never weary;

Let no fears thy soul annoy;

Be the prospect ne’er so dreary,

Thou shalt reap the fruits of joy.

4 Lo! the scene of verdure brightening,

In the rising grain appear;

Look again; the fields are whitening,

For the harvest time is near.

All around us, fair with flowers,

Fields of beauty sleeping lie;

All around us clarion voices

Call to duty stern and high.

2 Following every voice of mercy

With a trusting, loving heart;

Let us in life’s earnest labor

Still be sure to do our part.

3 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow,

Let us work with all our might,

Lest the wretched faint and perish

In the coming stormy night.

4 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow,

Lest, before to-morrow’s sun,

We, too, mournfully departing,

Shall have left our work undone.

With my substance I will honor

My Redeemer and my Lord;

Were ten thousand worlds my manor,

All were nothing to his word:

Hallelujah!

Now we offer to the Lord.

2 While the heralds of salvation

His abounding grace proclaim,

Let his saints of every station

Gladly join to spread his fame:

Hallelujah!

Gifts we offer to his name.

3 May his kingdom be promoted;

May the world the Saviour know;

Be to him these gifts devoted,

For to him my all I owe:

Hallelujah!

Run, ye heralds to and fro.

4 Praise the Saviour, all ye nations;

Praise him, all ye hosts above;

Shout with joyful acclamations

His divine, victorious love:

Hallelujah!

By this gift our love we’ll prove.

One whom Jesus loved has truly spoken!

The holier worship which God deigns to bless,

Restores the lost, and heals the spirit broken,

And feeds the widow and the fatherless.

2 Then, brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother!

For where love dwells, the peace of God is there;

To worship rightly is to love each other;

Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.

3 Follow, with reverent steps, the great example

Of him whose holy work was doing good;

So shall the wide earth seem our Father’s temple,

Each loving life a psalm of gratitude.

4 Thus shall all shackles fall; the stormy clangor

Of wild war music o’er the earth shall cease;

Love shall tread out the baleful fires of anger,

And in its ashes plant the tree of peace.

Down the dark future, through long generations,

The sounds of war grow fainter, and then cease;

And like a bell with solemn, sweet vibrations,

I hear once more the voice of Christ say, “Peace!”

2 Peace! and no longer, from its brazen portals,

The blast of war’s great organ shakes the skies;

But beautiful as songs of the immortals,

The holy melodies of love arise.

Peace, peace on earth! the heart of man for ever,

Through all these weary strifes, foretells the day;

Blesséd be God, the hope forsakes him never,

That war shall end, and swords be sheathed for aye.

2 Peace, peace on earth! for men shall love each other;

Hosts shall go forth to bless, and not destroy;

For man shall see in every man a brother,

And peace on earth fulfill the angels’ joy.

Breathe thoughts of pity o’er a brother’s fall,

But dwell not with stern anger on his fault:

The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all;

Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt.

2 Send back the wanderer to the Saviour’s fold—

That were an action worthy of a saint;

But not in malice let the crime be told,

Nor publish to the world the evil taint.

3 The Saviour suffers when his children slide;

Then is his holy name by men blasphemed!

And he afresh is mocked and crucified,

Even by those his bitter death redeemed.

4 Rebuke the sin, and yet in love rebuke;

Feel as one member in another’s pain;

Win back the soul that his fair path forsook,

And mighty and eternal is thy gain.

Every day hath toil and trouble,

Every heart hath care;

Meekly bear thine own full measure,

And thy brother’s share,

Fear not, shrink not, though the burden

Heavy to thee prove;

God shall fill thy mouth with gladness,

And thy heart with love.

2 Patiently enduring, ever

Let thy spirit be

Bound, by links that can not sever,

To humanity.

Labor, wait! thy master labored

Till his task was done;

Count not lost thy fleeting moments—

Life hath but begun.

3 Labor! wait! though midnight shadows

Gather round thee here,

And the storm above thee lowering

Fill thy heart with fear—

Wait in hope! the morning dawneth

When the night is gone,

And a peaceful rest awaits thee

When thy work is done.

Far from my thoughts, vain world! begone,

Let my religious hours alone:

Fain would mine eyes my Saviour see;

I wait a visit, Lord! from thee.

2 My heart grows warm with holy fire,

And kindles with a pure desire;

Come, my dear Jesus! from above,

And feed my soul with heavenly love.

3 Blest Saviour, what delicious fare—

How sweet thine entertainments are!

Never did angels taste above

Redeeming grace and dying love.

4 Hail, great Immanuel, all-divine!

In thee thy Father’s glories shine:

Thou brightest, sweetest, fairest One,

That eyes have seen, or angels known!

Sun of my soul! thou Saviour dear,

It is not night if thou be near:

O, may no earth-born cloud arise

To hide thee from thy servant’s eyes!

2 When soft the dews of kindly sleep

My wearied eyelids gently steep,

Be my last thought—how sweet to rest

For ever on my Saviour’s breast!

3 Abide with me from morn till eve,

For without thee I can not live;

Abide with me when night is nigh,

For without thee I dare not die.

4 Be near to bless me when I wake,

Ere through the world my way I take;

Abide with me till in thy love

I lose myself in heaven above.

My God, my heart with love inflame,

That I may in thy holy name

Aloud in songs of praise rejoice,

While I have breath to raise my voice.

2 No more let my ungrateful heart

One moment from thy praise depart;

But live and sing in sweet accord,

The glories of my sovereign Lord.

3 Jesus! thou hope of glory, come,

And make my heart thy constant home:

Through all the remnant of my days,

O let me speak and live thy praise!

In silence of the voiceless night,

When chased by dreams, the slumbers flee,

Whom, in the darkness, do I seek,

O God, but thee?

2 And if there weigh upon my breast,

Vague memories of the day foregone,

Scarce knowing why, I fly to thee,

And lay them down.

3 Or, if it be the gloom that comes,

In token of impending ill,

My bosom heeds not what it is,

Since ’tis thy will.

4 For, O! in spite of constant care,

Or aught beside, how joyfully

I pass that solitary hour,

My God, with thee!

5 More tranquil than the stilly night,

More peaceful than that voiceless hour,

Supremely blest, my bosom lies

Beneath thy power.

6 For what on earth can I desire,

Of all it hath to offer me?

Or whom in heaven do I seek,

O God, but thee?

O that I could for ever dwell,

Delighted, at the Saviour’s feet;

Behold the form I love so well,

And all his tender words repeat!

2 The world shut out from all my soul,

And heaven brought in with all its bliss,

O! is there aught from pole to pole,

One moment to compare with this?

3 This is the hidden life I prize—

A life of penitential love;

When I my follies most despise,

And raise my highest thoughts above?

4 When all I am I clearly see,

And freely own with deepest shame;

When the Redeemer’s love to me

Kindles within a deathless flame.

5 Thus would I live till nature fail,

And all my former sins forsake;

Then rise to God within the vail,

And of eternal joys partake.

Return, my roving heart, return,

And chase these shadowy forms no more;

Seek out some solitude to mourn,

And thy forsaken God implore.

2 O thou, great God, whose piercing eye

Distinctly marks each deep recess;

In these sequestered hours draw nigh,

And with thy presence fill the place.

3 Through all the windings of my heart,

My search let heavenly wisdom guide;

And still its radiant beams impart

Till all be searched and purified.

4 Then with the visits of thy love,

Vouchsafe my inmost soul to cheer;

Till every grace shall join to prove

That God has fixed his dwelling there.

Our Father God! not face to face

May mortal sense commune with thee,

Nor lift the curtains of that place

Where dwells thy secret Majesty:

Yet wheresoe’er our spirits bend

In reverent faith and humble prayer,

Thy promised blessing will descend,

And we shall find thy Spirit there.

2 Lord! be the spot where now we meet

An open gateway into heaven;

Here may we sit at Jesus’ feet,

And feel our deepest sins forgiven.

Here may desponding care look up;

And sorrow lay its burden down,

Or learn of him to drink the cup,

To bear the cross and win the crown.

3 Here may the sick and wandering soul,

To truth still blind, to sin a slave,

Find better than Bethesda’s pool,

Or than Siloam’s healing wave;

And may we learn, while here, apart

From the world’s passion and its strife,

That thy true shrine’s a loving heart,

And thy best praise a holy life!

Sweet is the prayer whose holy stream

In earnest pleading flows;

Devotion dwells upon the theme,

And warm and warmer glows.

2 Faith grasps the blessing she desires,

Hope points the upward gaze;

And love, untrembling love inspires

The eloquence of praise.

3 But sweeter far the still, small voice,

Heard by the human ear,

When God hath made the heart rejoice,

And dried the bitter tear.

4 Nor accents flow, nor words ascend;

All utterance faileth there;

But listening spirits comprehend,

And God accepts the prayer.

Far from the world, O Lord, I flee,

From strife and tumult far;

From scenes where Satan wages still

His most successful war.

2 The calm retreat, the silent shade,

With prayer and praise agree;

And seem by thy sweet bounty made

For those who follow thee.

3 There, if thy Spirit touch the soul,

And grace her mean abode,

O, with what peace, and joy, and love,

She then communes with God!

4 There, like the nightingale she pours

Her solitary lays;

Nor asks a witness of her song,

Nor thirsts for human praise.

5 Author and Guardian of my life!

Sweet Source of light divine,

And all harmonious names in one—

My Saviour!—thou art mine!

6 What thanks I owe thee, and what love—

A boundless, endless store—

Shall echo through the realms above,

When time shall be no more.

Father divine, thy piercing eye

Sees through the darkest night,

In deep retirement thou art nigh,

With heart-discerning sight.

2 There may that piercing eye survey,

My duteous homage paid,

With every morning’s dawning ray

And every evening’s shade.

3 O let thy own celestial fire

The incense still inflame;

While my warm vows to thee aspire,

Through my Redeemer’s name.

4 So shall the visits of thy love

My soul in secret bless;

So shalt thou deign in worlds above,

Thy suppliant to confess.

O could I find, from day to day,

A nearness to my God,

Then would my hours glide sweet away

While leaning on his word.

2 Lord, I desire with thee to live

Anew from day to day,

In joys the world can never give,

Nor ever take away.

3 Blest Jesus, come and rule my heart,

And make me wholly thine,

That I may never more depart,

Nor grieve thy love divine.

4 Thus, till my last, expiring breath,

Thy goodness I’ll adore;

And when my frame dissolves in death,

My soul shall love thee more.

Still with thee, O my God,

I would desire to be;

By day, by night, at home, abroad,

I would be still with thee;—

2 With thee, when dawn comes in,

And calls me back to care;

Each day returning to begin

With thee, my God, in prayer;—

3 With thee, amid the crowd

That throngs the busy mart,

To hear thy voice, ’mid clamor loud,

Speak softly to my heart;—

4 With thee, when day is done,

And evening calms the mind:

The setting as the rising sun,

With thee my heart would find.

5 With thee, when darkness brings

The signal of repose,

Calm in the shadow of thy wings,

Mine eyelids I would close.

6 With thee, in thee, by faith

Abiding I would be;

By day, by night, in life, in death,

I would be still with thee.

Let my life be hid in thee,

Life of life, and Light of light!

Love’s illimitable Sea!

Depth of peace, of power the Hight.

2 Let my life be hid in thee,

When my foes are gathering round;

Covered with thy panoply,

Safe within thy holy ground.

3 Let my life be hid in thee,

From vexation and annoy;

Calm in thy tranquillity,

All my mourning turned to joy.

4 Let my life be hid in thee;

When my strength and health shall fail,

Let thine immortality

In my dying hour prevail.

Jesus, Saviour all divine,

Hast thou made me truly thine?

Hast thou bought me by thy blood?

Reconciled my heart to God?

Hearken to my tender prayer,

Let me thine own image bear;

Let me love thee more and more,

Till I reach heaven’s blissful shore.

2 Thou canst fit me by thy grace

For the heavenly dwelling-place;

All thy promises are sure,

Ever shall thy love endure;

Then what more could I desire,

How to greater bliss aspire?

All I need, in thee I see,

Thou art all in all to me.

God is in the loneliest spot

Present, though thou know it not;

Morning vows and evening prayer

Make a Bethel everywhere.

2 Go where duty guides thy feet;

There good angels thou shalt meet;

Hosts of God thou canst not see,

Watch thy steps and wait on thee.

When far from the hearts where our fondest thoughts center,

Denied for a time their loved presence to share;

In spirit we meet, when the closet we enter,

And hold sweet communion together in prayer!

2 O! fondly I think, as night’s curtains surround them,

The Shepherd of Israel tenderly keeps,

The angels of light are encamping around them,

They are watched by the eye that ne’er slumbers nor sleeps,

3 When the voice of the morning once more shall awake them,

And summon them forth to the calls of the day,

I will think of that God who will never forsake them,

The Friend ever near though all else be away.

4 Then why should one thought of anxiety seize us,

Though distance divide us from those whom we love?

They rest in the covenant mercy of Jesus,

Their prayers meet with ours in the mansions above.

5 O! sweet bond of friendship, whate’er may betide us,

Though on life’s stormy billows our barks may be driven,

Though distance, or trial, or death may divide us,

Eternal re-union awaits us in heaven.