WHILE health, and strength, and youth
And pleasure flows, unchecked by pain,
Lord! for Thyself my soul prepare,
By faith, and penitence, and prayer!
2 Lo! when the snares of sin are spread
Around my unsuspecting head,
Thy grace shall Satan's power control,
And from temptation guard my soul.
3 Whene'er the cares of life molest,
And sorrows whelm my troubled breast,
Thy Word shall bid the tempest cease,
And faith reveal the Prince of peace!
4 And when my health and youth decay,
When life's gay visions melt away,
Eternal bliss my soul shall prove
In realms of everlasting love.
MAN IN HIS RELATION TO GOD.
SINFUL man am I,
Therefore I come to Thee;
To Thee the Holy and the Just,
That Thou may'st pity me.
2 Wert Thou not holy, Lord!
Why should I come to Thee?
It is Thy holiness that makes
Thee, Lord! so meet for me.
3 Wert Thou not gracious, Lord!
I must in dread depart;
It is the riches of Thy grace
That win and draw my heart.
4 Wert Thou not righteous, Lord!
I dare not come to Thee;
It is a righteous pardon, Lord!
Alone that suiteth me.
5 Our God is love; we come;
Our God is light; we stay;
Abiding ever in His word,
And walking in His way.
6 Mercy and truth are His,
Unchanging faithfulness;
The cross is all our boast and trust,
And Jesus is our peace.
7 We give Thee glory, Lord!
Thy Majesty adore;
Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
We bless for evermore.
SINNER, Lord! behold I stand,
In thought, and word, and deed:
But Jesus sits at Thy right hand,
For such to intercede.
2 And Thou canst change this evil heart,
Canst give a holy mind;
And His own heavenly grace impart,
Which those who seek shall find.
3 To heaven can reach the softest word,
A child's repenting prayer;
For tears are seen, and sighs are heard,
And thoughts regarded there.
4 Then let me all my sins confess,
And pardoning grace implore,
That I may love my follies less,
And love my Saviour more.
1 NOME, O Thou all-victorious Lord!
Thy power to us make known:
Strike with the hammer of Thy Word,
And break these hearts of stone!
2 O that we all might now begin
Our foolishness to mourn;
And turn at once from every sin,
And to our Saviour turn!
3 Give us ourselves and Thee to know,
In this our gracious day;
Repentance unto life bestow,
And take our sins away.
4 That blessed sense of guilt impart,
And then remove the load;
Trouble, and wash the troubled heart
In the atoning blood.
FATHER! to Thy sinful child
Though Thy law is reconciled,
By Thy pardoning grace I live,
Daily still I cry,-forgive.
2 Since my ransom-price He paid,
Upon whom my guilt was laid,
Humbly at Thy mercy-seat,
Full remission I entreat.
3 Lord, forgive me, day by day,!
Debts I cannot hope to pay;
Duties I have left undone;
Evils I have failed to shun;
4 Trespasses in word or thought;
Deeds from evil motives wrought;
Cold ingratitude, distrust;
Thoughts unhallowed and unjust.
Gracious Lord! and are there those
Who my debtors are, or foes ?
I, who by forgiveness live,
Here their trespasses forgive.
6 Much forgiven, may I learn
Love for hatred to return;
Then assured my heart shall be,
Thou, my God! hast pardoned me.
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H! for a bright celestial ray
To melt my stubbornness away; To thaw, with beams of love divine, This heart, this frozen heart of mine.
2 The rocks can rend; the earth can quake;
The seas can roar; the mountains shake;
Of yielding all things show some sign,
Except this hardened heart of mine.
3 To know the sorrows Thou hast felt,
O Lord! an adamant would melt;
But I can read each moving line,
Yet stubborn is this heart of mine.
4 Thy judgment, too, which devils fear,-
Amazing thought!—unmoved I hear;
Goodness and wrath in vain combine
To lead this stubborn heart of mine.
5 Thy Spirit, Lord! can do the deed;
His melting, saving power I need;
O may it now my dross refine,
And melt and change this heart of mine!
1 OH! that I could repent,
With all my idols part,
And to Thy gracious eyes present
A humble contrite heart.
A heart with grief oppressed,
For having grieved my God,
A troubled heart that cannot rest,
Till sprinkled with Thy blood.
Jesus! on me bestow
The penitent desire:
With true sincerity of woe
My aching breast inspire. 4 With softening pity look,
And melt my hardness down;
Strike with Thy love's resistless stroke,
And break this heart of stone!
BEGONE, unbelief! my Saviour is near,
And for my relief will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle, and He will perform; With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm. 2 Though dark be the way, since He is my Guide, "Tis mine to obey, 'tis His to provide ;
Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail,
The word He has spoken shall surely prevail. 3 Why should I complain of want or distress, Temptation or pain? He told us no less: The heirs of salvation, we know from His word, Through much tribulation must follow their Lord.
4 Since all that I meet shall work for my good, The bitter is sweet, the medicine is food! Though painful at present, 'twill cease before long,
And then, oh! how pleasant the conqueror's song!
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