To God the Father, Son,
And Spirit, ever blessed,
The One in Three, the Three in One,
Be endless praise addressed.
FATHER of mercies, send Thy grace,
All-powerful from above,
To form in our obedient souls
The image of Thy love.
2 Oh may our sympathising hearts
The tender pleasure know,
Freely to share in others' joy,
And weep for others' woe!
3 Where'er the helpless sons of want
In deep distress are laid,
Soft be our hearts their pain to feel,
And swift our hands to aid.
4 As Jesus lived and died for us
With pity kind and true,
May we, whom thus the Saviour loved,
Love each his brother too!
MOUNTAIN of good, to own Thy love
Our thankful hearts incline;
What can we render, Lord, to Thee,
When all the worlds are Thine?
2 But Thou hast needy brethren here,
Partakers of Thy grace;
Whose humble name Thou wilt confess
Before Thy Father's face.
3 In them Thou mayest be clothed and fed,
And visited and cheered;
And in their accents of distress
Thy pleading voice is heard.
4 Thy face with reverence and with love
We in Thy poor would see;
For while we minister to them,
We do it, Lord, to Thee.
ELP us, O Lord, Thy yoke to wear,
Delighting in Thy perfect will;
Each other's burdens learn to bear,
And thus Thy law of love fulfil.
2 He that hath pity on the poor
Lendeth his substance to the Lord;
And lo! his recompense is sure,
For more than this shall be restored.
3 Teach us, with glad, ungrudging heart,
As Thou hast blessed our various store,
From our abundance to impart
A liberal portion to the poor.
4 To Thee our all devoted be,
In whom we breathe and move and live;
Freely we have received of Thee,
Freely may we rejoice to give.
Ember Days and Home Missions.
YOME, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire;
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost Thy seven-fold gifts impart.
235 EMBER DAYS AND HOME MISSIONS.
2 Thy blessed unction from above
Is comfort, life, and fire of love;
Enable with perpetual light
The dulness of our blinded sight.
3 Anoint and cheer our soilèd face
With the abundance of Thy grace;
Keep far our foes, give peace at home
Where Thou art guide, no ill can come.
4 Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And Thee of both to be but One,
That through the ages all along,
This may be our endless song;
Praise to Thy eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
YO forth to toil; to spend, be spent ;
Thy joy to do Thy Father's will:
It is the way the Master went;
And it must be the servant's still.
2 Go forth to toil: from day to day
Renew thy prayers, and toil again :
Men may not heed, men may not praise:
The Master will; and what are men?
3 Toil on, toil on; rebuke, exhort,
Persuade, the wanderers home to win;
Go forth into the world's highway;
Entreat, compel them to come in.
4 Toil on, toil on: a little while,
And rest shall come in blissful skies;
Where thou, beyond thy thought, shalt see
That he who winneth souls is wise.
GOD, from Thee alone
Our earthly blessings flow;
What is there not Thine own,
Of all we prize below?
2 We are but stewards here;
Lord, may we faithful prove,
And what we hold most dear
Deny not to Thy love.
3 Awake, then, ye to whom
God has so freely given
To flee the sinner's doom,
And know the path to heaven ;
4 Ye know the joyful news;
Hide not the blessèd word:
Oh, how can ye refuse
To tell what ye have heard?
5 Ye know your Lord's command:
Ye have that ye may give
With ready heart and hand,
That others too may live.
UR out Thy Spirit from on high;
Lord, Thine assembled people bless;
Graces and gifts to each supply,
And clothe Thy priests with righteousness.
2 Within Thy temple when they stand,
To teach the truth, as taught by Thee,
Saviour, like stars in Thy right hand
Let all Thy Church's pastors be.
3 Wisdom and zeal and faith impart,
Firmness and meekness from above,
To bear Thy people in their heart,
And love the souls whom Thou dost love;
4 To watch and pray, and never faint;
By day and night their guard to keep,
To warn the sinner, cheer the saint,
Nourish Thy lambs, and feed Thy sheep.
5 So, when their work is finished here,
They may in hope their charge resign;
So when their Master shall appear,
They may with crowns of glory shine.
Let Abraham's seed Thy mercy share : Oh may they now at length return,
And look on Him they pierced, and mourn! 2 Remember Jacob's flock of old;
Bring home the wanderers to Thy fold;
Thy grace, for Jesu's sake, accord,
Till Israel love and praise the Lord!
3 Though aliens still, estranged from Thee,
Cut off from their own olive-tree,
Oh let them not thus lost remain,
But spare, and graft them in again!
4 Lord, put Thy law within their hearts,
And write it on their inward parts;
The obscuring veil asunder smite,
Which hides Messiah from their sight.
5 Oh speed the day so long foretold,
When all mankind, one Shepherd's fold,
One house shall seek, one prayer shall pour,
And one Redeemer's name adore!
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