Preparation of the Heart.
1 LORD, teach us how to pray aright,
With reverence and with fear;
Though dust and ashes in thy sight,
We may, we must, draw near.
2 Burdened with guilt, convinced of sin,
In weakness, want, and woe,
Fightings without, and fears within,
Lord, whither shall we go?
3 God of all grace, we come to thee,
With broken, contrite hearts;
Give what thine eye delights to see,-
Truth in the inward parts.
4 Give deep humility; the sense
Of godly sorrow give;
A strong, desiring confidence
To hear thy voice and live;
5 Patience, to watch, and wait, and weep,
Though mercy long delay;
Courage, our fainting souls to keep,
And trust thee, though thou slay.
6 Give these, and then thy will be done;
Thus, strengthened with all might,
We, by thy spirit and thy Son,
Shall pray, and pray aright.
1 FAR from the world, O Lord, I flee,
From strife and tumult far;
From scenes where sin is waging 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 communes with her 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!
1 PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.
2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear;
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.
3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.
Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air;
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven by prayer.
5 Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And say, "Behold, he prays."
6 O thou, by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray!
"I will that men pray everywhere."
1 THEY Who seek the throne of grace
Find that throne in every place;
If we love a life of prayer,
God is present everywhere.
2 In our sickness, in our health,
In our want, or in our wealth,
If we look to God in prayer,
God is present everywhere.
3 When our earthly comforts fail,
When the woes of life prevail,
"T is the time for earnest prayer;
God is present everywhere.
4 Then, my soul, in every strait,
To thy Father come, and wait;
He will answer every prayer;
God is present everywhere.
1 WHAT various hindrances we meet,
In coming to a mercy-seat!
Yet who, that knows the worth of prayer, But wishes to be often there?
2 Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw,
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw,
Gives exercise to faith and love,
Brings every blessing from above.
3 Have you no words? Ah! think again;
Words flow apace when you complain,
And fill your fellow-creature's ear
With the sad tale of all your care.
4 Were half the breath thus vainly spent
To Heaven in supplication sent,
Your cheerful song would oftener be,
"Hear what the Lord has done for me."
1 Go when the morning shineth,
Go when the noon is bright,
Go when the eve declineth,
Go in the hush of night;
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thought away,
And, in thy closet kneeling,
Do thou in secret pray.
2 Remember all who love thee,
All who are loved by thee;
Pray, too, for those who hate thee,
If any such there be;
Then for thyself, in meekness,
A blessing humbly claim,
And blend with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name.
3 Or, if 't is e'er denied thee
In solitude to pray,
Should holy thoughts come o'er thee
When friends are round thy way,
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