8 Nor hath the King of grace decreed
This prize for me alone,
But all that love and long to see
The appearance of His Son.

4 Jesus the Lord shall guard me safe From every ill design;

And to His heavenly kingdom keep
This feeble soul of mine.

5 God is mine everlasting aid,

And hell shall rage in vain;
To Him be highest glory paid,
And endless praise-Amen.

DIFFICULTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

PILGRIMAGE.

78.

TOPLADY. The Lord's song in a strang land. Ps. cxxxvii. 4.

1 YOUR the willows take; OUR harps, ye trembling saints,

2

3

CENNICK.

630 The redeemed shall come with singing.

1 C

Isa. li. 11.

HILDREN of the heavenly King, As ye journey, sweetly sing: Sing your Saviour's worthy praise, Glorious in His works and ways. 2 We are travelling home to God, In the way the fathers trcd; They are happy now, and we Soon their happiness shall see. 3 Shout, ye ransomed flock and blest; You on Jesus' throne shall rest; There your seat is now prepared; There your kingdom and reward. 4 Fear not, brethren, joyful stand On the borders of our land; Jesus, God's exalted Son, Bids us undismayed go on. 5 Onward, then, we gladly press Through this earthly wilderness; Only, Lord, our Leader be, And we still will follow Thee.

1

Lord.-Isa. ii. 3.

COME on, my partners in distress,

Ye pilgrims through the wilderness Who still your sorrows feel; Awhile forget your griefs and fears, And look beyond this vale of tears, To that celestial hill.

2 Beyond the bounds of time and space, Look forward to that heavenly place,

The saints' secure abode;
On faith's strong eagle-pinions rise,
And force your passage to the skies,
And scale the mount of God.

3 Who suffer with our Master here,
Shall soon before His face appear,

And by His side sit down:
To patient faith the prize is sure;
And all that to the end endure

The cross, shall wear the crown.

4

Loud to the praise of love divine
Bid every string awake.

Though in a foreign land,
We are not far from home;
And nearer to our house above
We every moment come.

His grace will to the end

Stronger and brighter shine;

Nor present things, nor things to come
Shall quench the spark divine.

When we in darkness walk,
Nor feel the heavenly flame,
Then is the time to trust our God,
And rest upon His name.

5 Soon shall our doubts and fears
Subside at His control;

His loving-kindness shall break through
The midnight of the soul.

L.M.

FAWCETT.

633 Remember all the way which the

Lord thy God led thee.-Deut. viii. 2. 1THUS far my God hath led me on,

And made His truth and mercy known:

My hopes and fears alternate rise, And comforts mingle with my sighs. 2 Through this wild wilderness I roam Far distant from my blissful home: Lord, let Thy presence be my stay, And guard me in this dangerous way. 3 Temptations everywhere annoy: And sins and snares my peace destroy; My earthly joys are from me torn, And oft an absent God I mourn.

4 My soul with various tempests tossed, Her hopes o'erturned, her projects crossed,

Sees every day new straits attend,
And wonders where the scene will end.
5 Is this, dear Lord, that thorny road
Which leads us to the mount of God
Are these the toils Thy people know,
While in this wilderness below?

6 "Tis even so-Thy faithful love
Doth all Thy children's graces prove:
"Tis thus our pride and self must fall,
That Jesus may be All in all.

135

634

1

TEMPTATIONS.

C.M.

WATTS.

Why are ye fearful-Matt. viii. 26. Hand leave me to my joys; [be gone, ENCE from my soul, sad thoughts,

My tongue shall triumph in my God,

And make a joyful noise.

Darkness and doubts had veiled my mind,
And drowned my head in tears,
Till sovereign grace, with shining rays,
Dispelled my gloomy fears.

O what immortal joys I felt,
And raptures all divine,
When Jesus told me I was His,
And my Beloved mine.

4 In vain the tempter frights my soul,
And breaks my peace in vain;
One glimpse, dear Saviour, of Thy face
Revives my joys again.

1W and fainting hope almost expires,

WHEN sins and fears prevailing rise,

Jesus, to Thee I lift mine eyes,

To Thee I breathe my soul's desires. 2 Art Thou not mine, my living Lord? And can my hope, my comfort, die, Fixed on Thine everlasting word, The word that built the earth and sky?

3 If my Immortal Saviour lives,

Then my immortal life is sure:
His word a firm foundation gives:
Here let me build and rest secure.
4 Here let my faith unshaken dwell;
Immovable the promise stands:
Nor all the powers of earth or hell
Can e'er dissolve the sacred bands.
5 Here, O my soul, thy trust repose:
If Jesus is for ever mine,
Not death itself, that last of foes,
Shall break a union so divine.

HE

Luke xi. 4.

1 TEAVENLY Father, to whose eye
Future things unfolded lie,
Through the desert where I stray
Let Thy counsels guide my way.
2 Lead me not-for flesh is frail-
Where fierce trials would assail;
Leave me not, in darkened hour,
To withstand the tempter's power.
3 Help Thy servant to maintain
A profession free from stain;
That my sole reproach may be,
Following Christ and fearing Thee.
4 Lord, uphold me day by day:
Shed a light upon my way;
Guide me through perplexing snares :
Care for me in all my cares.

637 Deliver us from evil.—Matt. vi. 13.

1

FROM

ROM all evil, all temptation
That besets our earthly path;
From Thy final condemnation,
From Thy transitory wrath,
God of goodness, us deliver,
And Thy name be praised for ever.

2 From a heart of hate and blindness,
From all envy, treachery, pride,
From all harshness or unkindness,
All to sin or shame allied,
God of goodness, us deliver,
And Thy name be praised for ever.
3 From the world's deceitful pleasures,
From its soul-invading snares,
From the plotter's crafty measures,
Foolish thoughts and trifling cares,
God of goodness, us deliver,
And Thy name be praised for ever.

4 In the time of tribulation,

In the bright and prosperous way, In the hour of life's prostration, In the final judgment day God of goodness, us deliver, And Thy name be praised for ever.

638

1

L.M.

C. WESLEY. Christ is all and in all.-Col. iii. 11.

WHEN, gracious Lord, when shall it be

That I shall find mine all in Thee;
The fulness of Thy promise prove,
The seal of Thine eternal love?

2 Thee, only Thee, I fain would find,
And cast the world and flesh behind;
Thou, only Thou, to me be given
Of all Thou hast in earth or heaven.

3 Ah! wherefore did I ever doubt ?
Thou wilt in no wise cast me out;
A helpless soul that comes to Thee,
With only sin and misery.

4 Lord, I am sick; my sickness cure:
I want; do Thou enrich the poor:
Under Thy mighty hand I stoop;
O lift the abject sínner up!

5 Lord, I am blind; be Thou my sight:
Lord, I am weak; be Thou my might:
A Helper of the helpless be:
And let me find mine all in Thee.

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.

645 Almost...a Christian.-Acts xxvi. 28. BROAD is the road that leads to death, And thousands walk together there;

1

But wisdom shows a narrower path, With here and there a traveller. 2 Deny thyself, and take thy cross, Is the Redeemer's great command; Nature must count her gold but dross, If she would gain this heavenly land. 3 The fearful soul that tires and faints, And walks the ways of God no more, Will not be numbered with the saints, But make his own destruction sure. 4 Lord, let not all my hopes be vain; Create my heart entirely new; Which hypocrites could ne'er attain, Which false apostates never knew. L.M.

646

1

STEELE.

Thou hast the words of eternal life.
John vi. 68.

THOU only Sovereign of my heart.

My Refuge, my Almighty Friend, And can my soul from Thee depart, On whom alone my hopes depend? 2 Whither, ah! whither should I go, A wretched wanderer from my Lord Can this dark world of sin and woe One glimpse of happiness afford 3 Eternal life Thy words impart; On these my fainting spirit lives:

Here sweeter comforts cheer my heart, Than the whole round of nature gives.

647

1

C.M.

WATTS. Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.-Job v. 7.

TOT from the dust affliction grows,

Nor troubles rise by chance;

Yet we are born to cares and woes;
A sad inheritance.

2 As sparks break out from burning coals,
And still are upwards borne;
So grief is rooted in our souls,
And man grows up to mourn.
3 Yet with my God I leave my cause,
And trust His promised grace;
He rules me by His well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.

4 Not all the pains that e'er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace,
For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.

1 WHEN our heads are bowed with woe,

When our bitter tears o'erflow,

When we mourn the lost and dear,
Jesus, Son of David, hear.

2 Thou, our throbbing flesh hast worn;
Thou, our mortal grief hast borne;
Thou hast shed the bitter tear;
Jesus, Son of David, hear.

3 Thou hast bowed the dying head;
Thou Thy precious blood hast shed;
Thou hast filled a mortal bier;
Jesus, Son of David, hear.

4 When the heart is sad within,
With the sense of all its sin;
When the spirit shrinks with fear,
Jesus, Son of David, hear.

5 Thou, the shame, the grief hast known;
Though the sins were not Thine own,
Thou hast deigned their load to bear;
Jesus, Son of David, hear.

2 When on mine aching, burdened heart My sins lie heavily,

My pardon speak, new peace impart ;
In love, remember me.

3 When trials sore obstruct my way,
And ills I cannot flee,

Lord, let my strength be as my day;
For good remember me.

4 When worn with pain, disease, and grief, This feeble body, see;

Grant patience, rest, and kind relief
Hear, and remember me.

5 If on my face, for Thy dear name,
Shame and reproach shall be;
All hail reproach, and welcome shame,
If Thou remember me.

6 When, in the solemn hour of death,
I wait Thy just decree,

Saviour, with my last parting breath
I'll cry,-Remember me.

L.M.

ADDISCOTT. 650 Take up the cross.-Mark x. 21. AND is there, Lord, a cross for me,

1

As through this wilderness I stray, Which, if I would, I must not flee, But Thy divine command obey?

2 I would not, Lord, pass by that cross, For Thou hast placed it in my way; To turn aside would be my loss,

I, therefore, lift my heart and pray :3 Show me the cross that I must bear : Bend my proud heart, that I may take In holy faith and humble prayer, The cross of shame, for Thy dear sake 4 For Thou didst take a cross for me, And on it all my sins didst bear; Its agony Thou didst not flee, That in Thy glory I might share. 5 Then I will take my cross with joy, And bear it onward to the end;

My shame and pride, O Lord, destroy, My faith and hope on Thee depend. 6 Thou soon wilt take the cross away, And place the crown upon my brow, In that bright world of endless day, Where I no more a cross shall know.

4 Trials make the promise sweet;
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.
5 Did I meet no trials here,
No correction by the way,
Might I not with reason fear
I should prove a cast-away?
6 Worldlings may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly, vain delight;
But the true-born child of God
Must not, would not, if he might.

652

C.M.

ALLEN. When he is tried he shall receive the crown of life.-Jas. i. 12.

1 MUST Jesus bear the cross alone,

And all the world go free?
No, there's a cross for every one,
And there's a cross for me.

2 How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here;
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.

3 The consecrated cross I'll bear,
Till death shall set me free;

And then go home my crown to wear,For there's a crown for me.

4 Upon the crystal pavement, down
At Jesus' pierced feet,

Joyful I'll cast my golden crown,
And His dear name repeat.

5 And palms shall wave, and harps shall
Beneath heaven's arches high: [ring,
The Lord that lives,-the ransomed
That lives, no more to die. [sing,-

653

8.7. D.

LYTE. Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee.-Mark x. 28.

1 JESUS, I my cross have taken,

All to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,

All I've sought, and hoped, and known: Yet how rich is my condition!

God and heaven are still mine own.

2 Let the world despise and leave me :
They have left my Saviour too.

Human hearts and looks deceive me :-
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
And whilst Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me:
Show Thy face, and all is bright.

3 Man may trouble and distress me,
"Twill but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me,
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest;