DRYDEN. 2 No traveller through desert lands,
'Mid scorching suns and burning sands,
More eager longs for cooling rain,
Or pants the current to obtain.
By whom the worlds were raised from night,
Come, visit very pious mind;
Come, pour thy joys on human kind.
2 Plenteous in grace, descend from high,
Rich in thy matchless energy;
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make us temples worthy thee.
Cleanse and refine our earthly parts,
Inflame and sanctify our hearts,
Our frailties help, our vice control,
Submit the senses to the soul.
4 Thrice holy Fount, thrice holy Fire!
Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;
Make us eternal truths receive;
Aid us to live as we believe.
3 Our longing souls aloud would sing, Spring up, celestial fountain, spring; To a redundant river flow,
And cheer this thirsty land below.
4 May this blest river, near my side, Through all my journey gently glide; Then, in Emanuel's land above, Spread to a sea of joy and love.
"Not by Might, but by my Spirit." TOPLADY 1 AT anchor laid, remote from home, Toiling, I cry, Sweet Spirit, come; Celestial breeze, no longer stay, But swell my sails and speed my way.
2 Fain would I mount, fain would I glow, And loose my cable from below:
But I can only spread my sail;
Thou, thou must breathe the auspicious gale.
1 ETERNAL God, thou Light divine,
Fountain of unexhausted love,
Oh let thy glories on me shine,
In earth beneath, from heaven above!
2 Thou art the weary wanderer's rest;
Give me the easy yoke to bear:
With steadfast patience arm my breast,
With spotless love and lowly fear.
8 Be thou, O Rock of Ages! nigh,
So shall each murmuring thought be gone;
And grief and fear and care shall fly,
As clouds before the mid-day sun.
4 Speak to my warring passions, "Peace;"
Say to my trembling heart, "Be still: "
Thy power my strength and fortress is,
For all things serve thy holy will.
Pierce thro' the gathering shades of night; Touch my cold breast with heavenly fire, And holy, conquering faith inspire!
1 O LOVE! how cheering is thy ray!
All pain before thy presence flies;
Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away,
Where'er thy healing beams arise:
O Father! nothing may I see,
And nought desire or seek, but thee!
2 Unwearied may I this pursue,
Undaunted to this prize aspire;
Each hour within my soul renew
This holy flame, this heavenly fire;
And day and night be all my care
To guard the sacred treasure there.
3 Oh that I as a little child
May follow thee, and never rest,
Till sweetly thou hast breathed a mild
And lowly mind into my breast!
Nor ever may we parted be,
Till I become at one with thee!
1 FATHER, in thy mysterious presence kneeling,
Fain would our souls feel all thy kindling love;
For we are weak, and need some deep revealing
Of trust and strength and calmness from above.
2 Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow,
And thou hast made each step an onward one;
And we will ever trust each unknown morrow,
Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.
8 In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy
Abides; and when pain seems to have its will,
Or we despair, oh may that peace rise slowly,
Stronger than agony, and we be still!
METRICAL CHANT. 11s & 10s.
4 Now, Father, now, in thy dear presence kneeling,
Our spirits yearn to feel thy kindling love:
Now make us strong, we need thy deep revealing
Of trust and strength and calmness from above.
"Who by searching can find out God?"
1 I CANNOT find thee. Still on restless pinion
My spirit beats the void where thou dost dwell;
I wander lost through all thy vast dominion,
And shrink beneath thy light ineffable.
2 I cannot find thee. Even when most adoring,
Before thy shrine I bend in lowliest prayer;
Beyond these bounds of thought, my thought upsoaring,
From furthest quest comes back: thou art not there.
3 Yet high above the limits of my seeing,
And folded far within the inmost heart,
And deep below the deeps of conscious being,
Thy splendor shineth: there, O God! thou art.
4 I cannot lose thee. Still in thec abiding,
The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam;
The law that holds the worlds my steps is guiding,
And I must rest at last in thee, my home.
1 WHEN winds are raging o'er the upper ocean,
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
'Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.
2 Far, far beneath, the noise of tempests dieth,
And silver waves chime ever peacefully;
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the sabbath of that deeper sea.
3 So to the heart that knows thy love, O Purest!
There is a temple, sacred evermore:
And all the Babel of life's angry voices
Dies in hushed stillness at its peaceful door.
Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully;
And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord! in thee.
1 STILL, still with thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee.
|