The Benefit of Affliction.
1 O GOD, to thee my sinking soul
In deep distress doth fly;
Thy love can all my griefs control,
And all my wants supply.
2 How oft, when dark misfortune's band
Around their victim stood,
The seeming ill, at thy command,
Hath changed to real good!
3 The tempest that obscured the sky
Hath set my bosom free
From earthly care and sensual joy,
And turned my thoughts to thee.
4 Affliction's blast hath made me learn To feel for others' woe,
And humbly seek, with deep concern, My own defects to know.
5 Then rage, ye storms; ye billows, roar;
My heart defies your shock;
Ye make me cling to God the more,-
To God, my sheltering Rock.
Look back, my soul, with grateful love
On what thy God has done; Praise him for his unnumbered gifts, And praise him for his Son.
2 How oft hath his indulgent hand
My flowing eyelids dried,
And rescued from impending death,
When I in danger cried!
3 When on the bed of pain I lay,
With sickness sore oppressed,
How oft hath he assuaged my grief,
And lulled my eyes to rest!
4 Back from destruction's yawning pit
At his command I came;
He fed the expiring lamp anew,
And raised its feeble flame.
5 My broken spirit he hath cheered,
When torn with inward grief;
And, when temptations pressed me sore,
Hath brought me swift relief.
6 Still will I walk before his face,
While he this life prolongs;
Till grace shall all its work complete,
And teach me heavenly songs.
God the Pilgrim's Guide and Strength.
1 GUIDE me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land:
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
2 Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing streams do flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through :
Strong Deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield.
3 When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me through the swelling current;
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.
1 O DRAW me, Father, after thee,
So shall I run and never tire;
With gracious words still comfort me;
Be thou my hope, my sole desire:
Free me from every weight; nor fear
Nor sin can come, if thou art here.
2 From all eternity, with love
Unchangeable thou hast me viewed;
Ere knew this beating heart to move,
Thy tender mercies me pursued;
Ever with me may they abide,
And close me in on every side.
3 In suffering be thy love my peace,
In weakness be thy love my power;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
My God! in that important hour,
In death as life be thou my guide,
And bear me through death's whelming tide.
Deliverance celebrated, and good Resolutions formed.
1 GREAT Source of life, our souls confess
The various riches of thy grace;
Crowned with thy mercy, we rejoice,
And in thy praise exalt our voice.
2 By thee heaven's shining arch was spread;
By thee were carth's foundations laid;
And all the charms of man's abode
Proclaim the wise, the gracious God.
3 Thy tender hand restores our breath,
When trembling on the verge of death;
Gently it wipes away our tears,
And lengthens life to future years.
4 These lives are sacred to the Lord;
Kindled by him, by him restored;
And while our hours renew their race,
Still would we walk before his face.
5 So, when by him our souls are led
Through unknown regions of the dead,
With joy triumphant shall they move
To seats of nobler life above.
1 WHEN sin and sorrow, fear and pain,
My trembling heart dismay,
My feeble strength, alas, how vain!-
It sinks and dies away.
2 My spirit asks a firmer prop;
I lean upon the Lord;
My God, the pillar of my hope
Is thy unchanging word.
3 On this are built the brightest joys
Celestial beings know;
And 't is the same almighty voice
Supports the saints below.
4 'T is this upholds the rolling spheres
And heaven's immortal frame;
Then let my soul suppress her fears, -
My basis is the same.
5 Thy sacred word, thy solemn oath,
For ever must remain;
I trust in everlasting truth,
Nor shall my trust be vain.
Imploring the Constant Presence of God.
1 WHEN Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out from the land of bondage came,
Her fathers' God before her moved,
An awful guide, in smoke and flame.
2 By day, along the astonished lands
The cloudy pillar glided slow;
By night Arabia's crimsoned sands.
Returned the fiery column's glow.
3 Thus present still, though now unseen,
When brightly shines the prosperous day,
Be thoughts of thee a cloudy screen,
To temper the deceitful ray!
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