3 Blest Jesus, animate my heart With beams of heavenly love, And teach that cold unthankful soil The heavenly seed to' improve. 4 In copious showers thy Spirit send, To water all the ground,
So, to the honour of thy name, Shall lasting fruit be found.
L.M.-Christ's Service the Fruit of our Labours on Earth. Phil. i. 22.
1 MY gracious Lord, I own thy right To every service I can pay; And call it my supreme delight To hear thy dictates and obey. 2 What is my being, but for thee, Its sure support, its noblest end? Thy ever-smiling face to see,
And serve the cause of such a friend. 3 I would not breathe for worldly joy, Or to increase my worldly good, Nor future days or powers employ To spread a sounding name abroad. 4 'Tis to my Saviour I would live;
To him, who for my ransom died; Nor could untainted Eden give
Such bliss as blossoms at his side. 5 His work my hoary age shall bless, When youthful vigour is no more; And my last hour of life confess His love hath animating power.
C.M. — Christ's Sheep described. John x. 27.
1 THY flock, with what a tender care, Bless'd Jesus, dost thou keep;
Fain would my weak, my wandering soul, Be number'd with thy sheep.
2 Gentle, and tractable, and plain, My heart would ever be, Averse to harm, propense to help, And faithful still to thee.
3 The gentle accents of thy voice My listening soul would hear; And by the signals of thy will, I all my course would steer. 4 I follow where my Shepherd leads, And mark the path he drew;
My Shepherd's feet Mount Zion tread, And I shall reach it too.
C.M.-The Nature and Necessity of Inward Religion. James i. 27. 1 RELIGION is the chief concern
Of mortals here below; May I its great importance learn, Its sovereign virtue know.
2 Religion should our thoughts engage, Amidst our youthful bloom; "Twill fit us for declining age, Or for the awful tomb.
3 O may my heart, by grace renew'd, Be my Redeemer's throne; And be my stubborn will subdu'd, His government to own.
4 Let deep repentance, faith, and love, Be join'd with godly fear;
And all my conversation prove My heart to be sincere.
5 Let lively hope my soul inspire; Let warm affections rise;
And may I wait with strong desire To mount above the skies.
1 THROUGH shades and solitudes profound, The fainting traveller wends his way; Bewildering meteors glare around,
And tempt his wandering feet astray. 2 Welcome, thrice welcome, to his eye, The sudden moon's inspiring light, When forth she sallies through the sky, The guardian angel of the night.
3 Thus mortals, blind and weak, below Pursue the phantom bliss in vain; The world's a wilderness of wo, And life's a pilgrimage of pain. 4 Till mild Religion from above,
Descends, a sweet engaging form, The messenger of heavenly love, The bow of promise in a storm. 5 Then guilty passions wing their flight, Sorrow, remorse, affliction cease; Religion's yoke is soft and light, And all her paths are paths of peace.
6 Ambition, pride, revenge depart, And folly flies her chastening rod; She makes the humble contrite heart A temple of the living God.
7 Beyond the narrow vale of time, Where bright celestial ages roll, To scenes eternal, scenes sublime, She points the way, and leads the soul. 8 At her approach the grave appears The gate of Paradise restor❜d: Her voice the watching cherub hears, And drops his double-flaming sword.
9 Baptiz'd with her renewing fire, May we the crown of glory gain; Rise when the hosts of heaven expire, And reign with God, for ever reign.
P.M.-The Pleasures of Religion.
1 'TIS religion that can give Sweetest pleasures while we live; 'Tis religion must supply Solid comfort when we die.
2 After death its joys will be
Lasting as eternity:
Let me then make God my friend, And on all his ways attend.
C.M.-" Good Hope through Grace." 2 Thess. ii. 16. 1 COME, humble souls; ye mourners, come; And wipe away your tears; Adieu to all your sad complaints, Your sorrows and your fears.
2 Come, shout aloud the Father's grace, The Saviour's dying love;
Soon you shall sing the glorious theme In loftier strains, above.
3 God, the eternal, mighty God,
To dearer names descends;
Calls you his treasure and his joy,
His children and his friends.
4 My Father, God! and may
Pronounce a name so dear?
Not thus could heaven's sweet harmony Delight my listening ear.
5 Thanks to my God, for every gift His bounteous hands bestow; And thanks eternal, for that love Whence all those comforts flow.
6 For ever let my grateful heart His boundless grace adore,
Which gives ten thousand blessings now, And bids me hope for more.
7 Transporting hope! still on my soul, Let thy sweet glories shine, Till thou thyself art lost in joys Immortal and divine.
L.M.-Hope encouraged by a View of the Divine Perfections. 1 Sam. xxx. 6.
1 WHY sinks my weak desponding mind? Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh? Can sovereign goodness be unkind? Am I not safe if God is nigh?
2 He holds all nature in his hand!
That gracious hand on which I live, Does life, and time, and death command, And has immortal joys to give.
3 'Tis he supports this fainting frame, On him alone my hopes recline; The wondrous glories of his name, How wide they spread, how bright they shine! 4 Infinite wisdom, boundless power!
Unchanging faithfulness and love!
Here let me trust, while I adore, Nor from my refuge e'er remove.
C.M.-Lively Hope and gracious Fear.
1 I WAS a grovelling creature once, And basely cleav'd to earth;
I wanted spirit to renounce The clod that gave me birth.
2 But God has breath'd upon a worm, And sent me from above
Wings such as clothe an angel's form, The wings of joy and love.
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