2 High on a throne his glories dwell
An angel throne of shining bliss;
Fly through the world, O Sun, and tell
How dark thy beams compared with His.
3 Awake, ye tempests, and his fame
In sounds of dreadful praise declare;
Let the sweet whisper of his name
Fill every gentler breeze of air.
4 Let clouds and winds and waves agree
To join their praise with blazing fire;
Let the firm earth and rolling sea
In this eternal song conspire.
5 Mortals, can you refrain your tongues,
When nature all around you sings?
Oh, for a shout from old and young,
Princes and peasants, lords and kings.
6 Wide as his vast dominion lies
Make the Creator's glories known;
Loud as his thunder shout your praise,
And sound it lofty as his throne.
7 Sing of the wonders of that love Which angels play on every chord. Let all below and all above
Sing hallelujahs to the Lord.
185
Bless, O my soul! the living God;
Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad:
Let all the powers within me join
In work and worship so divine.
Bless, O my soul! the God of grace:
His favors claim thy highest praise;
Why should the wonders he hath wrought
Be lost in silence, and forgot?
Isaac Watts, ab. 1718.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm ciii. 1
L. M.
'Tis he, my soul, that sent his Son
To die for crimes which thou hast done;
He owns the ransom, and forgives
The hourly follies of our lives.
Let every land his power confess;
Let all the earth adore his grace:
In work and worship so divine.
My heart and tongue with rapture join,
Rejoice in the Ford, ye Righteous.
Put on the whole armor of God.
Eph. vi. 2.
186
L. M.
Stand up, my soul, shake off thy fears,
And gird the gospel armor on;
March to the gates of endless joy,
Where thy great Captain Saviour's gone.
Hell and thy síns resist thy course,
But hell and sin are vanquished foes;
Thy Jesus nailed them to the cross,
And sung the triumph when he rose.
What though thine inward lusts rebel;
'Tis but a struggling gasp for life;
The weapons of victorious grace
Shall slay thy sins, and end the strife.
Then let my soul march boldly on,
Press forward to the heavenly gate;
There peace and joy eternal reign,
And glittering robes for conquerors wait.
There shall I wear a starry crown,
And triumph in Almighty grace;
While all the armies of the skies
Join in my glorious Leader's praise.
Lord, send on us a plenteous rain,
Thy weary heritage confirm,
Within thy church triumphant reign,
And sinners from their wanderings turn.
Lord, give the word, and let thy host
Of servants and of handmaids speak,
Anointed by the Holy Ghost,
May they the far off wanderers seek.
To every nation speed thy word,
Let every tribe and people hear;
The gospel of Thy kingdom, Lord,
May we in all the world declare.
From Egypt and from heathen lands
Shall princes come to kiss Thy rod.
And Ethiopia her hands
Shall suddenly stretch forth to God.
Sing unto God, ye kingdoms wide,
Oh, sing ye praises of the Lord,
Let Him that on the heavens doth ride
Be honored, glorified, adored.
Glory to God our heavenly King;
Worship and thanks to thee we bring!
And with the angels join to raise
Anthems of gladness, rapture, praise.
O Holy Comforter divine,
Who in our lowly hearts doth shine;
Glory and praise to Christ our King.
Help us with souls sincere to sing,
Thou, Lord, who art our Life and Light,
Dost give us songs in sorrow's night,
To cheer us on our weary way
With joyful hopes of endless day.
Weeping endureth for a night,
For sin hath cast o'er earth its blight;
But when the endless day shall spring,
Then shall the dead awake and sing.
Then shall our night of tears be o'er;
Then songs shall swell like thunders roar
Loud as the billows of the main,
"Worthy the Lamb for sinners slain."
The mul-sic of my heart is gone; It can-not sing
For grief hath marred its cv-ery tone, And all its sweet-est chords unstrung.
Surely he hath borne our griefs. Isa. liii. 4.
190
The music of my heart is gone;
It cannot sing as once it sung;
For grief hath marred its every tone,
And all its sweetest chords unstrung.
But ah! too long it thus hath lain,
Like some deserted, broken shell:
Come, heavenly wind, and breathe again
Through each forlorn and silent cell.
And if but one responsive sigh,
Obedient to the call, awake,
Dearer to Jesus that reply,
Than melody that angels make.
For only He whose skillful hand
To nicest touch attuned the strings,
How slight the touch, can understand;
Which every chord with anguish wrings
Whate'er the bruised spirit grieves,
No Hight distress will Jesus deem;
There's not a throb my bosom heaves,
But stirs a kindred pulse in him.
Thrice welcome then shall sorrow be,
Though nature faint beneath the smart,
Since every pang supplies a key
To open the Redeemer's heart.
Come, O my weary wandering soul,
Withdraw thyself from mortal care;
And while life's fleeting moments roll,
Oh, seek thy Saviour's love to share.
In calm retreats from earthly fear,
By prayer thou shalt to God draw nigh;
And he shall bow his gracious ear,
And listen to thy earnest cry.
In humble, trustful, fervent prayer,
Make all thy wants and wishes known:
With boldness at his feet appear,
On wings of faith approach his throne.
So shalt thou soar from scenes of earth,
Its pain, its turmoil, and its fears,
And, glorying in thy heavenly birth,
Rejoice with Christ thro' endless years.
My soul, till God his spirit pours,
Gasps as a thirsty land for showers;
Jesus, thy fainting follower see,
And send the gift received for me.
The promised Comforter bestow;
Let holy love my heart o'erflow;
Till, watered by thyself, I rise
Fair as thy garden in the skies.
193
L. M. 195
A day will dawn when from on high,
Heaven shall come down to dwell on earth;
And then shall through creation fly
Once more the word that gave it birth.
Full many a noble germ now hid
Deep in our breasts as in a tomb,
Waits the new LET THERE BE, to bid
It wake to life, and bud, and bloom.
-even the elements that day,
When freedom's shout rings through the air,
Shall shake the dust of earth away,
And as at first grow young and fair.
As through the crystal, warm and bright,
Pierces the sun's meridian beam,
So through all creatures whom his might
Has made, the breath of God shall stream.
A. Tholuck, 1839. Tr. R. Menzies.
In remembrance of me. Luke xxii. 19.
Why should we ever shrink from death?
'Tis but to cast our robes away,
And sleep at night without a breath
To break repose, till dawn of day.
'Tis not a night without a morn,
Though glooms impregnable surround;
Nor lies the buried saint forlorn,
A hopeless prisoner in the ground.
The darkest night to day gives birth,
And sunshine comes when storms are fled;
The seed, though buried in the earth,
Springs from its grave as from its bed.
So shall the bodies of the just,
In weakness sown, be raised in power;
L. M. The precious seed shall leave the dust,
A glorious and immortal flower.
Around a table, not a tomb,
He willed our gathering-place to be,
When, going to prepare our home,
Our Saviour said, 66 Remember me."
We kneel around no sculptured stone,
Marking the place where Jesus lay:
Empty the tomb, the angels gone,
The stone forever rolled away.
No, sculptured stones are for the dead;
Thy three dark days in death are o'er;
Thou art the Life, the living Head,
Our living Light for evermore.
Of no fond relics, sadly dear,
O Master, are thine own possessed-
The crown of thorns, the
cross, the
spear,
The purple robe, the seamless vest-
No, relics are for those who mourn
The memory of an absent friend:
Not absent thou, nor we forlorn;
Art thou not with us to the end?
Thus round thy table, not thy tomb,
We keep thy sacred feast with thee,
Until within the Father's home
Our endless gathering place shall be.
Lydia Huntley Sigourney, 1791-1865.
Did not our hearts burn within us? Luke xxiv. 32.
196
L. M.
O thou who didst with mourners walk
Along their sad and tearful way;
Who with the doubting two didst talk,
And turn their darkness into day;
Now walk with us, so slow of heart
Thy words of promise to receive;
Wisdom and faith and hope impart,
And help the faithless to believe.
Oh, speak! to us expound thy word;
Let us a blest assurance feel;
Draw near, O gracious, risen Lord,
To us thy blessed self reveal.
Come near and bless the bread we break;
Be known to us, a living guide;
Give us the cup our thirst to slake;
Speak peace, and show thy hands and side.
Thus shall our longing hearts aspire
To know thy love, to see thy face;
So shall love's bright and holy fire
Light up the paths of truth and grace.
H., 1965.
Oh,worn with griefs and pains and fears, Heart-broken, friendless, far from home,
He will deliver the needy.
Psalm lxxii. 12.
2 His power divine can make thee whole,
Lift up to him thy tearful eyes;
His grace can save the sinful soul,
No contrite heart will he despise.
3. O Christ, whose mercies never fail,
Pity the lost who wait for thee;
Hear thou their deep, unuttered wail,
Oh, break their chains, and set them free.
4 Ten thousand hands, ten thousand eyes,
Are lifted to thy gracious throne;
Ten thousand voices raise their cries,
Ten thousand hearts in anguish groan.
5 Conquerer of sin and death and hell,
Set thou the captive sinner free;
Then we to endless years will tell
The story of thy victory.
No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before,
To trust the merits of Thy Son.
Now for the love I bear his name, What was my gain I count my loss; My former pride I call my shame, And nail my glory to his cross.
Yes, and I must and will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus' sake:
Oh, may my soul be found in him,
And of his righteousness partake!
The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne:
But faith can answer thy demands,
By pleading what my Lord has done.
199
Caught up together with them.
1 Thess. iv. 17.
L. M.
When swift as on the lightning's wing,
We soar aloft to scenes sublime,
And in the clouds of glory sing
Songs all unknown mid scenes of time,
Then bearing palms before thy throne,
And clad in robes of dazzling white,
We shall thy saving mercy own
With holy rapture and delight.
Thou once for guilty man wast slain,
And in thy blood our hopes have birth;
Thou didst revive and rise again,
And we shall reign with thee on earth.
Lord, that we may these glories share,
And in that lofty song unite,
Now by thy grace our hearts prepare
To dwell with all thy saints in light.
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