2 Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray,
Nor let our sun go down at noon;
Thy years are one eternal day;
And must thy children die so soon?
8 Yet, in the midst of death and grief,
This thought our sorrow should assuage:
Our Father and our Saviour lives,
Christ is the same through every age.
4'T was he this earth's foundation laid;
Heaven is the building of his hand;
This earth grows old, these heav'ns shall fade,
And all be changed at his command.
5 The starry curtains of the sky
Like garments, shall be laid aside,
But still thy throne stands firm and high,
Thy church forever must abide.
6 Before thy face thy saints shall live,
And on thy throne thy children reign;
The fading world they shall survive,
And the dead saints be raised again.
The Lord himself shall descend. 1 Thess. iv. 16.
220
The Lord will come; the earth shall quake;
The hills their fixed seats forsake:
And, withering, from the vault of night
The stars withdraw their feeble light.
The Lord will come; but not the same
As once in lowly form he came,-
A silent Lamb to slaughter led,-
The bruised, the suffering, and the dead.
The Lord will come; a dreadful form,
With wreath of flame, and robe of storm,
On cherub wings, and wings of wind,
Anointed Judge of human kind.
Can this be he who wont to stray
A pilgrim on the world's highway,
By power oppressed, and mocked by pride?
O God, is this the Crucified?
Go, tyrants, to the rocks complain;
Go seek the mountain's cleft in vain;
But faith, victorious o'er the tomb,
Shall sing for joy, "The Lord is come."
Reginald Heber, 1811.
Ju my lesh shall I Seę God.
Shall the dead arise and praise thee? Psalm lxxxviii. 10.
L. M. 223 I know that my Redeemer liveth. L. M. 6 1.
221
Shall man, O God of light and life,
Forever moulder in the grave?
Canst thou forget thy glorious work,
Thy promise, and thy power to save?
In those dark, silent realms of night
Shall peace and hope no more arise?
No future morning light the tomb,
Nor day-star gild the darksome skies!
Shall spring the faded world restore,
Shall buried seed rich harvests bring?
And, O, shall man awake no more,
To see Thy face, Thy name to sing?
Cease, cease, ye vain desponding fears:
When Christ, our Lord, from darkness sprang,
Death, the last foe, was captive led,
And heaven with praise and wonder rang.
Faith sees the bright, eternal doors
Unfold to make his children way;
They shall be clothed with endless life,
And shine in everlasting day.
The trump shall sound; the dead shall wake! From the cold tomb the slumberers spring! Through heaven with joy their myriads rise, And hail their Saviour, and their King. Timothy Dwight, ab. 1800.
I call the world's Redeemer mine;
He lives who died for me, I know;
Who bought my soul with blood divine,
Jesus, shall re-appear below,
Stand in that dreadful day unknown,
And fix on earth his heavenly throne.
Then the last judgment-day shall come;
And though the worms this skin devour
The Judge shall call me from the tomb,
Shall bid the greedy grave restore,
And raise this individual me,
God in the flesh, my God, to see.
In this identic body I,
Shall see that self-same Saviour nigh,
With eyes of flesh refined, restored,
See for myself my smiling Lord,
See with ineffable delight;
Nor faint to bear the glorious sight.
Then let the worms demand their prey,
The greedy grave my reins consume; With joy I drop my mouldering clay, And rest till my Redeemer come; On Christ, my life, in death rely, Secure that I can never die.
222 The people...have seen a great light. L. M. 61 224 There shall come a Star out of Jacob. L. M. 6 1.
The people that in darkness lay,
The confines of eternal night:-
We, we have seen a gospel day,
The glorious beams of heavenly light; His Spirit in our hearts hath shone, And showed the Father in the Son.
Father of everlasting grace,
Thou hast in us thy arm revealed,
Hast multiplied the faithful race,
Who, conscious of their pardon seal'd,
Of joy unspeakable possessed,
Anticipate their heavenly rest.
In tears who sowed in joy we reap,
And praise thy goodness all day long;
Him in our eye of faith we keep,
Who gives us our triumphal song,
And doth his spoils to all divide,
A lot among the sanctified.
Charles Wesley, ab. 1782.
O come, thou radiant Morning Star,
Again in human darkness shine!
Arise resplendent from afar!
Assert thy royalty divine!
Thy sway o'er all the earth maintain,
And now begin thy glorious reign.
Thy kingdom, Lord, we long to see:
Thy sceptre o'er the nations shake!
Erect that final monarchy,
The world for thy possession take; Take, for thou didst their ransom find, The purchased souls of all mankind.
Now let thy chosen ones appear,
And valiantly the truth maintain! Proclaim thy gracious kingdom here; To all the rebel sons of men! Seize them with faith divinely bold, And bring the wanderers to thy fold!
Chow bits sent doiw novaed ha! Till all the wide expansion rings With "Live for - ev-er, King of kings!"
2 He comes! he comes! the heavens rend!
Floods, clap your hands! ye mountains, joy!
Forests, in glad obeisance bend!
Earth, raise your hallelujahs high!
Let Zion wake the lofty strain-
"Live, King of kings! forever reign!"
3 Ripe is the vintage of the earth;
Its clustering grapes are round and full;
And vengeance, vengeance, bursts to birth,
Sudden and irresistible!
Messiah comes, to tread amain
The wine-press of the battle-plain!
4 The
cry up, the strife begun,
is
The struggle of the mighty ones;
The day of final strife comes on,
The carnival of Slaughter's sons;
War lifts his helmet to his brow:
O God! protect thy people now!
5 The graves are cleaved! the saints arise!
The resurrection of the just!
And now, unto their kindred skies,
Up leap the tenants of the dust!
They rise to meet their Lord in air,
And tune their hallelujahs there.
6. Wake, Zion, wake! put on thy strength!
Don thy bright robes, Jerusalem;
Rise! shine! Thy light is come at length,
And thou shalt all thy foes condemn:
And David's son on David's throne
Shall rule, and hush creation's groan.
7 Great King of Zion, in that hour
When earth like heaven thy realm shall be;.
When thou shalt come in pomp and power,
O Lord, I pray, remember me!
And grant to me, redeemed with blood,
Rest in the paradise of God.
v. 1-6 Unknown, cir. 1845; Arr. & v. 7, H., 1879.
Surely the Lord is in This Place.
Gott ist gegenwartig.
Gen. xxviii. 16, 17.
Lo! God is here! let us adore,
And own how dreadful is this place!
Let all within us feel his power,
And silent bow before his face;
Who know his power, his grace who prove,
Serve him with awe, with reverence, love.
Lo! God is here! him day and night
United choirs of angels sing;
To him enthroned above all height,
Heaven's host their noblest praises bring;
Disdain not, Lord, our meaner song,
Who praise thee with a stammering tongue.
Gladly the toys of earth we leave,
Wealth, pleasure, fame, for Thee alone: To thee our will, soul, flesh, we give; Oh, take, oh, seal them for thine own! Thou art the God, thou art the Lord; Be thou by all thy works adored.
Being of beings! may our praise
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill; Still may we stand before thy face, Still hear and do thy sovereign will: To thee may all our thoughts arise, Ceaseless, accepted sacrifice.
Gerhard Tersteegen, 1731. Tr. J. Wesley, ab. 1739.
227 0 Jesu Christ mein schonstes Licht. L.M. 6 1.
My Saviour, thou thy love to me
In shame, in want, in pain, hast show'd;
For me, on the accursed tree,
Thou pouredst forth thy guiltless blood.
Thy wounds upon my heart impress,
For naught shall the loved stamp efface.
Still let thy love point out my way!
What wondrous things thy love hath wrought!
Still lead me, lest I go astray;
Direct my word, inspire my thought;
And if I fall, soon may I hear
Thy voice, and know that love is near.
In suffering be thy love my peace;
In weakness be thy love my power;
And when the storms of life shall cease,
Jesus, in that important hour,
In death as life be thou my guide,
And save me, who for me hast died.
Paul Gerhardt, 1606-1676. Tr. J. Wesley, ab. 1739.
My heart is fixed, O God.
Psalms Ivií. 7.
L. M. 6 1.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart
Is fixed to triumph in thy grace:
Awake, my lute, and bear a part:
My glory is to sing thy praise,
Till all thy nature I partake,
And bright in all thine image wake.
Thee will I praise among thine own;
Thee will I to the world extol,
And make thy truth and goodness known:
Thy goodness, Lord, is over all;
Thy truth and grace the heavens transcend;
Thy faithful mercies never end.
Be thou exalted, Lord, above
The highest name in earth or heaven; Let angels sing thy glorious love,
And bless the name to sinners given; All earth and heaven their King proclaim; Bow every knee to Jesus' name!
Wesley's Psalms and Hymns, 1743.
229
From each day's care we gladly flee
To find, O Lord, our rest in thee;
Our burden to thy feet we bring,
Our sins to Mercy's healing spring.
The evening's outgoings rejoice;
We know that at thy gracious voice
To us, assembled in thy sight,
At evening-time may there be light.
At evening time it shall be light. T. M. D.
Zech. xiv, 7.
In Christ accepted, Lord, may we
The light of thy salvation see;
Transformed by thy free spirit's grace,
Walk in the brightness of thy face
Thy favor crown each peaceful day,
Thy presence cheer each pleasant way;
And when we walk in sorrow's night,
At evening-time may there be light.
By every joy or grief we find,
Our hearts to thee more closely bind;
Trial and blessing, peace and pain
All links in Mercy's golden chain.
And when life's closing shadows come,
Oh, may they find us nearer home!
Then in our souls with heaven in sight,
At evening-time may there be light.
230 In all points tempted like as we are. L. M. 61. 231 When thou sittest in thine house.
As oft with worn and weary feet,
We tread earth's rugged pathway o'er, The thought how comforting and sweet, Christ trod this very path before; Our wants and weaknesses he knows, From life's first dawning to its close.
If we, beneath temptation's stress,
Do fight against dark powers within, So in Judea's wilderness
Christ wrestled with the thought of sin, When in a lonely, weary hour The tempter came with all his power.
So tried as I, this earth he trod,
Knew every human ill but sin, And though the holiest Son of God, As I am now so he hath been; Jesus, my Saviour, look on me; With pity, love and sympathy, Still nigh me, O my Saviour, stand, And guard in fierce temptation's hour; Support by thy almighty hand;
Show forth in me thy saving power; Thy name blest Saviour is my pleaDearest and sweetest name to me. James Edmeston, 1847.
L. M. 6 1.
When quiet in my house I sit,
Thy book be my companion still;
My joy thy sayings to repeat,
Talk o'er the records of thy will,
And search the oracles divine,
Till every heartfelt word be mine.
Oh, may the gracious words divine
Subject of all my converse be:
So will the Lord his follower join,
And walk and talk himself with me; So shall my heart his presence prove, And burn with everlasting love.
Oft as I lay me down to rest,
Oh, may the reconciling word
Sweetly compose my weary breast!
While on the bosom of my Lord,
I sink in blissful dreams away,
And visions of eternal day.
Rising to sing my Saviour's praise,
Thee may I publish all day long; And let thy precious word of grace
Flow from my heart, and fill my tongue; Fill all my life with purest love, And join me to the church above.
|