2 O Jesus, full of truth and grace,
More full of grace than I of sin;
Yet once again I seek Thy face,

Open Thine arms, and take me in ;
And freely my backslidings heal,
And love the faithless sinner still.

3 Thou know'st the way to bring me back,
My fallen spirit to restore;
O! for Thy truth and mercy's sake,
Forgive, and bid me sin no more,
The ruins of my soul repair,

And make my heart a house of prayer.
4 The stone to flesh again convert :
The veil of sin again remove:
Sprinkle Thy blood upon my heart,
And melt it by Thy dying love!
This rebel heart by love subdue,
And make it soft, and make it new.
5 Give to mine eyes refreshing tears,
And kindle my relentings now;
Fill all my soul with filial fears;
To Thy sweet yoke my spirit bow;
Bend by Thy grace, O bend, or break,
The iron sinew in my neck!

6 Ah! give me, Lord, the tender heart,
That trembles at the' approach of sin :
A godly fear of sin impart;

Implant, and root it deep within ;
That I may dread Thy gracious power,
And never dare to' offend Thee more.

583

(600)

SON
ON of God, if Thy free grace
Ngain hath raised me up,

Called me still to seek Thy face,
And given me back my hope;
Still Thy timely help afford,
And all Thy lovingkindness show:

2

3

4

584

2

Keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go!

By me, O my Saviour, stand,

In sore temptation's hour;

Save me with Thine outstretched hand,
And show forth all Thy power;
O be mindful of Thy word;
Thy all-sufficient grace bestow;
Keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.

Give me, Lord, a holy fear,
And fix it in my heart;
That I may from evil near

With timely care depart:
Sin be more than hell abhorred,
Till Thou destroy the tyrant foe,
Keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.

Never let me leave Thy breast,
From Thee, my Saviour, stray;
Thou art my Support and Rest,
My true and living Way;
My exceeding great Reward,
In heaven above, and earth below;
Keep me, keep me, gracious Lord,
And never let me go.

ORD, and is Thine anger gone?
And art Thou pacified?

After all that I have done,
Dost Thou no longer chide?
Infinite Thy mercies are,

Beneath the weight I cannot move,
O! 'tis more than I can bear,
The sense of pardoning love.
Let it still my heart constrain,
And all my passions sway;

3

4

5

6

Keep me, lest I turn again

Out of the narrow way:
Force my violence to be still,
And captivate my every thought;
Charm, and melt, and change my will,
And bring me down to nought.

If I have begun once more
Thy sweet return to feel,
If e'en now I find Thy power
Present my soul to heal,-
Still and quiet may I lie,
Nor struggle out of Thine embrace;
Never more resist or fly

From Thy pursuing grace.

To the cross, Thine altar, bind
Me with the cords of love;
Freedom let me never find

From Thee, my Lord, to move :
That I never, never more,

May with my much-loved Master part,
To the posts of mercy's door
O nail my willing heart!
See my utter helplessness,
And leave me not alone;
Ο preserve in perfect peace,

And seal me for Thine own:
More and more Thyself reveal,
Thy presence let me always find:
Comfort, and confirm, and heal
My feeble, sin-sick mind.
As the apple of an eye

Thy weakest servant keep ;
Help me at Thy feet to lie,

And there for ever weep;
Tears of joy mine eyes o'erflow,
That I have any hope of heaven ;
Much of love I ought to know,
For I have much forgiven.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

585

(27)

Now

For Believers Rejoicing.

L.M. 6 lines.

J. WESLEY. 1740.

From the German of J. A. ROTHE. 1688-1758.

remain :

OW I have found the ground, wherein
Sure my soul's anchor may
The wounds of Jesus, for my sin

Before the world's foundation slain ;
Whose mercy shall unshaken stay,
When heaven and earth are fled away.

2 Father, Thine everlasting grace

Our scanty thought surpasses far:
Thy heart still melts with tenderness;
Thy arms of love still open are,
Returning sinners to receive,
That mercy they may taste, and live.
3 O Love! Thou bottomless abyss !
My sins are swallowed up in Thee;
Cover'd is my unrighteousness,

Nor spot of guilt remains on me,
While Jesu's blood, through earth and skies,
Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries ! -

4 With faith I plunge me in this sea;
Here is my hope, my joy, my rest!
Hither, when hell assails, I flee,

I look into my Saviour's breast; Away, sad doubt, and anxious fear! Mercy is all that's written there.

5 Though waves and storms go o'er my head,
Though strength, and health, and friends be
Though joys be withered all, and dead, [gone,
Though every comfort be withdrawn,

On this my steadfast soul relies,
Father! Thy mercy never dies.

6 Fix'd on this ground will I remain,
Though my heart fail, and flesh decay;
This anchor shall my soul sustain,
When earth's foundations melt away;
Mercy's full
power I then shall prove,
Loved with an everlasting love.

586 (99)

JES

From the German of COUNT Zinzendorf. 1700-1760.

ESUS, Thy Blood and Righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
2 Bold shall I stand in Thy great day,
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am,
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.
3 The holy, meek, unspotted Lamb,
Who from the Father's bosom came,
Who died for me, e'en me to' atone,
Now for my Lord and God I own.
4 Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
Which, at the mercy-seat of God,
For ever doth for sinners plead,
For me, e'en for my soul, was shed.
5 Lord, I believe were sinners more
Than sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonemen made.

6 When from the dust of death I rise,
To claim my mansion in the skies,
E'en then, this shall be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died for me.

7 Thus Abraham, the Friend of God,
Thus all heaven's armies bought with blood,
Saviour of sinners Thee proclaim !
Sinners, of whom the chief I am.