442. “ Be ye also Ready.” (Matt. xxiv. 44.) L. M.
1 OFT as the bell with solemn toll,
Speaks the departure of a soul,
Let each one ask himself, "am I
Prepared, should I be call'd to die ?”
2 Lord Jesus! help me now to flee,
And seek my hope alone in Thee;
Apply Thy blood, Thy Spirit give,
Subdue my sin, and let me live.
3 Then when the solemn bell I hear,
If saved from guilt, I need not fear;
Nor would the thought distressing be,—
Perhaps it next may toll for me.
4 Rather my spirit would rejoice,
And wish and long to hear Thy voice;
Glad when it bids me earth resign,
Secure of heaven, if Thou art mine.
"Prepare to meet thy God." S. M.
(Amos iv. 12.)
TO-MORROW, Lord, is Thine,
Lodged in Thy sov'reign hand;
And if its sun arise and shine,
It is at Thy command.
2 The present moment flies,
And bears our life away;
O may Thy servants, truly wise,
Improve each passing day.
3 Since on each winged hour
Eternity is hung;
Awaken, by Thy mighty pow'r,
The aged and the young.
4 One thing demands our care,
Be that one thing pursued ;
Lest now despised, we never hear
Thy pard'ning voice renew'd.
Teach us Thy name to fear;
Spread an alarm abroad;
And cry in ev'ry careless ear,
<< Prepare to meet Thy God!"
"Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord."
444. (Rev. xiv. 13.) C. M.
1 IN vain our fancy strives to paint
The moment after death;
The glories that surround the saint,
When He resigns his breath.
2 Faith strives, but all its efforts fail,
To trace its heav'nward flight;
No eye can pierce within the veil
Which hides that world of light.
3 Thus much (and this is all) we know,—
They are supremely blest;
Have done with sin, and care, and woe,
And with their Saviour rest.
4 On harps of gold His name they praise;
His presence always view;-
And if we hear their footsteps trace,
There we shall praise Him too.
445.“ I shall be Satisfied, &c. (Psalm xvii. 15.) L. M.
1 WHAT tongue can tell, what fancy paint,
The joys that fill th' enraptured saint,
When mix'd with heav'ns triumphant throng,
He shares their bliss and swells their song.
2 He feels no pain, He feels no want;
His portion all that God can grant:
To see the Saviour as He is,
And dwell in heav'n with Him and His.
3 No darkness now obscures his mind,
The darkness all is left behind;
And objects lately half conceal'd,
In full resplendance stand reveal'd.
4 His love, so cold, so mix'd before,
In heav'n is cold and mix'd no more;
It gains the region whence it came,
And lives a pure eternal flame.
5 No sin is there to fright or charm,
He dwells exempt from all alarm;
O may I reach that blest abode,
And there obtain my rest in God.
446. Christ coming to Judgment. 9th P. M.
(1 Thess. iv. 16. 1 Cor. xv. 52.)
1 DAY of judgment! day of wonders!
Hark! the trumpet's awful sound,
Louder than a thousand thunders,
Shakes the vast creation round :
How the summons-Will the sinner's heart confound!
2 See the Judge, our nature wearing,
Cloth'd in majesty divine!
Ye who long for His appearing
Then shall say "This God is mine :"
Gracious Saviour—Ŏwn us in that day for Thine.
3 At His call the dead awaken,
Rise to life from earth and sea;
All the powers of nature shaken,
From His face astonish'd flee:
Careless sinner-What will then become of thee?
4 But to those who have confessed,
Lov'd and serv'd the Lord below,
He will say "Come near, ye blessed,
Take the kingdom I bestow!
You for ever,-Shall my love and glory know.” 447. "To die is Gain." (Phil. i. 21.) L.M.
1 HOW blest the righteous when he dies;
When sinks a weary soul to rest;
When Jesus cheers the closing eyes,
And faith supports th' expiring breast!
2 A holy quiet reigns around,-
A calm which life nor death destroys;
Nothing disturbs the peace profound,
Which then the christian soul enjoys.
3 Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears,
Where lights and shades alternate dwell!
How bright th' unchanging morn appears!
Farewell, inconstant world, farewell!
4 Life's journey done, as sinks the clay,
The spirit to its Saviour flies;
While heaven and earth combined to say,
"How blest the righteous when he dies!
448. Judgment. (Rev. i. 7.) 14th P. M.
1 THE Lord of might from Sinai's brow
Gave forth His voice of thunder;
And Israel lay on earth below,
Outstretch'd in fear and wonder;
Beneath His feet was pitchy night,
And at His left hand and His right
The rocks were rent asunder.
2 The Lord of love on Calvary,
A meek and suff'ring stranger,
Uprais'd to heaven His languid eye
In nature's hour of danger;
For us He bore the weight of woe;
For us He gave His blood to flow,
And met His father's anger.
3 The Lord of love, the Lord of might,
The king of all created,
Shall back return to claim His right
On clouds of glory seated;
With trumpet-sound and angel-song,
And hallelujahs loud and long,
O'er death and hell defeated.
449. The Shortness and Uncertainty of Life. C. M.
(Psalm xxxvii. 35, 36.)
1 LIKE crowded forest-trees we stand,
And some are mark'd to fall:
The axe will smite at God's command,
And soon shall smite us all.
2 Green as the bay-tree, ever green,
With its new foliage on,
The gay, the thoughtless, I have seen,
I pass'd, and they were gone.
3 No present health can health insure
For yet an hour to come;
No human power our life secure,
And save us from the tomb.
4 Lord, may we mark the awful truth,
Reveal'd in sacred page ;—
A worm is in the bud of youth,
And at the root of age.
450. Judgment. (Rev. xi. 18.) 4th P.M.
1 GREAT GOD! what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear
On clouds of glory seated.
The trumpet sounds! the graves restore
The dead which they contain'd before!
Prepare, my soul, to meet Him.
2 The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet's sounding,
Caught up to meet Him in the skies,
With joy their Lord surrounding:
No gloomy fears their souls dismay;
His presence sheds eternal day
On those prepared to meet Him.
3 But sinners, fill'd with guilty fears,
Behold His wrath prevailing ;
For they shall rise, and find their tears
And sighs are unavailing :
The day of grace is past and gone:
Trembling they stand before the throne,
All unprepared to meet Him.
4 Great God ! what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear
On clouds of glory seated:
Beneath His cross I view the day,
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet Him.
Judgment. (2 Cor. v. 10.) S. M.
1 OUR Judge will soon appear,
The dead must all arise;
And not a single soul escape,
His all-discerning eyes.
Now let us seek His grace,
Whose wrath we cannot bear;
Fly to the shelter of His cross,
And find salvation there.
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