Fasted, and prayed, and read thy word,
And heard it preached in vain.
2 Oft did I with th' assembly join,
Oft near thine altar drew;
A form of godliness was mine,
The power I never knew.

3 I rested in the outward law,
Nor knew its deep design:
The length and breadth I never saw
And height of love divine.

4 To please thee thus, at length I see
I vainly toiled and strove;

For what are outward works to thee,
Unless they spring from love?

5 But I of means have made my boast,
Of means an idol made:

The spirit in the letter lost,

The substance in the shade.

6 Now on thy grace I build my hope,
What can my weakness do?

Jesus, to thee my soul looks up,
For thou must make it new.

295

0

C. Wesley.

C. P. M.

Fleeing to Christ as a Refuge.
THOU who hear'st the prayer of faith,
Wilt thou not save a soul from death,
That casts itself on thee?

I have no refuge of my own,
But fly to what my Lord hath done
And suffered once for me.

2 Slain in the guilty sinner's stead,
Thy spotless righteousness I plead,
And thy atoning blood:

Thy righteousness my robe shall be,
Thy merit shall avail for me,

And bring me near to God.

3 Then snatch me from eternal death,
The Spirit of adoption breathe,
His consolation send:

By him some word of life impart,
And sweetly whisper to my heart-.
Thy Maker is thy friend."

4 Then will the king of terrors be A welcome messenger to me,

To bid me come away:

Unclogged by earth, or earthly things,
I'll mount, I'll fly, with eager wings,
To everlasting day.

296

1

No

Self-righteousness renounced.

.

[O 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. 2 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. 3 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.
4 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.

297

Safety at the Cross.

1 HERE, at thy cross, incarnate God,
I lay my soul beneath thy love;
Beneath the droppings of thy blood,
Jesus-nor shall it e'er remove.

Toplady.

2 Should worlds conspire to drive me hence,
Moveless and firm this heart should lie;
Resolved, for that's my last defence,.
If I must perish, here to die.

3 But speak, my Lord, and calm my fear;
Am I not safe beneath thy shade?
Thy vengeance will not strike me here,
Nor Satan dare my soul invade.

4 Yes, I'm secure beneath thy blood,
And all my foes shall lose their aim:
Hosanna to my Saviour God,

And my best honors to his name.

L. M.

Watts.

L. M.

Watts.

298

1

The Disciple at the Cross.

WEET the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross I spend ;
Life and health and peace possessing,
From the sinner's dying friend.

2 Truly blessed is this station-
Low before his cross to lie;
While I see divine compassion
Floating in his languid eye.

3 Love and grief my heart dividing,
With my tears his feet I bathe;
Constant still in faith abiding,
Life deriving from his death.

299

1

8.7.

Robinson.

Forsaking all for Christ. Mark x. 28.

JESUS, I my cross have taken,

All to leave, and follow thee;
Naked, poor, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be:
Perish every fond ambition,

All I've sought, or hoped, or known—
Yet how rich is my condition,

God and heaven are still my own!

2 Let the world despise and leave me ;
They have left my Saviour too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me-
Thou art not, like them, untrue;
And while thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me→
Show thy face, and all is bright.

3 Go, then, earthly fame and treasure;
Come disaster, scorn, and pain;
In thy service pain is pleasure,
With thy favor loss is gain.
I have called thee Abba, Father,
I have set my heart on thee;
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
All must work for good to me.

4 Man may trouble and distress me,
"Twill but drive me to thy breast;

8.7.

Life with trials hard may press me,
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, 'tis not in grief to harm me,
While thy love is left to me;
Oh, 'twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with thee.
5 Soul, then know thy full salvation;
Rise o'er sin and fear and care;
Joy to find in every station

Something still to do or bear.
Think what Spirit dwells within thee;
Think what Father's smiles are thine;
Think that Jesus died to win thee:
Child of heaven, canst thou repine?
6 Haste thee on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer;
Heaven's eternal day's before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

1 LORD, I am thine, entirely thine,

Purchased and saved by blood divine;
With full consent thine I would be,
And own thy sovereign right in me.
2 Here, Lord, my flesh, my soul, my all,
I yield to thee beyond recall;
Accept thy own, so long withheld;
Accept what I so freely yield.

3 Grant one poor sinner more a place
Among the children of thy grace;
A wretched sinner, lost to God,
But ransomed by Immanuel's blood.
4 Thee my new Master now I call,
And consecrate to thee my all;
Thine will I live, thine will I die,
Be thine through all eternity.

5 Do thou assist a feeble worm
The great engagement to perform:

Grant.

L. M

Thy grace can full assistance lend,
And on that grace I dare depend.

301

HOW

Gratitude and Self-Consecration.

1 OW can I sink with such a prop
As my eternal God,

Who bears the earth's huge pillars up,
And spreads the heavens abroad?

2 How can I die while Jesus lives,
Who rose and left the dead?
Pardon and grace my soul receives
From my exalted Head.

3 All that I am, and all I have,
Shall be for ever thine;

Whate'er my duty bids me give,
My cheerful hands resign.

4 Yet, if I might make some reserve,
And duty did not call,

I love my God with zeal so great,
That I should give him all.

302

Covenant with God.

H happy day that fixed my choice

1 OH

On thee, my Saviour and my God; Well may this glowing heart rejoice,

And tell its raptures all abroad.

2 Oh happy bond that seals my vows
To him who merits all my love;
Let cheerful anthems fill his house,
And echo through his courts above.
3 'Tis done the great transaction's done;
I am my Lord's, and he is mine:
He drew me, and I followed on,
Glad to obey the call divine.

4 Now rest-my long-divided heart-
Fixed on this blissful centre, rest;
From all my idols now I part,

And welcome Jesus to my breast.

5 High Heaven, that hears the solemn vow, That vow renewed shall daily hear;

Till in life's latest hour I bow,

And bless in death a bond so dear.

Davies.

S. M.

Watts.

L. M.

Doddridge.