4 There like the nightingale she pours
Her solitary lays;
Nor asks a witness of her song,
Nor thirsts for human praise.
5 Author and guardian of my life,
Sweet source of light divine;
And, all harmonious names in one,
My Saviour, thou art mine.
6 What thanks I owe thee, and what love!
A boundless, endless store
Shall echo through the realms above,
When time shall be no more.
1 FATHER divine, thy piercing eye
Strikes through the shades of night;
In deep retirement thou art nigh,
With heart-discerning sight.
2 There may that piercing eye survey
My duteous homage paid,
With every morning's dawning ray,
And every evening's shade.
3 O let thine own celestial fire
The incense still inflame,
While my warm vows to thee aspire,
Through my Redeemer's name!
4 So shall the visits of thy love
My soul in secret bless;
So shalt thou deign in worlds above
Thy suppliant to confess.
"Pray without ceasing."
1 PRAYER was appointed to convey
The blessings God designs to give:
Long as they live should christians pray,
For only while they pray they live.
2 And shall we in dead silence lie,
When Christ stands waiting for our prayer?
My soul, thou hast a friend on high;
Arise, and try thy interest there.
3 If pain afflict, or wrongs oppress;
If cares distract, or fears dismay;
If guilt deject; if sin distress;
The remedy's before thee, pray.
4 Depend on Christ, thou canst not fail;
Make all thy wants and wishes known;
Fear not; his merits must prevail;
Ask what thou wilt, it shall be done.
The throne of grace.
BEHOLD the throne of grace!
The promise calls me near;
There Jesus shows a smiling face,
And waits to answer prayer.
That rich atoning blood,
Which sprinkled round I see,
Provides for those who come to God
An all-prevailing plea.
3 Beyond our utmost wants
His love and power can bless;
To praying souls he always grants
More than they can express.
4 Thine image, Lord, bestow,
Thy presence and thy love;
I ask to serve thee here below,
And reign with thee above.
Teach me to live by faith,
Conform my will to thine;
Let me victorious be in death,
And then in glory shine.
PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire,
Utter'd or unexpress'd;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.
Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways,
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And say, "Behold he prays!"
The saints in prayer appear as one,
In word, and deed, and mind;
While with the Father, and the Son,
Sweet fellowship they find.
O thou, by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod,
Lord, teach us how to pray.
HYMN 214.
Confidence in the Saviour..
BESET with snares on every hand,
In life's uncertain path I stand;
Saviour divine, diffuse thy light,
To guide my doubtful footsteps right.
Engage this roving, treacherous heart,
Through life to choose the better part;
To scorn the trifles of a day,
For joys that none can take away.
3. Then let the wildest storms arise,
Let tempests mingle earth and skies,
No fatal shipwreck shall I fear,
But all my treasures with me bear.
If thou, my Saviour, still art nigh,
Cheerful I live, and joyful die;
Secure, when mortal comforts flee,
To find ten thousand worlds in thee.
HYMN 215.
The pilgrim's prayer.
GUIDE me, O thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
Hold me with thy powerful hand:
Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing streams do flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through:
Strong deliverer,
Be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me through the swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan's side:
Songs of praises
I will ever give to thee.
Christ the Captain and Guide of his people.
CAPTAIN of Israel's host, and guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath thy shadow we abide,
The cloud of thy protecting love;
Our strength thy grace, our rule thy word,
Our end the glory of the Lord.
By thy unerring Spirit led,
We shall not in the desert stray;
We shall not full direction need,
Nor miss our providential way;
As far from danger as from fear,
While love, almighty love, is near.
HYMN 217.
The Christian Israel.
1 THUS far on life's perplexing path,
Thus far, thou, Lord, our steps hast led;
Snatch'd from the world's pursuing wrath,
Unharm'd though floods hung o'er our head;
Like ransom'd Israel on the shore.
Here then we pause, look back, adore.
2 Strangers and pilgrims here below,
Like all our fathers in their day,
We to the land of promise go,
Lord, by thine own appointed way;
Still guide, illumine, cheer our flight,
In cloud by day, in fire by night.
3 When we have number'd all our years,
And stand at length on Jordan's brink,
Though the flesh fail with mortal fears,
O let not then the spirit sink;
But strong in faith, and hope, and love,
Plunge through the stream, to rise above!
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