1 AFFLICTION is a stormy deep,
Where wave resounds to wave;
Though o'er my head the billows roll,
I know the Lord can save.
2 When darkness and when sorrows rose,
And pressed on every side,
The Lord has still sustained my steps,
And still has been my guide.
3 Perhaps, before the morning dawn,
He will restore my peace;
For he who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid the tempest cease.
4 In the dark watches of the night
I'll count his mercies o'er;
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.
5 Here will I rest, here build my hopes,
Nor murmur at his rod;
He's more than all the world to me,-
My health, my life, my God!
Power of Sin broken at Death.
1 OUR sins, alas! how strong they be!
And, like a violent sea,
They break our duty, Lord, to thee,
And hurry us away.
2 The waves of trouble, how they rise!
How loud the tempests roar!
But death shall land our weary souls
Safe on the heavenly shore.
3 There, to fulfil his sweet commands
Our speedy feet shall move;
No sin shall clog our winged zeal,
Or cool our burning love.
4 There shall we sit, and sing, and tell
The wonders of his grace;
Till heavenly raptures fire our hearts,
And smile in every face.
5 Forever his dear, sacred name
Shall dwell upon our tongue;
And Jesus and salvation be
The close of every song.
1 OFT have I turned my eye within,
And brought to light some latent sin;
But pride, the vice I most detest,
Still lurks securely in my breast.
2 Here with a thousand arts she tries
To dress me in a fair disguise,
To make a guilty, wretched worm
Put on an angel's brightest form.
3 She hides my follies from mine eyes,
And lifts my virtues to the skies;
And while the specious tale she tells,
Her own deformity conceals.
4 Rend, O my God, the veil away:
Bring forth the monster to the day;
Expose her hideous form to view,
And all her restless power subdue.
5 So shall humility divine
Again possess this heart of mine;
And form a temple for my God,
Which he will make his loved abode.
1 WHEREFORE should man, frail child of clay,-
Who, from the cradle to the shroud,
Lives but the insect of a day,-
O why should mortal man be proud?
2 His brightest visions just appear,
Then vanish, and no more are found;
The stateliest pile his pride can rear,
A breath may level with the ground.
3 By doubt perplexed, in error lost,
With trembling step he seeks his way;
How vain of wisdom's gift the boast!
Of reason's lamp how faint the ray!
4 Follies and crimes, a countless sum,
Are crowded in life's little span :
How ill, alas! does pride become
That erring, guilty creature, man!
5 God of our lives! Father divine!
Give us a meek and lowly mind
;
In modest worth O let us shine,
And peace in humble virtue find.
Inconstancy in Religion.
1 THE wandering star, and fleeting wind,
Both represent th' unstable mind;
The morning cloud, and early dew,
Bring our inconstancy to view.
2 But cloud and wind, and dew and star,
Faint and imperfect emblems are;
Nor can there aught in nature be
So fickle and so false as we.
3 Our outward walk, and inward frame,
Scarce through a single hour the same;
We vow,
and straight our vows forget,
And then these very vows repeat.
4 We sin forsake, to sin return;
Are hot, are cold, now freeze, now burn;
In deep distress, then raptures feel,
We soar to heaven, then sink to hell.
5 With flowing tears, Lord, we confess
Our folly and unsteadfastness;
When shall these hearts more fixed be,
Fixed by thy grace, and fixed for thee?
1 WHY sinks my weak, desponding mind?
Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh?
Can sovereign goodness be unkind?
Am I not safe if God is nigh?
2 He holds all nature in his hand;
That gracious hand, on which I live,
Doth life, and time, and death command,
And has immortal joys to give.
3 'Tis he supports this fainting frame;
On him alone my hopes recline;
The wondrous glories of his name,
How wide they spread! how bright they shine!
4 Infinite wisdom! boundless power!
Unchanging faithfulness and love!
Here let me trust, while I adore, -
Nor from my refuge e'er remove.
5 My God, if thou art mine indeed,
Then have I all my heart can crave }
A present help in time of need;
Still kind to hear, and strong to save.
6 Forgive my doubts, O gracious Lord!
And ease the sorrows of my breast;
Speak to my heart the healing word,
That thou art mine, and I am blest.
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