Christ's Example of Love to Enemies.
1 ALOUD we sing the wondrous grace Christ to his foes did bear;
Which made the torturing cross its throne And hung its trophies there.
2 Father, forgive!' his mercy cried, With his expiring breath,
And drew eternal blessings down
On those who wrought his death.
3 Jesus, this wondrous love we sing, And, whilst we sing, admire; Breathe on our souls, and kindle there The same celestial fire.
4 Swayed by thy blest example, we For enemies will pray;
With love, their hatred-and their curse With blessings, will repay.
Christ's Example and Support in all Trials.
1 When gathering clouds around I view, And days are dark, and friends are few, On Him I lean, who not in vain Experienced every human pain; He sees my wants, allays my fears, And counts and treasures up my tears.
2 If aught should tempt my soul to stray From heavenly virtue's narrow way,— To fly the good I would pursue, Or do the sin I would not do,— Still, he who felt temptation's power Shall guard me in that dangerous hour.
3 If wounded love my bosom swell, Deceived by those I prized too well, He shall his pitying aid bestow, Who felt on earth severer woe: At once betrayed, denied, or fled, By all that shared his daily bread.
4 When sorrowing o'er some stone I bend, Which covers all that was a friend, And from his voice, his hand, his smile, Divides me for a little while,—
Thou, Savior, seest the tears I shed, For thou didst weep o'er Lazarus dead.
5 And O, when I have safely past Through every conflict but the last, Still, still unchanging, watch beside My dying bed, for thou hast died; And point to realms of cloudless day, And wipe the latest tear away.
The Law and the Gospel.
1 THE law by Moses came; But peace and truth and love Were brought by Christ, a nobler name, Descending from above.
2 Amidst the house of God
Their different works were done; Moses a faithful servant stood,
But Christ a faithful Son.
3 Then to his new commands Be strict obedience paid;
O'er all his Father's house he stands The sovereign and the head.
4 The man that durst despise The law that Moses brought, Behold! how terribly he dies For his presumptuous fault.
5 But sorer vengeance falls On that rebellious race
Who hate to hear when Jesus calls, And dare resist his grace.
1 NOT to the terrors of the Lord, The tempest, fire, and smoke,- Not to the thunder of that word Which God on Sinai spoke;
2 But we are come to Sion's hill, The city of our God,
Where milder words declare his will, And spread his love abroad.
3 Behold th' innumerable host Of angels clothed in light! Behold the spirits of the just,
Whose faith is turned to sight!
4 Behold the blest assembly there,
Whose names are writ in heaven; And God, the judge of all, declares Their vilest sins forgiven.
5 The saints on earth, and all the dead, But one communion make; All join in Christ, their living head, And of his grace partake.
6 In such society as this
My weary soul would rest;
The man that dwells where Jesus is, Must be forever blest.
The Voice of Sinai and Zion.
1 THE God who once to Israel spoke From Sinai's top in fire and smoke, In gentler strains of gospel grace Invites us now to seek his face.
2 He wears no terrors on his brow; He speaks in love from Zion now: It is the voice of Jesus' blood
That calls us, wanderers, back to God.
3 His servant Moses quaked and feared, When Sinai's thundering law he heard; But gospel grace, with accents mild, Speaks to the sinner as a child.
4 What other arguments can move The heart that slights a Savior's love? O may that heavenly power be felt, And cause the stony heart to melt!
Blessedness of the Gospel. Ps. 89.
1 BLEST are the souls that hear and know The gospel's joyful sound; Peace shall attend the paths they go, And light their steps surround.
2 Their joy shall bear their spirits up Through their Redeemer's name; His righteousness exalts their hope, Nor Satan dares condemn.
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