Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion Part 57

1 Let me not wander comfortless, My Father, far from Thee; But still beneath Thy guardian wing In holy quiet be.

2 The storms of grief, the tears of woe, Soothed by Thy love, shall cease; And all the trembling spirit breathe A deep, unbroken peace.

3 The power of prayer shall o'er me shed A deep, celestial calm; More soft than evening's twilight dews, My soul shall feel its balm.

4 For there Thy still, small voice shall speak Thy great, Thy boundless love; And tears and smiles, and grief and joy, Shall lift my soul above.

339. S. M. Anonymous.

The Meaning of Sorrow.

1 We love this outward world, Its fair sky overhead,-- Its morning's soft, gray mist unfurled, Its sunsets rich and red.

2 But there's a world within That higher glory hath; A life the immortal soul must win,-- The life of joy and faith.

3 For this the Father's love Doth shade the world of sense, The bounding play of health remove, And dim the sparkling glance;

4 That, though the earth grows dull And earthly pleasures few, The spirit gain its wisdom full To suffer and to do.

5 Holy its world within, Unknown to sound or sight,-- The world of victory o'er sin, Of faith, and love, and light.

340. 11 & 10s. M. Anonymous.

The Mourner.

1 Weep thou, O mourner! but in lamentation Let thy Redeemer still remembered be; Strong is His arm, the G.o.d of thy salvation, Strong is His love to cheer and comfort thee.

2 Cold though the world be, in the way before thee Wail not in sadness o'er the darkling tomb; G.o.d in His love still watcheth kindly o'er thee, Light shineth still above the clouds of gloom.

3 Dimmed though thine eyes be with the tears of sorrow Night only known beneath the sky of time, Faith can behold the dawning of a morrow Glowing in smiles of life and joy sublime.

4 Change, then, O mourner, grief to exultation; Firm and confiding should thy spirit be; Strong is His arm, the G.o.d of thy salvation, Strong is His love to cheer and comfort thee.

341. P. M. Mrs. Hemans.

For Strength.

1 Father! who in the olive shade, When the dark hour came on, Didst, with a breath of heavenly aid, Strengthen thy Son;

2 O, in the anguish of our night, Send us down blest relief; And to the chastened, let Thy might Hallow the grief!

3 And thou, that, when the starry sky Saw the dread strife begun, Didst teach adoring faith to cry, "Thy will be done!"--

4 By thy meek spirit, thou, of all That e'er have mourned the chief, Our Saviour! when the stroke doth fall, Hallow our grief!

342. 11 & 4s. M. Whittier.

The Angels of Grief.

1 With silence only as their benediction, G.o.d's angels come Where, in the shadow of a great affliction, The soul sits dumb.

2 Yet would we say, what every heart approveth,-- Our Father's will, Calling to Him the dear ones whom he loveth, Is mercy still.

3 Not upon us or ours the solemn angel Hath evil wrought; The funeral anthem is a glad evangel; The good die not!

4 G.o.d calls our loved ones, but we lose not wholly What He has given; They live on earth in thought and deed, as truly As in His heaven.

343. C. M. Wilson.

Angels.

1 O, not when the death-prayer is said, The life of life departs; The body in the grave is laid, Its beauty in our hearts.

2 At holy midnight, voices sweet, Like fragrance, fill the room; And happy ghosts, with noiseless feet, Come brightening through the gloom.

3 We know who sends the visions bright, From whose dear side they came; We veil our eyes before Thy light, We bless our Father's name!

4 This frame, O G.o.d, this feeble breath, Thy hand may soon destroy; We think of Thee, and feel in death A deep and holy joy.

5 Dim is the light of vanished years In glory yet to come; O idle grief, O foolish tears, When Jesus calls us home!

344. P. M. Mrs. Hemans.

The Cry of the Afflicted.