Hymns for Christian Devotion Part 67

1 Mere human power shall fast decay, And youthful vigor cease; But they who wait upon the Lord In strength shall still increase.

2 They with unwearied feet shall tread The path of life divine, With growing ardor onward move, With growing brightness shine.

3 On eagles' wings they mount, they soar; Their wings are faith and love; Till, past the cloudy regions here, They rise to heaven above.

406. C. M. Watts.

Hidden Life of the Christian.

1 O happy soul that lives on high, While men lie grovelling here!

His hopes are fixed above the sky, And faith forbids his fear.

2 His conscience knows no secret stings, While grace and joy combine To form a life whose holy springs Are hidden and divine.

3 He waits in secret on his G.o.d; His G.o.d in secret sees; Let earth be all in arms abroad, He dwells in heavenly peace.

4 His pleasures rise from things unseen, Beyond this world and time; Where neither eyes nor ears have been, Nor thoughts of mortals climb.

5 He wants no pomp nor royal throne To raise his honors here; Content and pleased to live unknown, Till Christ, his life, appear.

407. 8s. M. C. Wesley.

"That they also may be one in us."

1 Lord, from whom all blessings flow, Perfecting the church below!

Steadfast may we cleave to thee; Love the mystic union be.

Join our faithful spirits, join Each to each, and all to thine: Lead us through the paths of peace, On to perfect holiness.

2 Sweetly may we all agree, Touched with softest sympathy: There is neither bond nor free, Great nor servile, Lord, in thee; Love, like death, hath all destroyed Rendered all distinctions void!

Names, and sects, and parties fall: Thou, O Christ, art all in all!

408. S. M. Steele.

Religion a Support in Life.

1 Religion can a.s.suage The tempest of the soul; And every fear shall lose its rage At her divine control.

2 Through life's bewildered way, Her hand unerring leads; And o'er the path her heavenly ray A cheering l.u.s.tre sheds.

3 When reason, tired and blind, Sinks helpless and afraid, Thou blest supporter of the mind, How powerful is thine aid!

4 O, let us feel thy power, And find thy sweet relief, To brighten every gloomy hour And soften every grief.

409. C. M. Tate & Brady.

The Righteous and the Wicked.

1 How blest is he, who ne'er consents By ill advice to walk; Nor stands in sinners' ways, nor sits Where men profanely talk:

2 But makes the perfect law of G.o.d His business and delight; Devoutly reads therein by day, And meditates by night.

3 Like some fair tree, which, fed by streams, With timely fruit does bend, He still shall flourish, and success All his designs attend.

4 UnG.o.dly men, and their attempts, No lasting root shall find; Untimely blasted, and dispersed Like chaff before the wind.

410. C. M. Exeter Coll.

The Influence of Habitual Piety.

1 Blest is the man who fears the Lord!

His well established mind, In every varying scene of life, Shall true composure find.

2 Oft through the deep and stormy sea The heavenly footsteps lie; But on a glorious world beyond His faith can fix its eye.

3 Though dark his present prospects be, And sorrows round him dwell, Yet hope can whisper to his soul, That all shall issue well.

4 Full in the presence of his G.o.d, Through every scene he goes; And, fearing him, no other fear His steadfast bosom knows.

411. C. M. Proud.

The Happiness of a Christian.

1 When true religion gains a place, And lives within the mind, The sensual life subdued by grace, And all the soul refined:

2 The desert blooms in living green, Where thorns and briers grew; The barren waste is fruitful seen, And all the prospect new.