Hymns for Christian Devotion Part 71

G.o.d, thy G.o.d, shall make thee whole: Why art thou disquieted?

G.o.d shall lift thy fallen head, And his countenance benign Be the saving health of thine.

429. L. M. Henry Moore.

Wisdom and Virtue sought from G.o.d.

1 Supreme and universal Light!

Fountain of reason! Judge of right!

Parent of good! whose blessings flow On all above, and all below:

2 a.s.sist us, Lord, to act, to be, What nature and thy laws decree; Worthy that intellectual flame, Which from thy breathing spirit came!

3 May our expanded souls disclaim The narrow view, the selfish aim; But with a Christian zeal embrace Whate'er is friendly to our race.

4 O Father, grace and virtue grant!

No more we wish, no more we want: To know, to serve thee, and to love, Is peace below,--is bliss above.

430. C. M. Merrick.

Holy Resignation.

1 Author of good, to thee we turn: Thine ever wakeful eye Alone can all our wants discern, Thy hand alone supply.

2 O, let thy love within us dwell, Thy fear our footsteps guide; That love shall vainer loves expel, That fear all fears beside.

3 And, O, by error's force subdued, Since oft, with stubborn will, We blindly shun the latent good, And grasp the specious ill,--

4 Not what we wish, but what we want, Let mercy still supply: The good we ask not; Father, grant; The ill we ask, deny.

431. L. M. 6l. C. Wesley.

Prayer for the Comforter.

1 I want the spirit of power within, Of love, and of a healthful mind; Of power to conquer every sin, Of love to G.o.d and all mankind; Of health that pain and death defies, Most vigorous when the body dies.

2 O that the Comforter would come, Nor visit as a transient guest, But fix in me his constant home, And keep possession of my breast; And make my soul his loved abode, The temple of indwelling G.o.d!

432. L. M. Cotton.

A Peaceful Conscience.

1 While some in folly's pleasures roll, And court the joys that hurt the soul, Be mine that silent, calm repast, A conscience peaceful to the last.

2 With this companion in the shade, My soul no more shall be dismayed; But fearless meet life's dreariest gloom, And the pale monarch of the tomb.

3 Amidst the various scenes of ills, Each blow some kind design fulfils; And can I murmur at my G.o.d, While love supreme directs the rod?

4 His hand will smooth my rugged way, And lead me to the realms of day; To milder skies, and brighter plains, Where everlasting pleasure reigns.

433. L. M. Watts.

Self-knowledge, and Abstraction from Earth.

1 My G.o.d, permit me not to be A stranger to myself and thee: Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove, Forgetful of my highest love.

2 Why should my pa.s.sions mix with earth, And thus debase my heavenly birth?

Why should I cleave to things below, And let my G.o.d, my Saviour go?

3 Call me away from flesh and sense; Thy sovereign word can draw me thence: I would obey the voice divine, And all inferior joys resign.

4 Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn, Let noise and vanity be gone: In secret silence of the mind, My heaven, and there my G.o.d, I find.

434. 7s. & 6s. M. Anonymous.

Rising towards Heaven.

1 Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, Thy better portion trace; Rise from transitory things, Towards heaven, thy native place: Sun, and moon, and stars decay, Time shall soon this earth remove; Rise, my soul, and haste away To seats prepared above.

2 Rivers to the ocean run, Nor stay in all their course; Fire ascending seeks the sun,-- Both speed them to their source: So a soul that's born of G.o.d Pants to view his glorious face, Upward tends to his abode, To rest in his embrace.

435. L. P. M. Anonymous.