2 Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up His great designs,
And works His sovereign will.
3 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take!
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head!
4 Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,
But trust Him for his grace;
Behind a frowning Providence
He hides a smiling face.
5 His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His works in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make them plain !
1 FORTH from the dark and stormy sky,
LORD, to thine altar's shade we fly;
Forth from the world, its hope and fear,
Saviour, we seek thy shelter here:
Weary and weak thy grace we pray:
Turn not, O LORD! Thy guests away!
2 Long have we roam'd in want and pain,
Long have we sought Thy rest in vain ;
Wildered in doubt, in darkness lost,
Long have our souls been tempest-tost:
Low at Thy feet our sins we lay :
Turn not, O LORD! Thy guests away!
1 THERE was joy in Heaven!
There was joy in Heaven!
When this goodly world to frame
The Lord of might and mercy came:
Shouts of joy were heard on high,
And the stars sang from the sky-
Glory to God in Heaven!"
2 There was joy in Heaven!
There was joy in Heaven!
When the billows, heaving dark,
Sank around the stranded ark,
And the rainbow's watery span
Spake of mercy, hope to man,
And peace with God in Heaven!
3 There was joy in Heaven!
There was joy in Heaven!
When of love the midnight beam
Dawn'd on the towers of Bethlehem ;
And along the echoing hill
Angels sang-" On earth good will,
And glory in the Heaven!"
4 There is joy in Heaven!
There is joy in Heaven!
When the sheep that went astray
Turns again to Virtue's way;
When the soul, by grace subdued,
Sobs its prayer of gratitude,
Then is there joy in Heaven!
1 I PRAIS'D the Earth, in beauty seen, With meadows gay of various green; I prais'd the Sea whose ample field Shone glorious as a silver shield; And Earth and Ocean seem'd to say, "Our beauties are but for a day!"
2 I prais'd the Sun, whose chariot roll'd
On wheels of amber and of gold;
I prais'd the Moon, whose softer eye
Gleamed sweetly through the summer sky!
And Moon and Sun in answer said,
"Our days of light are numbered!"
3 O God! O Good beyond compare!
If thus Thy meaner works are fair!
If thus Thy bounties gild the span
Of ruin'd earth and sinful man,
How glorious must the mansion be
Where Thy redeem'd shall dwell with Thee!
1 LORD! have mercy when we strive
To save, through Thee, our souls alive!
When the pamper'd flesh is strong,
When the strife is fierce and long;
When our wakening thoughts begin
First to loathe their cherish'd sin,
And our weary spirits fail,
And our aching brows are pale,
Oh then have mercy! LORD!
2 LORD! have mercy when we lie
On the restless bed, and sigh,
Sigh for Death, yet fear it still,
From the thought of former ill;
When all other hope is gone;
When our course is almost done;
When the dim advancing gloom
Tells us that our hour is come,
Oh then have mercy! LORD!
3 LORD! have mercy when we know
First how vain this world below;
When the earliest gleam is given
Of Thy bright but distant Heaven!
When our darker thoughts oppress,
Doubts perplex and fears distress,
And our sadden'd spirits dwell
On the open gates of Hell,
Oh then have mercy! LORD!
1 WHEN rising from the bed of death
Overwhelm'd by guilt and fear,
I see my Maker face to face,
Oh! how shall I appear?
2 If yet, while pardon may be found
And mercy may be sought,
My heart with inward horror shrinks
And trembles at the thought,
3 When Thou, O LORD! shalt stand display'd In majesty severe,
And sit in judgment on my soul,
Oh! how shall I appear?
4 But Thou hast told the troubled mind,
Who doth his sins lament,
The timely tribute of his tears
Shall endless woe prevent:
5 Then view the sorrows of my heart
Before it be too late,
And hear my Saviour's dying groan
To give those sorrows weight!
6 For never shall my
Thy pardon to procure,
Who know Thine only Son hath died
To make that pardon sure!
1 O LORD, turn not Thy face away from them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life with tears and bitter cry!
Thy mercy-gates are open wide to them that mourn their sin;
Oh shut them not against us, LORD, but let us enter in!
2 We need not to confess our fault, for surely, Thou can'st tell;
What we have done, and what we are, Thou knowest, LoRd, full well:
Wherefore, to beg and to intreat, with tears we come to Thee,
As children that have done amiss fall at thei father's knee.
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