The soul that early seeks my face
Shall never seek in vain.
HYMN 127.
Death of an Infant.
S the sweet flow'r that scents the morn,
But withers in the rising day;
Thus lovely was this infant's dawn,
Thus swiftly fled its life away.
2 It died ere its expanding soul
Had ever burnt with wrong desires, Had ever spurn'd at heaven's control, Or ever quench'd its sacred fires.
3 It died to sin, it died to cares,
But for a moment felt the rod:
O mourner! such, the Lord declares,
Such are the children of our God!
VIII. INVITATION AND WARNING.
INNERS, turn, why will
God, your Maker, asks you why?
God, who did your being give,
Made you with himself to live;
He the fatal cause demands,
Asks the work of his own hands;
Why, ye thankless creatures, why
Will
ye cross his love, and die?
2 Sinners, turn, why will ye die?
God, your Saviour, asks you why?
He, who did your souls retrieve,
Died himself that ye might live.
Will you let him die in vain?
Crucify your Lord again?
Why, ye ransom'd sinners, why
Will ye slight his grace, and die?
3 Sinners, turn, why will ye die?
God, the Spirit, asks you why?
He who all your lives hath strove,
Woo'd you to embrace his love:
ASTEN, sinner, to be wise;
'H Stay not for the morrow's sun:
Wisdom, if you still despise,
Harder is it to be won.
2 Hasten, mercy to implore;
Stay not for the morrow's sun;
Lest thy season should be o'er,
Ere this evening's stage be run.
3 Hasten, sinner, to return;
Stay not for the morrow's sun;
Lest thy lamp should cease to burn,
Ere salvation's work is done.
4 Hasten, sinner, to be blest;
Stay not for the morrow's sun;
Lest perdition thee arrest,
Ere the morrow is begun.
EACE, troubled soul, whose plaintive moan
Hath taught each scene the note of wo;
Cease thy complaint, suppress thy groan,
And let thy tears forget to flow:
Behold, the precious balm is found,
To lull thy pain, and heal thy wound.
2 Come, freely come, by sin opprest,
On Jesus cast thy weighty load;
In him thy refuge find, thy rest,
Safe in the mercy of thy God:
Thy God's thy Saviour! glorious word!
O hear, believe, and bless the Lord!
Is whisp'ring, sinner, come;
The Bride, the church of Christ, proclaims
To all his children, come!
2 Let him that heareth say
To all about him, come!
Let him that thirsts for righteousness,
To Christ, the fountain, come!
3 Yes, whosoever will,
O let him freely come,
And freely drink the stream of life; "Tis Jesus bids him come.
4 Lo! Jesus, who invites,
Declares, I quickly come: Lord, even so! I wait thy hour; Jesus, my Saviour, come!
E humble souls, approach your God
With songs of sacred praise,
For he is good, supremely good,
And kind are all his ways.
2 All nature owns his guardian care,
In him we live and move;
But nobler benefits declare
The wonders of his love.
3 He gave his Son, his only Son, To ransom rebel worms;
'Tis here he makes his goodness known
In its diviner forms.
4 To this dear refuge, Lord, we come,
"Tis here our hope relies;
A safe defence, a peaceful home,
When storms of trouble rise.
5 Thine eye beholds, with kind regard,
The souls who trust in thee;
Their humble hope thou wilt reward,
With bliss divinely free.
6 Great God, to thine Almighty love,
What honours shall we raise!
Not all th' angelic songs above
Can render equal praise.
IX. CHRISTIAN DUTIES AND AFFEC
PPROACH, my soul, the mercy-seat,
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before his feet,
For none can perish there.
2 Thy promise is my only plea,
With this I venture nigh;
Thou callest burden'd souls to thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.
3 Bow'd down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely press'd,
By war without, and fear within,
I come to thee for rest.
4 Be thou my shield and hiding-place;
That, shelter'd near thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him, "Thou hast died."
5 O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead thy gracious name.
RAYER is the soul's sincere desire,
Utter'd or unexpress'd;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.
2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear;
The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.
3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The majesty on high.
4 Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air,
The watch-word at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with
5 Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And cry," Behold, he prays!"
6 In prayer, on earth, the saints are one;
They're one in word and mind;
When with the Father and the Son,
Sweet fellowship they find.
7'0 thou, by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way,
The path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray!
THOU that hear'st when sinners cry,
Though all thy crimes before thee lie,
Behold them not with angry look,
But blot their mem'ry from thy book.
2 Create my nature pure within,
And form my soul averse to sin;
Let thy good Spirit ne'er depart,
Nor hide thy presence from my heart.
3 I cannot live without thy light,
Cast out and banish'd from thy sight:
Thy holy joys, my God, restore,
And guard me that I fall no more.
4 Though I have griev'd thy Spirit, Lord,
Thy help and comfort still afford;
And let a wretch come near thy throne,
To plead the merits of thy Son.
5 A broken heart, my God, my King,
Is all the sacrifice I bring;
The God of grace will ne'er despise
A broken heart for sacrifice.
6 My soul lies humbled in the dust,
And owns thy dreadful sentence just;
Look down, O Lord, with pitying eye,
And save the soul condemn'd to die.
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