355

L.M.

Strong consolation.-Heb. 6, 18.

1 HOW oft have sin and Satan strove To rend my soul from Thee, my God!

But everlasting is Thy love,

And Jesus seals it with His blood.

2 The oath and promise of the Lord
Join to confirm the wondrous grace;
Eternal Power performs the word,
And fills all heaven with endless praise.
3 Amidst temptations sharp and long,
My soul to this dear refuge flies.
Hope is my anchor, firm and strong,
While tempests blow, and billows rise.
4 The Gospel bears my spirit up;
A faithful and unchanging God
Lays the foundation of my hope
In oaths, and promises, and blood.

356

1

104th.

God will provide. Gen. 22, 8.
THOUGH troubles assail,
And dangers affright,

Though friends should all fail,
And foes all unite;

Yet one thing secures us,
Whatever betide;

The Scripture assures us,
The Lord will provide.
2 The birds without barn,
Or storehouse are fed;
From them let us learn
To trust for our bread:
His saints what is fitting
Shall ne'er be denied,
So long as tis written,
The Lord will provide.
3 His call we obey,
Like Abram of old,
Not knowing our way;
But faith makes us bold:

For though we are strangers,

We have a good guide,

And trust in all dangers

The Lord will provide.

4 No strength of our own,
Or goodness we claim:
Yet, since we have known
The Saviour's great name,
In this our strong tower
For safety we hide,
Almighty His power,
The Lord will provide.

8.7.8.7.7.7.

357 Neither shall any man pluck them

1

out of My hand.-John 10, 28. LOUDS and darkness round about Thee

CLOUDE

For a season veil Thy face;

Still I trust and cannot doubt Thee
Jesus! full of truth and grace;
Besting on Thy word I stand,
None shall pluck me from Thy hand.

2 O rebuke me not in anger!

Suffer not my faith to fail!

Let not pain, temptation, languor, O'er my struggling heart prevail; Holding fast Thy word I stand, None shall pluck me from Thy hand 3 In my heart Thy word I cherish, Though unseen, Thou still art near, Since Thy sheep shall never perish, What have I to do with fear? Trusting in Thy word I stand, None shall pluck me from Thy hand. L.M.

358 48 thy days, so shall thy strength

be.-Deut. 33, 25.

1 AFFLICTED saint, toChrist draw near,

Thy Saviour's gracious promise His faithful word declares to thee [hear; That, as thy day thy strength shall be. 2 Thy faith is weak, thy foes are strong, And if the conflict should be long, The Lord will make the tempter flee; For. as thy day, thy strength shall be. 3 Should persecution rage and flame, Still trust in thy Redeemer's name; In fiery trials thou shalt see

That, as thy day, thy strength shall be.

4 When called to bear the weighty cross Of sore affliction, pain, or loss, Or deep distress or poverty

Still, as thy day, thy strength shall be. 5 When ghastly death appears in view, Christ's presence shall thy fears subdue; He comes to set thy spirit free, And, as thy day, thy strength shall be.

E'en when He hides His face!
He trusts in our Redeemer's hands
His glory and His grace.

? Then why, my soul, these sad com-
Since Christ and we are one? [plaints,
Thy God is faithful to His saints,
Is faithful to His Son.

3 Beneath His smiles my heart has lived, And part of heaven possest:

I praise His name for grace received,
And trust Him for the rest.

THE MORTAL DESTINY
OF MAN.

C.M.

360 48 for man, his days are as grass.

Ps. 103, 15.

1 LET others boast how strong they be,

Nor death nor danger fear:

But we confess, O Lord, to Thee,
What feeble things we are.

2 Fresh as the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay;

A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.

3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And fails if one be wrong:

Strange that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long.

4 But tis our God supports our frame.
Who reared us from the dust:
Hosanna! to the Almighty name,
In Him is all our trust.

C.M.

361 We spend our years as a tale that

1

is told.-Ps. 90, 9.

Our days glide smoothly on;

UR years in quick succession rise,

The flight of time-so swift it flies-
Is unperceived till gone.

2 On rapid wing, concealed from view,
Death brings our blest discharge;
Cuts the fine silver cord in two,
And sets the mind at large.

3 0 what enlargement!-who can tell
The o'erwhelming glory given,
When once the soul has burst its cell,
And finds itself in heaven?

S.M.

362 Ye know not what shall be on the

1 T

morrow.-James 4, 14.

NO-MORROW, Lord, is Thine,
Lodged in Thy sovereign hand;

And if its sun arise and shine,
It shines by Thy command.

2 The present moment flies,
And bears our life away;

O make Thy servants truly wise,
That they may live to-day.
Since on this winged hour
Eternity is hung,

Waken by Thine almighty power
The aged and the young.

One thing demands our care;
O be it still pursued:

Lest, slighted once, the season fair

Should never be renewed.

To Jesus may we fly

Swift as the morning light,

Lest life's young golden beams should

die

In sudden endless night.

L.M.

363 But the dead know not any thing.

1

-Eccl. 9, 5.

IFE is the time to serve the Lord,

1L This time to insure the great re

ward;

And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.

2 Life is the hour that God has given
To escape from hell, and fly to heaven:
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.

3 The living know that they must die,
But all the dead forgotten hie;
Their hatred and their love are lost,
Their envy buried in the dust.

4 Then what my thoughts design to do,
My hands, with all your might pursue;
Since no device nor work is found,
Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground.
5 There are no acts of pardon passed
In the cold grave to which we haste:
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there.

364

L.M.

Redeeming the time.-Eph. 5, 16.

1 G Did infant time its being draw;

OD of eternity, from Thee

Moments and days, and months and years,

Revolve by Thine unvaried law.

2 Silent and slow they glide away, Steady and strong the current flows, Lost in eternity's wide sea,

The boundless gulf from whence it

rose.

3 With it the thoughtless sons of men Before the rapid stream are borne, On to that everlasting home

Whence not one soul can e'er return. 4 Great Source of wisdom! teach my

heart

To know the price of every hour;
That time may bear me on to joys
Beyond its measure, and its power.