HYMN 51. C. M.
The Christian's gratitude.
1 FOR mercies, countless as the sands,
Which daily I receive
From Jesus my Redeemer's hands,
My soul what cans't thou give?
2 Alas! from such a heart as mine,
What can I bring him forth?
My best is stained and dyed with sin,
My all is nothing worth.
3 Yet this acknowledgment I'll make
For all He has bestowed-
Salvation's sacred cup I'll take,
And call upon my God.
4 The best return for one like me,
So wretched, and so poor,
Is from his gifts to draw a plea,
And ask him still for more.
5 I cannot serve him as I ought,
No works have I to boast:
Yet would I glory in the thought,
That I shall owe him most.
HYMN 52. P. M.
For the Sacrament.
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 roamed 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.
3 The poor, and maimed, and blind are we,
Children of guilt and misery;
Extend to us thy healing power
In this thine own appointed hour,
For brief on earth may be our stay;
Turn not, O Lord! thy guests away.
For the propagation of the Gospel.
1 FROM Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error's chain!
2 What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Java's isle,
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile:
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strewn,
The heathen in his blindness
Bows down to wood and stone.
3 Can we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Can we to souls benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! oh salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim;
'Till each remotest nation
Has learned Messiah's name.
4 Waft, waft ye winds his story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
"Till like a sea of glory
It spreads from pole to pole:
'Till o'er our ransom'd nature
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign!
The difference between earth and heaven.
1 FROM nature's bondage freed,
By the Redeemer's grace,
A rough and thorny path we tread,
In hopes to see his face.
The promised land of peace,
Faith keeps in constant view,
How different from the wilderness,
We now are passing through !
Here, often from our eyes
Clouds hide the light divine;
There, we shall have unclouded skies,
Our sun will always shine.
4 Here, griefs, and cares, and pains, And fears distress us sore;
But there, eternal pleasure reigns,
And we shall weep no more.
Lord, pardon our complaints,
We follow at thy call;
The joy prepared for ransomed saints,
Will make amends for all.
HYMN 55. c. M.
For God's help and guidance.
1 FROM the first dawn of early life
Thy goodness we have shared,
And still we live to sing thy praise
By sovereign mercy spared.
2 To seek thy grace, to do thy will,
O Lord our hearts incline;
And o'er the paths of future life
Command thy light to shine.
3 While met to learn the word of truth,
May we that word receive,
And when we hear of Jesus' name,
In that blest name believe.
4 Let not our feet incline to tread
Sin's broad destructive road;
But trace those holy paths which lead
To glory, and to God.
HYMN 56. C. M.
Thanksgiving for a good harvest.
1 FOUNTAIN of mercy! God of Love!
How rich thy bounties are!
The rolling seasons, as they move
Proclaim thy constant care.
2 When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness marked its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.
3 The spring's sweet influence, Lord, was thine;
The plants in beauty grew;
Thou gav'st the summer's sun to shine,
The mild refreshing dew.
4 These various mercies from above
Matured the swelling grain;
A kindly harvest crowns thy love,
And plenty fills the plain.
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