4 O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near and like my God;
And flesh and sin no more control I
The sacred pleasures of my soul.

5 My flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chain with sweet sur-
And in my Saviour's image rise. [prise,

L.M.

595 Strangers and pilgrims.-1 Pet.

1

2, 11.

let our souls, on wings sub

Now lime,

Rise from the vanities of time,

Draw back the parting veil, and see
The glories of eternity.

2 Born by a new celestial birth,

Why should we grovel here on earth?
Why grasp at transitory toys,
So near to heaven's eternal joys?
3 Shall aught beguile us on the road
When we are walking back to God?
For strangers into life we come,
And dying is but going home.

4 Welcome, sweet hour of full discharge,
That sets our longing souls at large;
Unbinds our chains, breaks up our cell,
And gives us with our God to dwell.
5 To dwell with God, to feel His love,
Is the full heaven enjoyed above;
And the sweet expectation now;
Is the fair dawn of heaven below.

C.M.

596 4 far more exceeding and eternal

1 M

weight of glory.-2 Cor. 4, 17.

Y thoughts surmount these lower
And look within the veil; [skies,
There springs of endless pleasure rise,
And joys that never fail.

There I behold, with sweet delight,
The blessed Three in One:

And strong affections fix my sight

On God's incarnate Son.

3 His promise stands for ever firm,
His grace shall ne'er depart;
He binds my name upon His arm,
And seals it on His heart.

4 Light are the pains that nature brings:
How short our sorrows are,
When with eternal future things
The present we compare!

5 I would not be a stranger still
To that celestial place,
Where I for ever hope to dwell
Near my Redeemer's face.
C.M.

597 I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory.

-Ex. 33, 18.

ATHER, I long, I faint to see

The place of Thine abode;

To leave Thine earthly courts and flee
Up to Thy seat, my God!

2 Here I behold Thy distant face,
And tis a pleasing sight;
But to abide in Thine embrace
Is infinite delight.

3 I'd part with all the joys of sense
To gaze upon Thy throne;
Pleasures spring fresh for ever thence,
Unspeakable, unknown.

4 There all the heavenly hosts are seen,
In shining ranks they move;
And drink immortal vigour in,

With wonder and with love."

5 There would I vie with all the host
In duty and in bliss;

While less than nothing I would boast,
And vanity confess.

6 The more Thy glories strike mine eyes, The humbler I shall lie;

Thus, while I sink, my joys shall rise
Unmeasurably high.

S.M.

598 In my Father's house are many

mansions.-John 14, 2.

1 HAVE a home above,

From sin and sorrow free

2

3

4

A mansion which eternal love
Designed and formed for me.
My Father's gracious hand
Has built this sweet abode;
From everlasting it was planned
My dwelling-place with God.
My Saviour's precious blood
Has made my title sure:

[flood,

He passed through death's dark raging

To make my rest secure.
The Comforter is come,

The earnest has been given;

He leads me onward to the home
Reserved for me in heaven.

Bright angels guard my way;
His ministers of power,

Encamping round me night and day,
Preserve in danger's hour.

Loved ones are gone before,
Whose pilgrim days are done;
I soon shall greet them on that shore,
Where partings are unknown.

But more than all I long

His glories to behold,

Whose smile fills all that radiant throng

With ecstacy untold.

That bright, yet tender smile

My sweetest welcome there

Shall cheer me through the "little while"

I tarry for Him here.

5

Thy love, Thou precious Lord,

My joy and strength shall be;

[word

Till Thou shalt speak the gladdening

That bids me rise to Thee.

And then through endless days,
Where all Thy glories shine,

In happier, holier strains I'll praise
The grace that made me Thine.

7.6.7.6.7.7.7.6.

599 Seek those things which are above.

-Col. 3, 1.

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, new-born of God,
Pants to view His glorious face,
Upward tends to His abode,
To rest in His embrace.

3 Cease, ye pilgrims, cease to mourn,
Press onward to the prize;
Soon your Saviour will return
Triumphant in the skies:
Yet a season, and you know
Happy entrance will be given,
All your sorrows left below,
And earth exchanged for heaven.

1

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:

VICTORY OVER DEATH.

C.M.

600 Blessed are the dead which die in

the Lord.-Rev. 14, 13.

HEAR what the voice from heaven

proclaims

For all the pious dead;

Sweet is the savour of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.

2 They sleep in Jesus and are blest:
How soft their slumbers are!
From sufferings and from sin releast,
And freed from every snare.

3 Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord;
The labours of their mortal life
End in a large reward.

C.M.

601 An inheritance incorruptible, and

1

undefiled.-1 Pet. 1, 4.1

BLEST be the Everlasting God,
The Father of our Lord;

Be His abounding mercy praised,

His majesty adored.

2 When from the dead he raised His Son And called Him to the sky,

He gave our souls a lively hope
That they should never die.

3 What though our inbred sins require
Our flesh to see the dust;
Yet as the Lord our Saviour rose,
So all His followers must.

4 There's an inheritance divine
Reserved against that day;
Tis uncorrupted, undefiled,
And cannot fade away.

5 Saints by the power of God are kept
Till the salvation come:

We walk by faith, as strangers here,
Till Christ shall call us home.

C.M.

602 The victory through our Lord

1

Jesus Christ.-1 Cor. 15, 57.
FOR an overcoming faith,
To cheer my dying hours;

To triumph o'er the monster, Death,
And all his frightful powers!

2 Joyful with all the strength I have,
My quivering lips shall sing,
Where is thy boasted victory, Grave?
And where, O Death! thy sting?

3 If sin be pardoned, I'm secure;
Death has no sting beside:
The Law gives sin its damning power,
But Christ my ransom died.

4 Now to the God of victory
Immortal thanks be paid,

Who makes us conquerors while we die,

Through Christ our living Head.