Christ our Pattern.
AND is the Gospel peace and love?
Such let our conversation be;
The serpent blended with the dove,
Wisdom and meek simplicity.
Whene'er the angry passions rise,
And tempt our thoughts or tongues to strife,
To Jesus let us lift our eyes,
Bright pattern of the christian life!
O how benevolent and kind!
How mild! how ready to forgive!
Be this the temper of our mind,
And these the rules by which we live.
To do his heav'nly Fathers will,
Was his employment and delight;
Humility and holy zeal
Shone thro his life divinely bright!
Dispensing good where'er he came,
The labours of his life were love;
O, if we love the Saviour's name,
Let his divine example move.
But ah how blind! how weak we are!
How frail! how apt to turn aside!
Lord, we depend upon thy care,
And ask thy Spirit for our guide.
Thy fair example may we trace,
To teach us what we ought to be;
Make us by thy transforming grace,
Dear Saviour, daily more like thee.
Christ the Way to Peace.
JESUS, my all, to heav'n is gone,
He whom I fix my hopes upon;
His track I see, and I'll pursue
The narrow way, 'till him I view.
The way the holy prophets went;
The road that leads from banishment;
The king's highway of holiness
I'll go, for all his paths are peace.
To thee I fly, and thou, blest Lamb,
Shalt take me to thee as I am:
Nothing but sin I thee can give,
Nothing but love shall I receive.
Now will I tell to sinners round
What a dear Saviour I have found;
I'll point to thy redeeming blood,
And
say, 'Behold the way to God.'
112. All fulness in Christ.
A FULNESS resides
In Jesus our head,
And ever abides
To answer our need;
The Father's good pleasure
Has laid up in store,
A plentiful treasure
To give to the poor.
What e'er be our wants,
We need not to fear;
His fulness shall yield us Abundant supplies; His power shall shield us When dangers arise. The fountain o'erflows Our woes to redress, Still more he bestows,
grace upon grace:
His gifts in abundance
We daily receive;
He has a redundance
For all that believe,
Whatever distress
Awaits us below,
Such plentiful grace
Will Jesus bestow,
As still shall support us,
And silence our fear;
For nothing can hurt us
While Jesus is near.
When troubles attend,
Or danger or strife,
His love will defend
And guard us thro' life;
And when we are fainting,
And ready to die,
Whatever is wanting,
His hand will supply.
113. Christ's Loving-kindness. AWAKE, my soul, in joyful lays, And sing thy great Redeemer's praise; He justly claims a song from me, His loving-kindness, O how free! He saw me ruin'd in the fall, Yet lov'd me, notwithstanding all; He sav'd me from my lost estate, His loving-kindness, O how great! Tho' numerous hosts of mighty foes, Tho' earth and hell my way oppose, He safely leads my soul along, His loving-kindness, O how strong! When trouble like a gloomy cloud, Has gather d thick, and thunder'd loud, He near my soul has always stood, His loving-kindness, O how good! Often I feel my sinful heart, Prone from my Jesus to depart; But tho' I have him oft forgot, His loving-kindness changes not. Soon shall I pass the gloomy vale, Soon all my mortal powers must fail; O may my last expiring breath His loving-kindness sing in death! Then let me mount and soar away, To the bright world of endless day, And sing with rapture and surprise His loving-kindness in the skies.
AWAKE, my heart, awake my tongue,
The Saviour's love shall swell my song;
Angels shall hear the notes I raise,
Approve the song, and join the praise.
To thee I cry'd when trouble rose,
Tho faithful arm subdu'd my foes;
Thou didst my rising fears controul,
And strength diffuse thro' all my soul.
Amidst a thousand snares I stand,
Upheld and guarded by thy hand;
Thy words my fainting soul revive,
And keep my dying faith alive.
Grace will complete what grace begins,
To save from sorrows or from sins;
The work that wisdom undertakes,
Eternal mercy ne'er forsakes.
115. Christ All in All.
BLESS the Lord, my soul, and raise
A glad and grateful song
To my dear Redeemer's praise;
For I to him belong.
He my goodness, strength, and God,
In whom I live, and move, and am,
Paid my ransom with his blood:
My portion is the Lamb.
Tho' temptations seldom cease;
Tho' frequent griefs I feel;
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