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Hymns.

I.

"Abide with us."

ABIDE with me: fast falls the eventide ;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see :
O Thou, Who changest not, abide with me!

Thou on my heart in early youth didst smile;
And, tho' rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee:
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!

I need Thy presence every passing hour:
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me!

I fear no foe with Thee at hand to bless ;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting, where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy Cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows

flee :

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

Amen.

Lyte.

II.

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

ART thou weary, art thou languid,

Art thou sore distrest?

'Come to Me,' saith One, and coming,
'Be at rest.'

Hath He marks to lead me to Him,

If He be my Guide?

'In His Feet and Hands are wound-prints,
'And His Side.'

Is there [crown of royal splendour]
That His Brow adorns?
'Yea, a crown, in very surety,
'But of thorns!'

If I find Him, if I follow,
What [my portion] here?
'Many a sorrow, many a labour,
'Many a tear.'

If I still hold closely to Him,
What hath He at last?
'Sorrow vanquish'd, labour ended,
'Jordan past!'

If I ask Him to receive me

Will He say me nay?

'Not till earth, and not till heaven
'Pass away!'

Finding, following, keeping, struggling,
Is He sure to bless?

Angels, martyrs, prophets, virgins,

Answer 'Yes!"

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III.

"The great day of His wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?"

DAY of wrath! O day of mourning!
See once more the Cross returning!
Heaven and earth to ashes burning!

Oh! what fear the sinner rendeth,
When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On Whose sentence all dependeth!

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
Through earth's sepulchres it ringeth;
All before the Throne it bringeth!

Lo! the Book, exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded;
Thence shall judgment be awarded.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?
Who for me be interceding,

When the just are mercy needing?

King of majesty tremendous,
Who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us.

Faint and weary Thou hast sought me,
On the Cross of suffering bought me ;
Shall such grace in vain be brought me ?

Guilty now I pour my moaning,
All my shame with anguish owning;
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning.

'Thou the sinful woman savedst;
Thou the dying thief forgavest;
And to me a hope vouchsafest.

Low I kneel, with heart submission
See, like ashes, my contrition;
Help me, in my lost condition

Oh! that day of tears and mourning!
From the dust of earth returning
Man for judgment must prepare him ;
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him!

Lord, all-pitying Jesu blest,
Grant us Thine eternal rest.

Amen.
Latin, tr. Irons.

IV.

"Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness."

FOR mercy, Lord, I cry,
'Tis all I ask of Thee;
For mercy, ere I die,
Sweet mercy, Lord, for me.

I look on days gone by,—
The sky was sunny bright,
My sea was calm, and I
Sat still from morn till night.

I then too oft forgat
That other days must come,
Nor thought, while thus I sat,
That this was not my home.

But sorrow came, and grief,
And sickness hard to bear,
And pain without relief;
Till care was heap'd on care.

And thus a change came o'er
My spirit's idle dream;
I scann'd the distant shore,
And caught a brighter gleam :

I saw that these were sent,
As silver's tried by fire,
To teach that life is lent
To raise the spirit higher.

But still I'm onward borne,
And storms are gathering fast;
By every wild wind torn,
My sails must rend at last.

Yet brighter glows the sky,
As slowly sinks my sun;
For tho' the waves beat high,
The shore seems almost won,—

That happy tearless shore

Which girds God's throne in heaven, Where sorrow's known no more,

Nor sin, to be forgiven.

For mercy, then, I cry, 'Tis all I ask of Thee; For mercy, ere I die,

Sweet mercy, Lord, for me.

G. Thring.

V.

"The city of the living God."

FOR thee, O dear dear Country,

Mine eyes their vigils keep;

For very love, beholding

Thy happy name, they weep.

The mention of thy glory

Is unction to the breast,

And medicine in sickness,
And love, and life, and rest.

O [House of many mansions !]
O Paradise of joy!

Where tears are ever banished,
And smiles have no alloy.

With jaspers glow thy bulwarks;
Thy streets with emeralds blaze;
The Sardius and the Topaz
Unite in thee their rays.

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