397

C. M.

PARADISE ST. COL. The Benefit of Affliction. 1 O GOD, to thee my sinking soul

In deep distress doth fly;
Thy love can all my griefs control,

And all my wants supply.
2 How oft, when black misfortune's band

Around their victim stood,
The seeming ill, at thy command,

Hath changed to real good!
3 The tempest that obscured the sky,

Hath set my bosom free
From earthly care and sensual joy,

And turned my thoughts to thee.
4 Affliction's blast hath made me learn

To feel for others' woe,
And humbly seek, with deep concern,

My own defects to know.
5 Then rage, ye storms! ye billows, roar !

My heart defies your shock;
Ye make me cling to God the more

To God, my sheltering Rock.

398
C. M.

MERRICK.
Acquiescence in the divine Will.
1 AUTHOR of good, we rest on thee;

Thine ever-watchful eye Alone our real wants can see,

Thy hand alone supply.

2 In thine all-gracious providence

Our cheerful hopes confide ;
O, let thy power be our defence,

Thy love our footsteps guide. 3 And since, by passion's force subdued,

Too oft, with stubborn will,
We biindly shun the latent good,
And

grasp the specious ill, 4 Not what we wish, but what we want,

Let mercy still supply;
The good unasked, O Father, grant;

The ill, though asked, deny.

399
L. M.

NORTON. Trust and Submission. 1 MY God, I thank thee; may no thought

E’er deem thy chastisements severe ; But may this heart, by sorrow taught,

Calm each wild wish, each idle fear. 2 Thy mercy bids all nature bloom;

The sun shines bright, and man is gay; Thine equal mercy spreads the gloom

That darkens o'er his little day. 3 Full many a throb of grief and pain

Thy frail and erring child must know; But not one prayer is breathed in vain,

Nor does one tear unheeded flow. 4 Thy various messengers employ;

Thy purposes of love fulfil;
And, mid the wreck of human joy,

Let kneeling faith adore thy will.

400
S. M.

CowPER. Submission. 1 O LORD, my best desire fulfil,

And help me to resign
Life, health, and comfort to thy will,

And make thy pleasure mine.
2 Why should I shrink at thy command,

Whose love forbids my fears ?
Or tremble at the gracious hand

That wipes away my tears ? 3 No, rather let me freely yield

What most I prize to thee,
Who never hast a good withheld,

Or wilt withhold, from me.
4 Wisdom and mercy guide my way;

Shall I resist them both ?
A

poor, blind creature of a day,

And crushed before the moth! 5 But, ah! my inward spirit cries,

Still bind me to thy sway;
Else the next cloud that veils the skies

Drives all these thoughts away.

401

C. M.

TOPLADY's Cor. Habitual Resignation. 1 WITH God my Friend, the radiant sun

Sheds a more lively ray ;
Each object smiles; all nature charms;
I chase my cares away.

2 Good when he gives, supremely good,

Nor less when he denies,
Afflictions from his gracious hand

Are blessings in disguise.
3 I cannot doubt his bounteous love,

Immeasurably kind;
To his unerring, gracious will

Be every wish resigned.

402

L. M.

Watts.

God dwells with the Humble and Penitent.

1 THUS saith the high and lofty One:

“I sit upon my holy throne;
My name is God; I dwell on high-

Dwell in my own eternity.
2 "But I descend to worlds below;

On earth I have a mansion too;
The humble spirit and contrite

Is an abode of my delight.
3 “The humble soul my words revive;

I bid the mourning sinner live,
Heal all the broken hearts I find,

And ease the sorrows of the mind."
4 O, may thy pardoning grace be nigh,

Lest we should faint, despair, and die;
Thus shall our better thoughts approve
The methods of thy chastening love.

318

403
L. M.

Watts. The Penitent pardoned. 1 LO, from the everlasting skies,

Gently as morning dews distil, The Dove immortal downward flies,

With peaceful olive in his bill. 2 How sweet the voice of pardon sounds!

Sweet the relief to deep distress!
I feel the balm that heals my wounds,

And all my powers adore the grace.

404
S. M.

WATTS. Forgiveness of Sin on Confession. Ps. 32. 1 0, BLESSED souls are they

Whose sins are covered o’er!
Divinely blest to whom the Lord

Imputes their guilt no more ! 2 They mourn their follies past,

And keep their hearts with care ;
Their lips and lives without deceit

Shall prove their faith sincere. 3 While I concealed my guilt,

I felt the festering wound,
Till I confessed my sins to thee,

And ready pardon found. 4 Let sinners learn to pray;

Let saints keep near the throne;
Our help in times of deep distress

Is found in God alone.