LORD, Thou art my Rock of strength,
And my home is in Thine arms;
Thou wilt send me help at length,

And I feel no wild alarms.
Sin nor death can pierce the shield
Thy defence has o'er me thrown;
Up to Thee myself I yield,

And my sorrows are Thine own.

2 When my trials tarry long,

Unto Thee I look and wait, Knowing none, though keen and strong, Can my trust in Thee abate.

CYPRUS 7s.

And this faith I long have nursed
Comes alone, O God, from Thee;
Thou my heart didst open first,
Thou didst set this hope in me.

3 Let Thy mercy's wings be spread
O'er me, keep me close to Thee;
In the peace Thy love doth shed
Let me dwell eternally.
Be my all; in all I do,

Let me only seek Thy will.
Where the heart to Thee is true,
All is peaceful, calm and still.

August Hermann Franke 1711 Tr. by Catherine Winkworth 1855

F. MENDELSSOHN

471

EVERLASTING arms of love
Are beneath, around, above;
He who left His throne of light,
And unnumbered angels bright;—

2 He who on the accursed tree
Gave His precious life for me;-
He it is that bears me on,
His the arm I lean upon.

3 All things hasten to decay,
Earth and sea will pass away;
Soon will yonder circling sun
Cease his blazing course to run.

4 Scenes will vary, friends grow strange, But the Changeless cannot change: Gladly will I journey on,

With His arm to lean upon.

John Ross Macduff 1851

THINE for ever! God of love,
Hear us from Thy throne above;
Thine for ever may we be,
Here and in eternity.

2 Thine for ever! Lord of life,
Shield us through our earthly strife;
Thou, the Life, the Truth, the Way,
Guide us to the realms of day.
3 Thine for ever! Saviour, keep
These Thy frail and trembling sheep;
Safe alone beneath Thy care,
Let us all Thy goodness share.

4 Thine for ever! Thou our Guide,
All our wants by Thee supplied,
All our sins by Thee forgiven,
Lead us, Lord, from earth to heaven.
Mary Fawler Maude 1848

474

To Thy pastures fair and large,
Heavenly Shepherd, lead Thy charge,
And my couch, with tenderest care,
Mid the springing grass prepare.

2 When I faint with summer's heat
Thou shalt guide my weary feet
To the streams that, still and slow,
Through the verdant meadows flow.
3 Safe the dreary vale I tread,
By the shades of death o'erspread,
With Thy rod and staff supplied,
This my guard, and that my guide.
4 Constant to my latest end,
Thou my footsteps shalt attend;
And shalt bid Thy hallowed dome
Yield me an eternal home.

James Merrick 1765

DISCIPLE 8s, 7s. D.

W. A. MOZART

JESUS, I my cross have taken,

All to leave, and follow Thee; Destitute, despised, forsaken,

Thou, from hence, my all shalt be: Perish, every fond ambition,

All I've sought, and hoped, and known; Yet how rich is my condition,

God and heaven are still my own! 2 Let the world despise and leave me, They have left my Saviour, too; Human hearts and looks deceive me, Thou art not, like man, untrue; And while Thou shalt smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, Foes may hate, and friends may shun me, Show Thy face and all is bright.

BARTIMEUS 8s, 7s.

3 Go then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come disaster, scorn, and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure;
With Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, Abba, Father;
I have stayed my heart on Thee:
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
All must work for good to me.

4 Man may trouble and distress me,

"Twill but drive me to Thy breast; Life with trials hard may press me,

Heaven will bring me sweeter 1 est. O'tis not in grief to harm me,

While Thy love is left to me; O'twere not in joy to charm me, Were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Henry Francis Lyte 1825

S. JENKS

ADMASTON 8s, 7s. D.

H. SMART

478

THINE for ever, Thine for ever!
May Thy face upon us shine.
Help, O help our weak endeavor,
Lord, for ever to be Thine.
2 Thine for ever, Thine for ever!
Thine for ever may we be:
May no sin nor sorrow sever

Us from union, Lord, with Thee.

3 Thine for ever, Thine for ever!
Armed with faith, and strong in Thee,
Ever fighting, fainting never,
May we march to victory!

4 Daily in the grace increasing
Of Thy Spirit, more and more,
Watching, praying without ceasing,
May we reach the heavenly shore!

Christopher Wordsworth 1860

My blest atonement prove,

That I, from first to last, may be

The purchase of Thy love.

To Thee be ever given;

Then life shall be Thy service, Lord!

And death the gate of heaven.

The eye of faith is dim;

But it's enough that Christ knows all, And I shall be with Him.

Matthew Bridges 1848

TRUST 8s, 6.

Richard Baxter 1681 G. W. TORRANCE

481

O HOLY Saviour, Friend unseen,
The faint, the weak on Thee may lean,
Help me throughout life's varying scene,
By faith to cling to Thee.

2 What though the world deceitful prove, And earthly friends and joys remove? With patient, uncomplaining love

Still would I cling to Thee,

3 Though faith and hope awhile be tried,

I ask not, need not aught beside:
How safe, how calm, how satisfied,
The souls that cling to Thee.

4 Blest is my lot whate'er befall;
What can disturb me, who appall,
While, as my strength, my rock, my all,
Saviour, I cling to Thee?

Charlotte Elliott 1834