7 O yes! we have got but to send On the Cross, as we left Him before, Nay, His love and His mercy look more. 9 We will back with our hearts in our hands- 63. Distractions in Prayer. 1 AH! dearest Lord! I cannot pray, My fancy is not free; Unmannerly distractions come, And force my thoughts from Thee. 2 I cannot pray; yet, Lord! Thou know'st To have my vainly struggling thoughts 3 Ah! Jesus! teach me how to prize 4 Had I kept stricter watch each hour Each joy as it came near, 5 Had I, dear Lord! no pleasure found But in the thought of Thee, Prayer would have come unsought, and been A truer liberty. 6 Yet Thou art oft most present, Lord! A sinner out of heart with self 7 And prayer that humbles sets the soul And teaches it how utterly, Dear Lord! it hangs on Thee. 64. The Work of Grace. 1 How the light of Heaven is stealing, 3 See the tears, the blessed trouble, Doubts and fears, and hopes and smiles! 4 Now the light is growing brighter, 5 Now upon the favourite passion For singing, "See how grace its way doth feel. And the lights of world and fashion 6 What was sweet hath now grown bitter, 7 See! more light! the spirit tingles 8 Free! free! the joyous light of heaven 65. A good Confession. 1 THE chains that have bound me are flung to the wind, By the mercy of God the poor slave is set free; And the strong grace of heaven breathes fresh o'er the mind, Like the bright winds of summer that gladden the sea. 2 There was nought in God's world half so dark or so vile As the sin and the bondage that fettered my soul; There was nought half so base as the malice and guile Of my own sordid passions, or Satan's control. 3 For years I have borne about hell in my breast, When I thought of my God it was nothing but gloom; Day brought me no pleasure, night gave me no rest, There was still the grim shadow of horrible doom. 4 It seemed as if nothing less likely could be Than that light should break in on a dungeon so deep; To create a new world was less hard than to free The slave from his bondage, the soul from its sleep. 5 But the word had gone forth, and said, Let there be light, And it flashed through my soul like a sharp passing smart; One look to my Saviour, and all the dark night, Like a dream scarce remembered was gone from my heart. 6 I cried out for mercy, and fell on my knees, And confessed, while my heart with keen sorrow was wrung; 'Twas the labour of minutes, and years of disease Fell as fast from my soul as the words from my tongue. 7 And now-blest be God and the sweet Lord who died! No deer on the mountain, no bird in the sky, No bright wave that leaps on the dark bounding tide, Is a creature so free or so happy as I. 8 All hail, then, all hail, to the dear Precious Blood That hath worked these sweet wonders of mercy in me; May each day countless numbers throng down to its flood, And God have His glory, and sinners go free. 66. The Remembrance of Mercy. 1 WHY art thou sorrowful, servant of God? And what is this dulness that hangs o'er thee now? Sing the praises of Jesus, and sing them aloud, And the song shall dispel the dark cloud from thy brow. 2 O is there a thought in the wide world so sweet As that God has so cared for us, bad as we are, That He thinks of us, plans for us, stoops to entreat, And follows us, wander we ever so far? 3 Then how can the heart e'er be drooping or sad That God hath once touched with the light of His grace? Can the child have a doubt who but lately hath laid Himself to repose in his father's embrace? 4 And is it not wonderful, servant of God! That He should have honoured us so with His love, That the sorrows of life should but shorten the road That leads to Himself and the mansion above? 5 O then when the spirit of darkness comes down With clouds and uncertainties into thy heart, One look to thy Saviour, one thought of thy crown, And the tempest is over, the shadows depart. |