588.

C. M.

MERRICK'S COL.

Holy Resignation.

1 AUTHOR of good, to thee we turn:
Thine ever wakeful eye

Alone can all our wants discern,
Thy hand alone supply.

2 O, let thy love within us dwell,
Thy fear our footsteps guide;
That love shall vainer loves expel,
That fear all fears beside.

3 And, O, by error's force subdued,
Since oft, with stubborn will,
We blindly shun the latent good,
And grasp the specious ill, -

4 Not what we wish, but what we want,
Let mercy still supply:

The good we ask not, Father, grant;
The ill we ask, deny.

589.

C. M.

WATTS.

Holy Fear, and Tenderness of Conscience.

1 WITH my whole heart I've sought thy face; O, let me never stray

From thy commands, O God of grace,

Nor tread the sinner's way.

2 Thy word I've hid within my heart,
To keep my conscience clean,
And be an everlasting guard
From every rising sin.

3 I'm a companion of the saints,
Who fear and love the Lord;
My sorrows rise, my nature faints,
When men transgress thy word.

4 My heart with sacred reverence hears
The threatenings of thy word;
My flesh with holy trembling fears
The judgments of the Lord.

5 My God, I long, I hope, I wait,
For thy salvation still;

Thy holy law is my delight,
And I obey thy will.

590.

C. M.

Benefit of Affliction.

1 CONSIDER all my sorrows, Lord,
And thy deliverance send;
My soul for thy salvation faints;
When will my troubles end?

2 Yet I have found 'tis good for me
To bear my Father's rod;
Affliction made me learn thy law,
And live upon my God.

WATTS.

3 Had not thy word been my delight
When earthly joys were fled,
My soul, oppressed with sorrow's weight,
Had sunk among the dead.

4 Before I knew thy chastening rod,
My feet were apt to stray;
But now I learn to keep thy word,
Nor wander from thy way.

591.

C. M.

Thirsting after God.

1 WHEN fainting in the sultry waste,
And parched with thirst extreme,
The weary pilgrim longs to taste
The cool, refreshing stream.

2 So longs the weary, fainting mind,
Oppressed with sins and woes,
Some soul-reviving spring to find,
Whence heavenly comfort flows.

3 0, may I thirst for thee, my God,
With ardent, strong desire;

STEELE.

And still, through all this desert road,
To taste thy grace aspire.

4 Then shall my prayer to thee ascend,
A grateful sacrifice ;

My mourning voice thou wilt attend,
And grant me full supplies.

592.

C. M.

BURDER'S COL.

Rejoicing in Adversity.

1 WHAT though no flowers the fig-tree clothe, Though vines their fruit deny, The labor of the olive fail,

And fields no meat supply;—

2 Though from the fold, with sad surprise,
My flock cut off I see;

Though famine reign in empty stalls,
Where herds were wont to be;

3 Yet in the Lord will I be glad,
And glory in his love;

In him I'll joy, who will the God
Of my salvation prove.

4 God is the treasure of my soul,

The source of lasting joy —
A joy which want shall not impair,
Nor death itself destroy.

593.

C. M.

STEELE,

True Happiness to be found only in God.

1 IN vain I trace creation o'er,
In search of solid rest;

The whole creation is too poor

To make me truly blest.

2 Let earth and all her charms depart,
Unworthy of the mind;

In God alone this restless heart
Enduring bliss can find.

3 Thy favor, Lord, is all I want;
Here would my spirit rest:

O, seal the rich, the boundless grant,
And make me fully blest.

1 SOON as I heard my Father say,
"Ye children, seek my grace,'
My heart replied, without delay,
"I'll seek my Father's face."

WATTS.

2 Let not thy face be hid from me,
Nor frown my soul away;
God of my life, I fly to thee
In each distressing day.

3 Should friends and kindred, near and dear, Leave me to want, or die,

My God will make my life his care,
And all my need supply.

4 Wait on the Lord, ye trembling saints,
And keep your courage up;

He'll raise your spirit when it faints,
And far exceed your hope.

595.

C. M.

Asking Mercy in Affliction.

EDMESTON.

1 0 THOU whose mercy guides my way,

Though now it seem severe,
Forbid my unbelief to say

There is no mercy here.

2 O, grant me to desire the pain

That comes in kindness down,
More than the world's alluring gain
Succeeded by a frown.

3 Then, though thou bow my spirit low,
Love only shall I see;

The very hand that strikes the blow
Was wounded once for me.

Submission in Trials.

1 MY times of sorrow and of joy,

Great God, are in thy hand;

My choicest comforts come from thee,
And go at thy command.

2 If thou shouldst take them all away,
Yet would I not repine;
Before they were possessed by me,
They were entirely thine.

3 Nor would I drop a murmuring word,
Though all the world were gone,
But seek enduring happiness
In thee, and thee alone.

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 dark 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.

ANON.

SEARLE

The Promise of God sure.
1 HOW sweet on thy bosom to rest,
When nature's affliction is near!
The soul that can trust thee is blest;
Thy smiles bring me freedom from fear.
2 The Lord has in kindness declared

That those who will trust in his name
Shall in the sharp conflict be spared,
His mercy and love to proclaim.
3 This promise shall be to my soul
A messenger sent from the skies,
An anchor when billows shall roll,
A refuge when tempests arise.
4 O Saviour, the promise fulfil;
Its comfort impart to my mind;
Then calmly I'll bow to thy will,
To the cup of affliction resigned.