Christ's Example of Love to Enemies.
1 ALOUD we sing the wondrous grace Christ to his foes did bear;
Which made the torturing cross its throne
And hung its trophies there.
2 Father, forgive!' his mercy cried,
With his expiring breath,
And drew eternal blessings down
On those who wrought his death.
3 Jesus, this wondrous love we sing,
And, whilst we sing, admire;
Breathe on our souls, and kindle there
The same celestial fire.
4 Swayed by thy blest example, we
For enemies will pray;
With love, their hatred-and their curse
With blessings, will repay.
Christ's Example and Support in all Trials.
1 When gathering clouds around I view,
And days are dark, and friends are few,
On Him I lean, who not in vain
Experienced every human pain;
He sees my wants, allays my fears,
And counts and treasures up my tears.
2 If aught should tempt my soul to stray
From heavenly virtue's narrow way,—
To fly the good I would pursue,
Or do the sin I would not do,—
Still, he who felt temptation's power
Shall guard me in that dangerous hour.
3 If wounded love my bosom swell,
Deceived by those I prized too well,
He shall his pitying aid bestow,
Who felt on earth severer woe:
At once betrayed, denied, or fled,
By all that shared his daily bread.
4 When sorrowing o'er some stone I bend,
Which covers all that was a friend,
And from his voice, his hand, his smile,
Divides me for a little while,—
Thou, Savior, seest the tears I shed,
For thou didst weep o'er Lazarus dead.
5 And O, when I have safely past
Through every conflict but the last,
Still, still unchanging, watch beside
My dying bed, for thou hast died;
And point to realms of cloudless day,
And wipe the latest tear away.
The Law and the Gospel.
1 THE law by Moses came;
But peace and truth and love
Were brought by Christ, a nobler name,
Descending from above.
2 Amidst the house of God
Their different works were done; Moses a faithful servant stood,
But Christ a faithful Son.
3 Then to his new commands
Be strict obedience paid;
O'er all his Father's house he stands
The sovereign and the head.
4 The man that durst despise
The law that Moses brought,
Behold! how terribly he dies
For his presumptuous fault.
5 But sorer vengeance falls
On that rebellious race
Who hate to hear when Jesus calls,
And dare resist his grace.
1 NOT to the terrors of the Lord,
The tempest, fire, and smoke,-
Not to the thunder of that word
Which God on Sinai spoke;
2 But we are come to Sion's hill,
The city of our God,
Where milder words declare his will,
And spread his love abroad.
3 Behold th' innumerable host
Of angels clothed in light!
Behold the spirits of the just,
Whose faith is turned to sight!
4 Behold the blest assembly there,
Whose names are writ in heaven;
And God, the judge of all, declares
Their vilest sins forgiven.
5 The saints on earth, and all the dead,
But one communion make;
All join in Christ, their living head,
And of his grace partake.
6 In such society as this
My weary soul would rest;
The man that dwells where Jesus is,
Must be forever blest.
The Voice of Sinai and Zion.
1 THE God who once to Israel spoke
From Sinai's top in fire and smoke,
In gentler strains of gospel grace
Invites us now to seek his face.
2 He wears no terrors on his brow;
He speaks in love from Zion now:
It is the voice of Jesus' blood
That calls us, wanderers, back to God.
3 His servant Moses quaked and feared,
When Sinai's thundering law he heard;
But gospel grace, with accents mild,
Speaks to the sinner as a child.
4 What other arguments can move
The heart that slights a Savior's love?
O may that heavenly power be felt,
And cause the stony heart to melt!
Blessedness of the Gospel. Ps. 89.
1 BLEST are the souls that hear and know
The gospel's joyful sound;
Peace shall attend the paths they go,
And light their steps surround.
2 Their joy shall bear their spirits up
Through their Redeemer's name;
His righteousness exalts their hope,
Nor Satan dares condemn.
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