And there the heralds of thy word
Of all thy mercies tell.
2 There, in thy pure and cleansing fount,
Washed from each guilty stain,
Our souls on wings of faith shall mount
To heaven's eternal fane.
3 Around thine altar we will kneel In penitence sincere,
A Saviour's mercy deeply feel,
And words of pardon hear;
4 Or, mingling with the choral throng,
Our joyful voices raise,
And pour the full, melodious song,
In notes of grateful praise.
Time.*
[L. M.]
TUNE—“ Dunfield.”
1 TIME speeds away — away
Another hour another day-
Another month- another year -
Drop from us like the leaflets sear;
Drop like the life-blood from our hearts:
The rose-bloom from the cheek departs,
The tresses from the temples fall,
The eye grows dim and strange to all.
away;
2 Time speeds away — away-
Like torrent in a stormy day,
He undermines the stately tower,
Uproots the tree and snaps the flower;
And sweeps from our distracted breast
The friends that loved the friends that bless'd;
And leaves us weeping on the shore,
To which they can return no more.
away-away;
3 Time speeds away
No eagle through the skies of day,
No wind, along the hills can flee
So swiftly, or so smooth as he;
Like fiery steed - from stage to stage
He bears us on from youth to age;
Then plunges in a fearful sea
Of fathomless eternity.
THERE is a place of waveless rest,
Far, far beyond the skies,
Where beauty smiles eternally
And pleasure never dies;
My father's house, my heavenly home!
Where "many mansions" stand,
Prepared by hands divine, for all
Who seek" the better land."
2 When tossed upon the waves of life,
With fear on every side -
When fiercely howls the gathering storm,
And foams the angry tide;
Beyond the storm, beyond the gloom,
Breaks forth the light of morn,
Bright beaming from my Father's house,
To cheer the soul forlorn.
3 In that pure home of tearless joy,
Earth's parted friends shall meet,
With smiles of love that never fade,
And blessedness complete;
There, there adieus are sounds unknown,
Death frowns not on that scene,
But life, and glorious beauty, shine,
Untroubled and serene.
Mysteries of Providence.*
[C. M.]
TUNE- Arlington."
1 GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
2 Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.
3 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
4 His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
*For the theme of this fine hymn, see John xiii. 7.
5 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain :
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
[L. P. M.]
TUNE-" Hingham."
1 THE sky-lark, when the dews of morn
Hang tremulous on flower and thorn,
And violets round his nest exhale
Their fragrance on the early gale,
To the first sunbeam spreads his wings,
Buoyant with joy, and soars, and sings.
2 He rests not on the leafy spray,
To warble his exulting lay,
But high above the mountain cloud
Mounts in triumphant freedom proud,
And swells, when nearest to the sky,
His notes of sweetest ecstasy.
3 Thus, my Creator! thus the more
My spirit's wing to Thee can soar,
The more she triumphs to behold
Thy love in all thy works unfold,
And bids her hymns of rapture be
Most glad, when rising most to Thee.
MRS. F. HEMANS.
[8s & 7s.]
1 TELL me, wanderer! wildly roving
From the path that leads to peace,
―
Pleasure's false enchantments loving -
When will thy delusion cease?
2 Once, like thee, by joys surrounded,
I, too, knelt at pleasure's shrine;
Once, too, all my hopes were founded
In delights as false as thine!
3 Then
the moments flew unheeded,
As the wave that rolls along;
Soon as one bright hope succeeded,
Came another smiling on!
4 But those cloudless hours that blessed me,
Vanished as a dream when o'er;
And the world that once caressed me,
Charmed me with its smiles no more.
5 Such is pleasure's transient story!
Lasting happiness is known
Only in the path to glory!-
In the Saviour's love alone.
[11s & 8s.]
TUNE-" Ephesus."
1 THE gloom of the night adds a charm to the morn, Stern winter the spring-time endears,
And the darker the cloud on which it is drawn, The brighter the rainbow appears.
2 So trials and sorrows the Christian prepare,
For the rest that remaineth above;
On earth tribulation awaits him, but there
The smile of unchangeable love.
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