4 Jesus, the hindrance show,
Which I have feared to see;
Yet let me now consent to know
What keeps me back from Thee.
5 Searcher of hearts, in mine
Thy trying power display;
Into its darkest corners shine,
And take the veil away!
I Is this the kind return?
Are these the thanks we owe,
Thus to abuse eternal love,
Whence all our blessings flow?
2 To what a stubborn frame
Has sin reduced our mind!
What strange, rebellious wretches we!
And God as strangely kind.
3 Turn, turn us, mighty God,
And mould our souls afresh ;
Break, sovereign grace, these hearts of stone
And give us hearts of flesh.
4 Let past ingratitude
Provoke our weeping eyes,
And hourly, as new mercies fall,
Let hourly thanks arise.
1 LORD, at Thy mercy-seat
Humbly I fall;
Pleading Thy promise sweet,
Lord, hear my call;
Now let Thy work begin,
O make me pure within,
Cleanse me from every sin,
Jesus, my all.
2 Hark! how the words of love
Tenderly fall,
Ere to the realms above,
Heard is my call;
Now every doubt has flown,
Broken my heart of stone,
Lord, I am Thine alone,
Jesus, my all.
3 Still at Thy mercy-seat
Humbly I fall;
Pleading the promise sweet,
Heard is my call.
Faith wings my soul to Thee;
This all my hope shall be,
Jesus has died for me,
Jesus, my all.
I O LORD, turn not Thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life
With tears and bitter cry.
2 We need not to confess our fault,
For surely Thou canst tell:
What we have done, and what we are,
Thou knowest very well.
3 Wherefore to beg and to entreat
With tears we come to Thee,
As children that have done amiss
Fall at their father's knee.
4 And need we, then, O Lord, repeat
The blessing which we crave,
When Thou dost know, before we speak,
The thing that we would have.
5 Mercy, O Lord, mercy we ask,
This is the total sum;
For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer;
O let Thy mercy come!
J. MARDLEY AND R. HEBER.
I OPPRESSED with sin and woe,
A burdened heart I bear;
Opposed by many a mighty foe,
Yet will I not despair.
2 With this polluted heart
I dare to come to Thee,
Holy and mighty as Thou art,
For Thou wilt pardon me.
3 I feel that I am weak,
And prone to every sin;
But Thou who giv'st to those who seek,
Wilt give me strength within.
4 I need not fear my foes ;
I need not yield to care;
I need not sink beneath my woes,
For Thou wilt answer prayer.
5 In my Redeemer's name,
I give myself to Thee;
And, all unworthy as I am,
My God will welcome me.
I SHOW pity, Lord; O Lord, forgive;
Let a repenting rebel live;
Are not Thy mercies large and free?
May not a sinner trust in Thee?
2 My crimes, though great, cannot surpass
The power and glory of Thy grace;
Great God, Thy nature hath no bound;
So let Thy pardoning love be found.
3 O wash my soul from
And make my guilty conscience clean!
Here, on my heart, the burden lies,
And past offences pain mine eyes.
4 Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope, still hovering round Thy word,
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair.
I SINFUL, sighing to be blest,
Bound, and longing to be free;
Weary, waiting for my rest:
"God be merciful to me!
2 Holiness I've none to plead,
Sinfulness in all I see;
I can only bring my need:
"God be merciful to me !
3 Broken heart and downcast eyes
Dare not lift themselves to Thee,
Yet Thou canst interpret sighs:
"God be merciful to me!"
4 There is One beside the throne,
And my only hope and plea
Are in Him, and Him alone:
"God be merciful to me!"
5 He my cause will undertake,
My interpreter will be;
He's my all, and for His sake,
"God be merciful to me!"
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: CONFLICT. 450
I ALAS! what hourly dangers rise!
What snares beset my way!
To heaven, O let me lift mine eyes,
And hourly watch and pray.
2 How oft my mournful thoughts complain,
And melt in flowing tears!
My weak resistance, ah, how vain!
How strong my foes and fears!
3 O gracious God! in whom I live,
My feeble efforts aid;
Help me to watch, and pray, and strive,
Though trembling and afraid.
4 Increase my faith, increase my hope,
When foes and fears prevail;
And bear my fainting spirit up,
Or soon my strength will fail.
5 O keep me in Thy heavenly way,
And bid the tempter flee!
And let me never, never stray
From happiness and Thee.
I AM I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?
2 Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
3 Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign ;
Increase my courage, Lord;
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
I AWAKE, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigour on:
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown.
2 A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey:
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way.
3 'Tis God's all-animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
"Tis His own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye.
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