Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion Part 90

536. 8 & 7s. M. Anonymous.

Faith.

1 Let the world despise and leave me,-- Once they left my Saviour too; Let all human hopes deceive me, Thou wilt never be untrue; And whilst Thou shalt smile upon me, G.o.d of wisdom, love and might!

Foes may hate and friends disown me, Yet the darkness shall be light.

2 Go, then, earthly fame and treasure; Come, disaster, scorn and pain!

In Thy service pain is pleasure, With Thy favor loss is gain.

I have learned to call Thee Father, I have fixed my heart on Thee; Storms may howl and clouds may gather, All must work for good to me.

3 Man may trouble and distress me, 'Twill but drive me to Thy breast; Life with trials hard may press me, Thou canst give me sweetest rest.

O, 'tis not in grief to harm me, While Thy love is left to me; O, 'twere not in joy to charm me, Were that joy unmixed with Thee!

537. L. M. Doddridge.

Seeing the Invisible.

1 Eternal and immortal King!

Thy peerless splendors none can bear; But darkness veils seraphic eyes, When G.o.d with all his glory's there.

2 Yet faith can pierce the awful gloom, The great Invisible can see; And with its tremblings mingle joy, In fixed regard, great G.o.d! to Thee.

3 Then every tempting form of sin, Shamed in Thy presence, disappears; And all the glowing raptured soul The likeness it contemplates, wears.

4 O ever conscious to my heart!

Witness to its supreme desire: Behold it presseth on to Thee, For it hath caught the heavenly fire.

5 This one pet.i.tion would it urge-- To bear Thee ever in its sight; In life, in death, in worlds unknown, Its only portion and delight!

538. C. M. Breviary.

Faith, Hope, and Love.

1 Supreme disposer of the heart!

Thou, since the world was made, Hast the blest fruits of holiness To holy hearts displayed.

2 Here, hope and faith their links unite With love in one sweet chain; But when all fleeting things are past, Love shall alone remain.

3 O love! O true and fadeless light!

And shall it ever be, That after all our toils and tears Thy sabbath we shall see?

4 'Mid thousand fears and dangers now We sow our seed, with prayer, But know that joyful hands shall reap The s.h.i.+ning harvests there.

5 O G.o.d of justice, G.o.d of power!

Our faith and hope increase, And crown them, in the future years, With endless love and peace.

539. 7s. M. Wesleyan.

Christian Love.

1 Father! we look up to Thee; Let us in Thy love agree; Thou, who art the G.o.d of peace, Bid contention ever cease.

2 Make us of one heart and mind, Self-forgetful, true and kind; Strong, yet meek in thought and word, Like Thy Son, our blessed Lord.

3 Let us for each other care, Each the other's burden bear; Ready, when reviled, to bless; Studious of the law of peace.

4 Father! all our souls inspire, Fill us with love's sacred fire; Guided by that blessed light, Order all our steps aright.

5 Free from anger, free from pride, Let us thus in Thee abide; All the depths of love express,-- All the heights of holiness.

540. S. M. Montgomery.

The Sower.

1 Sow in the morn thy seed, At eve hold not thy hand; To doubt and fear give thou no heed, Broadcast it o'er the land!

Beside all waters sow, The highway furrows stock, Drop it where thorns and thistles grow, Drop it upon the rock!

2 The good, the fruitful ground Expect not here nor there; O'er hill and dale and plain 'tis found, Go forth, then, everywhere!

And duly shall appear, In verdure, beauty, strength, The tender blade, the stalk, the ear, And the full corn at length.

3 Thou canst not toil in vain; Cold, heat, and moist and dry, Shall foster and mature the grain For garners in the sky; Then when the glorious end, The day of G.o.d, shall come, The angel-reapers shall descend, At heaven's great harvest-home.

541. L. M. Watts.

Press Onward to the Mark.

1 Awake, our souls, away, our fears; Let every trembling thought be gone.