Hymns for Christian Devotion

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"From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

1 Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home;

2 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.

3 A thousand ages, in thy sight,
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.

4 Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

515. L. M. Cowper.

The Providence of Life.

1 Almighty King! whose wondrous hand
Supports the weight of sea and land,
Whose grace is such a boundless store,
No heart shall break that sighs for more!

2 Thy providence supplies my food,
And 'tis thy blessing makes it good:
My soul is nourished by thy word;
Let soul and body praise the Lord.

3 My streams of outward comfort came
From him who built this earthly frame;
Whate'er I want his bounty gives,
By whom my soul forever lives.

4 Either his hand preserves from pain,
Or, if I feel it, heals again;
From strife and sorrow shields my breast,
Or overrules them for the best.

516. 7s. M. 6l. Bowring.

The Pilgrimage of Life.

1 Lead us with thy gentle sway,
As a willing child is led;
Speed us on our forward way,
As a pilgrim, Lord, is sped,
Who with prayers and helps divine
Seeks a consecrated shrine.

2 We are pilgrims, and our goal
Is that distant land whose bourn
Is the haven of the soul;
Where the mourners cease to mourn,
Where the Saviour's hand will dry
Every tear from every eye.

3 Lead us thither! thou dost know
All the way; but wanderers we
Often miss our path below,
And stretch out our hands to thee;
Guide us,--save us,--and prepare
Our appointed mansion there!

517. C. M. Montgomery.

"Looking for another country, that is an heavenly."

1 While through this changing world we roam,
From infancy to age,
Heaven is the Christian pilgrim's home,
His rest at every stage.

2 Thither his raptured thought ascends,
Eternal joys to share;
There his adoring spirit bends,
While here he kneels in prayer.

3 Oh! there may we our treasure place,
There let our hearts be found;
That still, where sin abounded, grace
May more and more abound.

4 Henceforth our conversation be
With Christ before the throne;
Ere long, we eye to eye shall see,
And know as we are known.

518. L. M. Doddridge.

Redeeming the Time.

1 God of eternity! from thee
Did infant time its being draw;
Moments and days, and months, and years,
Revolve by thine unvaried law.

2 Silent and swift they glide away;
Steady and strong the current flows,
Lost in eternity's wide sea,
The boundless gulf from whence it rose.

3 With it the thoughtless sons of men
Before the rapid stream are borne
On to their everlasting home,
Whence not one soul can e'er return.

4 Great Source of wisdom! teach our hearts
To know the price of every hour,
That time may bear us on to joys
Beyond its measure and its power.

519. C. H. M. J. Taylor.

What is your Life?

1 O, what is life?--'tis like a flower
That blossoms and is gone;
It flourishes its little hour,
With all its beauty on:
Death comes, and, like a wintry day,
It cuts the lovely flower away.

2 O, what is life?--'tis like the bow
That glistens in the sky:
We love to see its colors glow;
But, while we look, they die:
Life fails as soon:--to-day 'tis here;
To-morrow it may disappear.

3 Lord, what is life?--if spent with thee
In humble praise and prayer,
How long or short our life may be,
We feel no anxious care:
Though life depart, our joys shall last
When life and all its joys are past.

520. L. M. Bowring.

Our Times are in thy Hand.

1 Our times are in thy hand, and thou
Wilt guide our footsteps at thy will:
Lord, to thy purposes we bow,
Do thou thy purposes fulfil!

2 Life's mighty waters roll along,
Thy spirit guides them as they roll;
And waves on waves impetuous throng
At thy command, at thy control.

3 Lord, we, thy children, look to thee,
And with an humble, prostrate will,
Find in thine all-sufficiency
A claim to love and serve thee still.

521. S. M. Edmeston.

"Why sayest thou--my way is hid from the Lord?"

1 Along my earthly way,
How many clouds are spread!
Darkness, with scarce one cheerful ray,
Seems gathering o'er my head.

2 Yet, Father, thou art love:
O hide not from my view!
But when I look, in prayer, above,
Appear in mercy through!

3 My pathway is not hid;
Thou knowest all my need;
And I would do as Israel did,--
Follow where thou wilt lead.

4 Lead me, and then my feet
Shall never, never stray;
But safely I shall reach the seat
Of happiness and day.

5 And O from that bright throne,
I shall look back, and see,--
The path I went, and that alone,
Was the right path for me.

522. C. M. Needham.

The Dead speaking to the Living.

1 Rise, O my soul! pursue the path
By ancient worthies trod;
Aspiring, view those holy men
Who lived and walked with God.

2 Though dead, they speak in reason's ear,
And in example live;
Their faith, and hope, and mighty deeds,
Still fresh instruction give.

3 Confiding in his heavenly strength,
They conquered every foe;
To his almighty power and grace
Their crowns of life they owe.

4 Lord, may I ever keep in view
The patterns thou hast given;
And never wander from the road
That led them safe to heaven.

523. C. M. Barbauld.

The Pilgrimage of Life.

1 Our country is Immanuel's ground;
We seek that promised soil;
The songs of Zion cheer our hearts,
While strangers here we toil.

2 Oft do our eyes with joy o'erflow,
And oft are bathed in tears;
Yet naught but heaven our hopes can raise,
And naught but sin our fears.

3 We tread the path our Master trod:
We bear the cross he bore;
And every thorn that wounds our feet,
His temples pierced before.

4 Our powers are oft dissolved away
In ecstasies of love;
And while our bodies wander here,
Our souls are fixed above.

5 We purge our mortal dross away,
Refining as we run;
But while we die to earth and sense,
Our heaven is here begun.

524. C. M. Watts.

"We are fearfully and wonderfully made."

1 Let others boast how strong they be,
Nor death nor danger fear;
But we'll confess, O Lord, to thee,
What feeble things we are.

2 Fresh as the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay;
A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.

3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And fails if one be gone;
Strange! that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.

4 But 'tis our God supports our frame,
The God who built us first;
Salvation to the Almighty Name
That reared us from the dust!

525. C. M. Doddridge.

"Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."

1 These mortal joys, how soon they fade!
How swift they pass away!
The dying flower reclines its head,
The beauty of a day.

2 Soon are those earthly treasures lost,
We fondly call our own;
Scarce the possession can we boast,
When straight we find them gone.

3 But there are joys which cannot die,
With God laid up in store;
Treasures beyond the changing sky,
More bright than golden ore.

4 The seeds which piety and love
Have scattered here below,
In the fair, fertile fields above
To ample harvests grow.

526. L. M. Newton.

Lightning in the Night.

1 A glance from heaven, with sweet effect,
Sometimes my pensive spirit cheers:
But ere I can my thoughts collect,
As suddenly it disappears.

2 So lightning in the gloom of night
Affords a momentary day;
Disclosing objects full in sight,
Which, soon as seen, are snatched away.

3 The lightning's flash did not create
The opening prospect it revealed;
But only showed the real state
Of what the darkness had concealed.

4 Just so, we by a glimpse discern
The glorious things within the veil;
That, when in darkness, we may learn
To live by faith, till light prevail.

527. C. M. J. Newton.

The Changes of Life.

1 The evils that beset our path,
Who can prevent or cure?
We stand upon the brink of death
When most we seem secure.

2 If we to-day sweet peace possess,
It soon may be withdrawn;
Some change may plunge us in distress
Before to-morrow's dawn.

3 Disease and pain invade our health,
And find an easy prey;
And oft, when least expected, wealth
Takes wings and flies away.

4 The gourds from which we look for fruit.
Produce us often pain;
A worm unseen attacks the root,
And all our hopes are vain.

5 Since sin has filled the earth with woe,
And creatures fade and die;
Lord, wean our hearts from things below,
And fix our hopes on high!

528. S. M. Doddridge.

"The Fathers, where are they?"

1 How swift the torrent rolls,
That bears us to the sea!
The tide that bears our thoughtless souls
To vast eternity!

2 Our fathers, where are they,
With all they called their own?
Their joys, and griefs, and hopes and cares,
And wealth and honor gone.

3 God of our fathers, hear,
Thou everlasting Friend!
While we, as on life's utmost verge,
Our souls to thee commend.

4 Of all the pious dead
May we the footsteps trace,
Till with them, in the land of light,
We dwell before thy face.

529. L. M. J. Roscoe.

The Close of Life.

1 My Father! when around me spread
I see the shadows of the tomb,
And life's bright visions droop and fade,
And darkness veils my future doom;

2 O, in that anguished hour I turn
With a still trusting heart to thee,
And holy thoughts still shine and burn
Amid that cold, sad destiny.

3 The stars of heaven are shining on,
Though these frail eyes are dim with tears;
The hopes of earth indeed are gone;
But are not ours the immortal years?

4 Father! forgive the heart that clings
Thus trembling to the joys of time;
And bid my soul on angel wings
Ascend into a purer clime.

530. L. M. Doddridge.

To God pertain the issues of Life and Death.

1 Sovereign of life! before thine eye,
Lo! mortal men by thousands die:
One glance from thee at once brings down
The proudest brow that wears a crown.

2 Banished at once from human sight
To the dark grave's mysterious night,
Imprisoned in that dusty bed,
We hide our solitary head.

3 Yet if my Father's faithful hand
Conduct me through this gloomy land,
My soul with pleasure shall obey,
And follow where he leads the way.

4 The friendly band again shall meet,
Again exchange the welcome sweet;
The dear familiar features trace,
And still renew the fond embrace.

531. C. M. Heber.

Universal Warning of Death.

1 Beneath our feet and o'er our head
Is equal warning given:
Beneath us lie the countless dead,
Above us is the heaven!

2 Their names are graven on the stone,
Their bones are in the clay;
And ere another day is done,
Ourselves may be as they.

3 Our eyes have seen the rosy light
Of youth's soft cheek decay,
And fate descend in sudden night
On manhood's middle day.

4 Our eyes have seen the steps of age
Halt feebly towards the tomb;
And yet shall earth our hearts engage,
And dreams of days to come?

5 Death rides on every passing breeze,
He lurks in every flower;
Each season has its own disease,
Its peril every hour.

532. L. M. J. Taylor.

The Shortness of Life.

1 Like shadows gliding o'er the plain,
Or clouds that roll successive on,
Man's busy generations pass,
And while we gaze their forms are gone.

2 "He lived,--he died;" behold the sum,
The abstract of the historian's page!
Alike, in God's all-seeing eye,
The infant's day, the patriarch's age.

3 O Father! in whose mighty hand
The boundless years and ages lie;
Teach us thy boon of life to prize,
And use the moments as they fly;

4 To crowd the narrow span of life
With wise designs and virtuous deeds;
And bid us wake from death's dark night,
To share the glory that succeeds.

533. C. M. Collyer.

Prayer for Support in Death.

1 When, bending o'er the brink of life,
My trembling soul shall stand,
And wait to pass death's awful flood,
Great God, at thy command;--

2 Thou Source of life and joy supreme,
Whose arm alone can save,
Dispel the darkness that surrounds
The entrance to the grave.

3 Lay thy supporting, gentle hand
Beneath my sinking head,
And let a beam of light divine
Illume my dying bed.

534. L. M. Watts.

Christ's Presence makes Death easy.

1 Why should we start and fear to die!
What timorous worms we mortals are!
Death is the gate of endless joy,
And yet we dread to enter there.

2 The pains, the groans, and dying strife,
Fright our approaching souls away;
Still we shrink back again to life,
Fond of our prison and our clay.

3 O! if my Lord would come and meet,
My soul should stretch her wings in haste,
Fly fearless through death's iron gate,
Nor feel the terrors as she past.

4 Jesus can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are,
While on his breast I lean my head,
And breathe my life out sweetly there.

535. L. M. Anonymous.

Deliverance from the Fear of Death.

1 O God of love! with cheering ray,
Gild our expiring hour of day;
Thy love, through each revolving year,
Has wiped away affliction's tear.

2 Free us from death's terrific gloom,
And all the fear which shrouds the tomb;
Heighten our joys, support our head,
Before we sink among the dead.

3 May death conclude our toils and tears!
May death destroy our sins and fears!
May death, through Jesus, be our friend!
May death be life, when life shall end!

4 Crown our last moment with thy power--
The latest in our latest hour;
Till to the raptured heights we soar,
Where fears and death are known no more.

536. L. M. R. Hill.

Prayer for the dying Christian.

1 Gently, my Father, let me down
To slumber in the arms of death:
I rest my soul on thee alone,
E'en till my last expiring breath.

2 Soon will the storms of life be o'er,
And I shall enter endless rest:
There I shall live to sin no more,
And bless thy name forever blest.

3 Bid me possess sweet peace within;
Let childlike patience keep my heart;
Then shall I feel my heaven begin,
Before my spirit hence depart.

537. C. M. Anonymous.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will
fear no evil, for thou art with me." Ps. 23.

1 Thou must go forth alone, my soul!
Thou must go forth alone,
To other scenes, to other worlds,
That mortal hath not known.
Thou must go forth alone, my soul,--
To tread the narrow vale;
But He, whose word is sure, hath said
His comforts shall not fail.

2 Thou must go forth alone, my soul,
Along the darksome way;
Where the bright sun has never shed
His warm and gladsome ray.
And yet the Sun of Righteousness
Shall rise amidst the gloom,
And scatter from thy trembling gaze
The shadows of the tomb.

3 Thou must go forth alone, my soul!
To meet thy God above:
But shrink not--He hath said, my soul,
He is a God of love.
His rod and staff shall comfort thee
Across the dreary road,
Till thou shalt join the blessed ones
In heaven's serene abode.

538. 7s. & 4s. M. Mrs. Gilbert.

Prayer for Support in Death.

1 When the vale of death appears,
Faint and cold this mortal clay,
O, my Father, soothe my fears,
Light me through the gloomy way;
Break the shadows,
Usher in eternal day;--

2 Upward from this dying state
Bid my waiting soul aspire;
Open thou the crystal gate;
To thy praise attune my lyre:
Then, triumphant,
I will join th' immortal choir.

539. C. M. Anonymous.

The Happy Death.

1 Lord, must we die? O let us die
Trusting in thee alone!
Our living testimony given,
Then leave our dying one.

2 If we must die, O let us die
In peace with all mankind,
And change these fleeting joys below
For pleasures all refined.

3 If we must die,--as die we must,--
Let some kind seraph come,
And bear us on his friendly wing
To our celestial home!

4 Of Canaan's land, from Pisgah's top,
May we but have a view!
Though Jordan should o'erflow its banks,
We'll boldly venture through.

540. L. M. Montgomery.

The Hour of Death, and Entrance on Immortality.

1 O God unseen--but not unknown!
Thine eye is ever fixed on me;
I dwell beneath thy secret throne,
Encompassed by thy deity.

2 The moment comes when strength must fail,
When, health and hope and comfort flown,
I must go down into the vale
And shade of death, with thee alone:

3 Alone with thee;--in that dread strife
Uphold me through mine agony,
And gently be this dying life
Exchanged for immortality.

4 Then, when th' unbodied spirit lands
Where flesh and blood have never trod,
And in the unveiled presence stands
Of thee, my Saviour and my God:

5 Be mine eternal portion this,
Since thou wert always here with me,
That I may view thy face in bliss,
And be for evermore with thee.

541. L. M. Doddridge.

Meditation on Death.

1 Behold the path which mortals tread,
Down to the regions of the dead!
Nor will the fleeting moments stay,
Nor can we measure back our day.

2 Our kindred and our friends are gone;
Know, O my soul! this doom my own;
Feeble as theirs my mortal frame,
The same my way, my home the same.

3 Awake, my soul, thy way prepare,
And lose in this each mortal care;
With steady feet that path be trod,
Which, through the grave, conducts to God.

4 Father! to thee my all I trust;
And if thou call me down to dust,
I know thy voice, I bless thy hand,
And die in peace at thy command.

542. 7s. M. Pope.

The Dying Christian to his Soul!

1 Vital spark of heavenly flame!
Quit, O quit this mortal frame!
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life!

2 Hark! they whisper! angels say,
"Sister spirit, come away!"
What is this absorbs me quite,
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

3 The world recedes!--it disappears!
Heaven opens on my eyes!--my ears
With sounds seraphic ring:
Lend, lend your wings! I mount, I fly!
O grave! where is thy victory?
O death! where is thy sting?

543. L. M. Mrs. Barbauld.

Death of the Righteous.

1 Sweet is the scene when virtue dies!
When sinks a righteous soul to rest;
How mildly beam the closing eyes,
How gently heaves th' expiring breast!

2 So fades a summer cloud away,
So sinks the gale when storms are o'er,
So gently shuts the eye of day,
So dies a wave along the shore.

3 Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears,
Where lights and shades alternate dwell;
How bright th' unchanging morn appears!
Farewell, inconstant world, farewell!

4 Life's duty done, as sinks the clay,
Light from its load the spirit flies;
While heaven and earth combine to say,
"How blessed the righteous when he dies!"

544. C. M. Peabody.

The Christian's Death.

1 Behold the western evening light!
It melts in deeper gloom;
So calm the righteous sink away,
Descending to the tomb.
The winds breathe low--the yellow leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree!
So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.

2 How beautiful, on all the hills,
The crimson light is shed!
'Tis like the peace the dying gives
To mourners round his bed.
How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast!
So sweet the memory left behind,
When loved ones breathe their last.

3 And lo! above the dews of night
The vesper star appears!
So faith lights up the mourner's heart,
Whose eyes are dim with tears.
Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore;
And thus the eyes that sleep in death
Shall wake, to close no more.

545. 7s. M. Anonymous.

Dirge.

1 Clay to clay, and dust to dust!
Let them mingle--for they must!
Give to earth the earthly clod,
For the spirit's fled to God.

2 Never more shall midnight's damp
Darken round this mortal lamp;
Never more shall noon-day's glance
Search this mortal countenance.

3 Deep the pit, and cold the bed,
Where the spoils of death are laid;
Stiff the curtains, chill the gloom,
Of man's melancholy tomb.

4 Look aloft! The spirit's risen--
Death cannot the soul imprison;
'Tis in heaven that spirits dwell,
Glorious, though invisible.

546. L. M. Watts.

The Same.

1 Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb!
Take this new treasure to thy trust,
And give these sacred relics room
To seek a slumber in thy dust.

2 Nor pain, nor grief, nor anxious fear,
Invade thy bounds; no mortal woes
Can reach the peaceful sleeper here,
While angels watch the soft repose.

3 So Jesus slept; God's dying Son
Passed through the grave, and blessed the bed;
Then rest, dear saint, till from his throne
The morning break, and pierce the shade.

4 Break from his throne, illustrious morn!
Attend, O earth, his sovereign word!
Restore thy trust! the glorious form
Shall then arise to meet the Lord.

547. C. M. Watts.

"Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord."

1 Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims,
For all the pious dead;
Sweet is the savor of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.

2 They die in Jesus, and are blessed;
How kind their slumbers are!
From sufferings and from sin released,
And freed from every snare.

3 Far from this world of toil and strife,
They're present with the Lord!
The labors of their mortal life
End in a large reward.

548. 7s. M. Wesley's Coll.

"Blessed are the dead, that die in the Lord."

1 Hark! a voice divides the sky!
Happy are the faithful dead,
In the Lord who sweetly die!
They from all their toils are freed.

2 Ready for their glorious crown,--
Sorrows past and sins forgiven,--
Here they lay their burthen down,
Hallowed and made meet for heaven.

3 Yes! the Christian's course is run;
Ended is the glorious strife;
Fought the fight, the work is done;
Death is swallowed up in life.

4 When from flesh the spirit freed
Hastens homeward to return,
Mortals cry, "A man is dead!"
Angels sing, "A child is born!"

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