Hymns for Christian Devotion

J >> J.G. Adams >> Hymns for Christian Devotion

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31

4 On the tree of life eternal,
Let our highest hopes be staid:
This alone, forever vernal,
Bears a leaf that shall not fade.

757. C. M. Anonymous.

Death of a Teacher.

1 Farewell, dear friend! a long farewell!
For we shall meet no more
Till we are raised with thee to dwell
On Zion's happy shore.

2 Our friend and brother, lo! is dead!
The cold and lifeless clay
Has made in dust its silent bed,
And there it must decay.

3 Farewell, dear friend, again farewell,--
Soon we shall rise to thee;
And when we meet, no tongue can tell
How great our joys shall be.

4 No more we'll mourn thee, parted friend,
But lift our ardent prayer,
And every thought and effort bend
To rise and join thee there.

758. 12s. & 11s. M. Anonymous.

The Same.

1 Though lost to our sight, we may not deplore thee,
The clear light of faith shall illumine thy road;
All through the dark valley shall angels watch o'er thee,
And guide thee in peace to the home of thy God.

2 Thy heart, while on earth, in his praises delighted,
Thy voice ever spoke of his fatherly love;
And now, by life's shadows no longer benighted,
Thou wilt love him and praise him in heaven above.

3 And there may we meet when life shall be ended,
All tears wiped away, and all errors forgiven,
And there may our prayers together be blended
In the sweet song of praise to our Master in heaven.

759. L. M. S. S. Choir.

Death of a Scholar.

1 We come our Sabbath hymn to raise,
Our earnest, humble prayer to pour;
One voice is hushed, its notes of praise
Shall mingle here with ours no more.

2 The lips are still, the eye is dim,
That brightly beamed with joy and love;
The spirit, it hath gone to Him
Who freely gave it from above.

3 We will not weep, for Jesus said,
"Let little children to me come;"
But pray that our young hearts be led
To seek our everlasting home.

760. C. M. Boston S. S. H. Book.

The Same.

1 Death has been here, and borne away
A brother from our side:
Just in the morning of his day,
As young as we he died.

2 We cannot tell who next may fall
Beneath thy chastening rod;
One must be first, but let us all
Prepare to meet our God.

3 May each attend with willing feet
The means of knowledge here;
And wait around thy mercy seat,
With hope as well as fear.

4 Lord, to thy wisdom and thy care
May we resign our days;
Content to live and serve thee here,
Or die and sing thy praise.

761. 8s. & 7s. M. R. C. Waterston.

On the Death of a Female Scholar.

1 One sweet flower has drooped and faded,
One sweet infant's voice has fled,
One fair brow the grave has shaded,
One dear school-mate now is dead.

2 But we feel no thought of sadness,
For our friend is happy now;
She has knelt in soul-felt gladness,
Where the blessed angels bow.

3 She has gone to heaven before us,
But she turns and waves her hand,
Pointing to the glories o'er us,
In that happy spirit-land.

4 God, our Father, watch above us,
Keep us all from danger free;
Do thou guard, and guide, and love us,
Till like her we go to thee.

762. C. M. Anonymous.

A Child's Prayer.

1 Lord, teach a little child to pray,
And, O, accept my prayer;
Thou canst hear all the words I say,
For thou art everywhere.

2 A little sparrow cannot fall
Unnoticed, Lord, by thee;
And though I am so young and small,
Thou dost take care of me.

3 Teach me to do whate'er is right,
And, when I sin, forgive;
And make it still my chief delight
To serve thee while I live.

763. L. M. S. S. H. Book.

God--Our Father.

1 Great God! and wilt thou condescend
To be my Father and my Friend?
I but a child, and thou so high,
The Lord of earth and air and sky!

2 Art thou my Father?--Let me be
A meek, obedient child to thee;
And try, in every deed and thought,
To serve and please thee as I ought.

3 Art thou my Father?--I'll depend
Upon the care of such a friend;
And only wish to do and be
Whatever seemeth good to thee.

4 Art thou my Father?--Then, at last,
When all my days on earth are past,
Send down and take me, in thy love,
To be thy better child above.

PHILANTHROPIC SUBJECTS.

764. 7s. M. J. Taylor.

Acceptable Offering.

1 Father of our feeble race,
Wise, beneficent, and kind!
Spread o'er nature's ample face,
Flows thy goodness unconfined.
Musing in the silent grove,
Or the busy walks of men,
Still we trace thy wondrous love,
Claiming large returns again.

2 Lord, what offering shall we bring,
At thine altars when we bow?
Hearts, the pure unsullied spring
Whence the kind affections flow;
Soft compassion's feeling soul,
By the melting eye expressed;
Sympathy, at whose control
Sorrow leaves the wounded breast;

3 Willing hands to lead the blind,
Bind the wounded, feed the poor;
Love, embracing all our kind;
Charity, with liberal store:--
Teach us, O thou heavenly King,
Thus to show our grateful mind,
Thus the accepted offering bring,
Love to thee and all mankind.

765. C. M. Watts.

Kindness to the Poor.

1 How blest is he who fears the Lord,
And follows his commands,
Who lends the poor without reward,
Or gives with liberal hands.

2 As pity dwells within his breast
To all the sons of need,
So God shall answer his request
With blessings on his seed.

3 In times of danger and distress,
Some beams of light shall shine,
To show the world his righteousness,
And give him peace divine.

4 His works of piety and love
Remain before the Lord;
Sweet peace on earth, and joys above,
Shall be his sure reward.

766. C. M. H. Martineau.

All Men are equal.

1 All men are equal in their birth,
Heirs of the earth and skies;
All men are equal when that earth
Fades from their dying eyes.

2 God meets the throngs who pay their vows
In courts that hands have made,
And hears the worshipper who bows
Beneath the plantain shade.

3 'Tis man alone who difference sees,
And speaks of high and low,
And worships those, and tramples these,
While the same path they go.

4 O, let man hasten to restore
To all their rights of love;
In power and wealth exult no more;
In wisdom lowly move.

5 Ye great, renounce your earth-born pride,
Ye low, your shame and fear:
Live, as ye worship, side by side;
Your brotherhood revere.

767. C. M. Lutheran Coll.

Charity.

1 Go to the pillow of disease,
Where night gives no repose,
And on the cheek where sickness preys,
Bid health to plant the rose.

2 Go where the friendless stranger lies;
To perish is his doom:
Snatch from the grave his closing eyes.
And bring his blessing home.

3 Thus what our Heavenly Father gave
Shall we as freely give;
Thus copy him who lived to save,
And died that we might live.

768. C. M. Mrs. Barbauld.

"Ye are the Salt of the Earth."

1 Salt of the earth! ye virtuous few
Who season human kind;
Light of the world! whose cheering ray
Illumes the realms of mind.

2 Where misery spreads her deepest shade
Your strong compassion glows;
From your blest lips the balm proceeds
That softens human woes.

3 Yours is the large expansive thought,
The high heroic deed;
Exile and chains to you are dear,
To you 'tis sweet to bleed.

4 Proceed! your race of glory run,
Your virtuous toils endure;
You come commissioned from on high,
And your reward is sure.

769. L. M. Watts.

All Things vain without Love.

1 Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech than angels use,
If love be absent, I am found
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.

2 Were I inspired to preach and tell
All that is done in heaven and hell;
Or could my faith the world remove,
Still I am nothing without love.

3 Should I distribute all my store
To feed the cravings of the poor;
Or give my body to the flame
To gain a martyr's glorious name;

4 If love to God and love to men
Be absent, all my hopes are vain:
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal,
The works of love can e'er fulfil.

770. C. M. Mrs. Sigourney.

The Sower and the Seed.

1 All hail! ye servants of the Lord!
On mercy's mission bound;
Who, like the sower of the word,
Strew precious gifts around.

2 What though your seed 'mid thorns be sown,
Where tares and brambles thrive,
Still One is able, One alone,
To save its germ alive.

3 Ye fear, what falls on stony earth
Will mock your prayerful toil;
But sometimes plants of holiest birth
Bear fruit in sterile soil.

4 The seed that by the way-side fell,
Perchance you counted dead;
Yet birds, that sing in heaven, may tell,
They on its sweetness fed.

5 And some a hundred fold shall bear,
To glorify the Lord;
How blessed, then, will be your care!
How glorious your reward!

771. 8s. & 7s. M. Hastings.

The Sower and his Sheaves.

1 He, that goeth forth with weeping,
Bearing still the precious seed,
Never tiring, never sleeping,
Soon shall see his toil succeed:
Showers of rain will fall from heaven,
Then the cheering sun will shine,
So shall plenteous fruit be given,
Through an influence all divine.

2 Sow thy seed, be never weary,
Let not fear thy mind employ;
Though the prospect be most dreary,
Thou may'st reap the fruits of joy:
Lo! the scene of verdure bright'ning,
See the rising grain appear;
Look again! the fields are whit'ning,
Harvest-time is surely near.

772. S. M. Montgomery.

Active Effort to do Good.

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;--

2 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.

773. L. M. Drummond.

Faith without Works is Dead.

1 As body when the soul has fled,
As barren trees, decayed and dead,
Is faith; a hopeless, lifeless thing,
If not of righteous deeds the spring.

2 One cup of healing oil and wine,
One tear-drop shed on mercy's shrine,
Is thrice more grateful, Lord, to thee,
Than lifted eye or bended knee.

774. C. P. M. Blacklock.

Christian Beneficence.

1 Hail, love divine! joys ever new,
While thy kind dictates we pursue,
Our souls delighted share,
Too high for sordid minds to know,
Who on themselves alone bestow
Their wishes and their care.

2 By thee inspired, the generous breast,
In blessing others only blest,
With kindness large and free,
Delights the widow's tears to stay,
To teach the blind their smoothest way,
And aid the feeble knee.

3 O God, with sympathetic care,
In others' joys and griefs to share,
Do thou our hearts incline;
Each low, each selfish wish control,
Warm with benevolence the soul,
And make us wholly thine.

775. C. M. Watts.

Liberality Rewarded. Ps. 112.

1 Happy is he that fears the Lord,
And follows his commands;
Who lends the poor without reward,
Or gives with liberal hands.

2 As pity dwells within his breast
To all the sons of need,
So God shall answer his request
With blessings on his seed.

3 No evil tidings shall surprise
His well-established mind;
His soul to God, his refuge, flies,
And leaves his fears behind.

4 In times of general distress,
Some beams of light shall shine
To show the world his righteousness,
And give him peace divine.

776. C. M. Watts.

Love and Charity.

1 Let Pharisees of high esteem
Their faith and zeal declare,--
All their religion is a dream,
If love be wanting there.

2 Love suffers long with patient eye,
Nor is provoked in haste;
She lets the present injury die,
And long forgets the past.

3 Malice and rage, those fires of hell,
She quenches with her tongue;
Hopes and believes, and thinks no ill,
Though she endures the wrong.

4 Love is the grace that keeps her power
In all the realms above;
There faith and hope are known no more,
But saints forever love.

777. L. M. E. H. Chapin.

Anniversary of a Charitable Association.

1 When long the soul had slept in chains,
And man to man was stern and cold;
When love and worship were but strains
That swept the gifted chords of old--
By shady mount and peaceful lake,
meek and lowly stranger came,
The weary drank the words he spake,
The poor and feeble blessed his name.

2 No shrine he reared in porch or grove,
No vested priests around him stood--
He went about to teach, and prove
The lofty work of doing good.
Said he, to those who with him trod,
"Would ye be my disciples? Then
Evince your ardent love for God
By the kind deeds ye do for men."

3 He went where frenzy held its rule,
Where sickness breathed its spell of pain;
By famed Bethesda's mystic pool;
And by the darkened gate of Nain.
He soothed the mourner's troubled breast,
He raised the contrite, sinner's head,
And on the loved ones' lowly rest,
The light of better life he shed.

4 Father, the spirit Jesus knew,
We humbly ask of thee to-night,
That we may be disciples too
Of him whose way was love and light.
Bright be the places where we tread
Amid earth's suffering and its poor,
Till we shall come where tears are shed
And broken sighs are heard no more.

778. C. M. W. Croswell.

Imitation of Christ's Kindness.

1 Lord, lead the way the Saviour went
By lane and cell obscure,
And let our treasures still be spent,
Like his, upon the poor.

2 Like him, through scenes of deep distress,
Who bore the world's sad weight,
We, in their gloomy loneliness,
Would seek the desolate.

3 For thou hast placed us side by side
In this wide world of ill;
And that thy followers may be tried,
The poor are with us still.

4 Small are the offerings we can make;
Yet thou hast taught us, Lord,
If given for the Saviour's sake,
They lose not their reward.

779. C. M. Peabody.

For a Charitable Occasion.

1 Who is thy neighbor? he whom thou
Hast power to aid or bless;
Whose aching heart or burning brow
Thy soothing hand may press.

2 Thy neighbor? 'tis the fainting poor,
Whose eye with want is dim;
O enter thou his humble door,
With aid and peace for him.

3 Thy neighbor? he who drinks the cup
When sorrow drowns the brim;
With words of high sustaining hope,
Go thou and comfort him.

4 Thy neighbor? 'tis the weary slave,
Fettered in mind and limb;
He hath no hope this side the grave;
Go thou, and ransom him.

5 Thy neighbor? pass no mourner by;
Perhaps thou canst redeem
A breaking heart from misery;
Go, share thy lot with him.

780. L. M. Pratt's Coll.

The Blessedness of considering the Poor. Ps. 41:1-3.

1 Blest who with generous pity glows,
Who learns to feel another's woes;
Bows to the poor man's wants his ear,
And wipes the helpless orphan's tear!
In every want, in every woe,
Himself thy pity, Lord, shall know.

2 Thy love his life shall guard, thy hand
Give to his lot the chosen land;
Nor leave him, in the troubled day,
To unrelenting foes a prey.
In sickness thou shall raise his head,
And make with tenderest care his bed.

781. L. M. J. G. Adams.

For a Charitable Meeting.

1 God of the poor! whose listening ear
Is sought by want's imploring cry,--
Whose bounty and whose grace are near,
Thy needy children to supply:--

2 To whom with more acceptance rise
The words of mercy's voice divine,
Than pompous rites, or sacrifice
Of flocks and herds, of oil and wine.

3 Where'er the poor our aid demand,
Teach us with ready steps to move,
Give us the zealous heart and hand
To do the work of Christian love;--

4 The downcast spirit to revive,
The fainting heart with joy to bless;
To bid the solitary live--
The widow and the fatherless.

5 Thus will we thank thee that thy grace
Inclined our feet in paths to go
Where shines that brightness of thy face,
Which the obedient only know.

782. L. M. Ch. Psalmody.

Care of Widows and Orphans.

1 Thou God of hope, to thee we bow;
Thou art our refuge in distress;
The husband of the widow thou,
The father of the fatherless.

2 The poor are thy peculiar care;
To them thy promises are sure:
Thy gifts the poor in spirit share;
O, may we always thus be poor.

3 May we thy law of love fulfil,
To bear each other's burdens here,
Endure and do thy righteous will,
And walk in all thy faith and fear.

4 Thou God of hope, to thee we bow;
Thou art our refuge in distress;
The husband of the widow thou,
The father of the fatherless.

783. L. M. Pratt's Coll.

For a Charitable Occasion.

1 Help us, O Lord! thy yoke to wear,
Delighting in thy perfect will;
Each other's burdens learn to bear,
And thus thy law of love fulfil.

2 Who sparingly his seed bestows,
He sparingly shall also reap;
But whoso plentifully sows,
The plenteous sheaves his hands shall heap.

3 Teach us, with glad and cheerful hearts,
As thou hast blessed our various store,
From our abundance to impart
A liberal portion to the poor.

4 To thee our all devoted be,
In whom we breathe, and move, and live:
Freely we have received from thee;
Freely may we rejoice to give.

784. 7s. & 6s. M. J. G. Adams.

The Same.

1 How blest, amid all blessing
This changing world bestows,
That soul in truth possessing
Pity for others' woes;
Ready to move and lighten
The load affliction bears--
Want's face with joy to brighten,
In deed, as with its prayers.

2 Thus Christ, the Friend and Servant
Of man, depressed and poor--
With ready soul and fervent--
With patience to endure--
Lived, labored without measure
In mercy's holy name,
God's will his highest pleasure,
Our good his only fame.

3 And those who in his spirit
Would seek to live and move,
His virtue must inherit,
And labor in his love;
Labor where poor, forsaken,
And lowly, sufferers lie;
In faith and hope unshaken;
Celestial ministry!

4 God of all times and stations!
Teach us this lesson true,--
Proclaim it to all nations
In life and power anew,--
That high above all praises--
All prayers--is that unfeigned,
Glad offering Mercy raises,
By living deeds sustained!

785. C. M. Boden.

Kindness to the Afflicted.

1 What shall we render, bounteous Lord,
For all the grace we see?
The goodness feeble man can yield
Extendeth not to thee.

2 To scenes of woe, to beds of pain,
We'll cheerfully repair,
And, with the gifts thy hand bestows,
Relieve the sufferers there.

3 The widow's heart shall sing for joy;
The orphan shall be glad;
And hungering souls we'll gladly point
To Christ, the living bread.

4 Thus what our heavenly Father gave
Shall we as freely give;
Thus copy him who lived to save,
And died that we might live.

786. L. M. Miss Woodman.

Prayer for a Beneficent Spirit.

1 God guard the poor! We may not see
The deepest sorrows of the soul;
These are laid open, Lord, to thee,
And subject to thy wise control.

2 Make us thy messengers to shed
Within the home of want and woe,
The blessings of thy bounty, spread
So freely on thy world below.

3 Let us go forth with joyful hand
To strengthen, comfort and relieve;
Then in thy presence may we stand,
And hope thy blessing to receive.

787. L. M. Montgomery.

For a Public Hospital or Asylum.

1 When, like a stranger on our sphere,
The lowly Jesus wandered here,
Where'er he went, affliction fled.
And sickness reared her fainting head.

2 Demoniac madness, dark and wild,
In his inspiring presence smiled;
The storm of horror ceased to roll,
And reason lightened through the soul.

3 Through paths of loving-kindness led,
Where Jesus triumphed, we would tread;
To all, with willing hands, dispense
The crumbs of our benevolence.

4 Here the whole family of woe
Shall friends, and home, and comfort know;
The blasted form and shipwrecked mind
Shall here a tranquil haven find.

5 And Thou, dread Power, whose sovereign breath
Is health or sickness, life or death,
This favored mansion deign to bless;
The cause is thine--send thou success!

788. L. M. Mrs. Nichols.

Anniversary of an Orphan Asylum.

1 Our Father! we may lisp that name,
When lowly at thy feet we bow;
Thy little children lightly blame,
For thou'rt our only parent now!

2 We are a stricken, humble band,
With hearts that thrill to words of love,
And cling confiding to the hand
That points us to a home above.

3 Though 'mong the lowly of the earth,
Contented with our homely fare,
How cheerful was the orphan's hearth
Before cold Death had entered there

4 No mother's voice soothes us to rest--
No father's smile our vision greets:
Yet we've a home in every breast
That with a tender feeling beats.

5 And thou hast raised us many a friend,
Not bound by ties of kindred blood;
Then let our hearts in prayer ascend
To thee, our Father--Saviour--God!

789. L. M. Mrs. Sigourney.

For a Temperance Anniversary.

1 We praise thee, if one rescued soul,
While the past year prolonged its flight,
Turned, shuddering, from the poisonous bowl,
To health, and liberty, and light.

2 We praise thee, if one clouded home,
Where broken hearts despairing pined,
Beheld the sire and husband come
Erect and in his perfect mind.

3 No more a weeping wife to mock,
Till all her hopes in anguish end;
No more the trembling child to shock,
And sink the father in the fiend.

4 Still give us grace, almighty King!
Unwavering at our posts to stand,
Till grateful to thy shrine we bring
The tribute of a ransomed land.

790. S. M. M. W. Hale.

The Same.

1 Praise for the glorious light,
Which crowns this joyous day;
Whose beams dispel the shades of night,
And wake our grateful lay!

2 Praise for the mighty band,
Redeemed from error's chain,
Whose echoing voices, through our land,
Join our triumphant strain!

3 Ours is no conquest gained
Upon the tented field;
Nor hath the flowing life-blood stained
The victor's helm and shield.

4 But the strong might of love,
And truth's all-pleading voice,
As angels bending from above,
Have made our hearts rejoice.

5 Lord! upward to thy throne
Th' imploring voice we raise;
The might, the strength, are thine alone!
Thine be our loftiest praise.

791. L. M. Anonymous.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31