1 FATHER divine, thy piercing eye Looks through the shades of night; In deep retirement thou art nigh, With heart discerning-sight.
2 There shall that piercing eye survey My humble worship paid With every morning's dawning ray, And every evening's shade.
3 I'll leave behind each earthly care; To thee my soul shall soar; While grateful praise and fervent prayer Employ the silent hour.
4 So shall the visits of thy love My soul in secret bless;
So shalt thou deign, in worlds above, Thy suppliant to confess.
HYMN 421. L. M. [# or b]
Devout Considerations and Desires. 1 As showers on meadows newly mown The Lord shall shed his blessings down; Crowned with whose life-infusing drops, Earth shall renew her blissful crops.
2 Lands that, beneath a burning sky, Have long been desolate and dry, Effusions of his love shall share, And sudden life and verdure wear.
3 The dews and rains, in all their store, Drenching the pastures o'er and o'er, Are not so copious as that grace Which sanctifies and saves our race. 4 As, in soft silence, vernal showers Descend, and cheer the fainting flowers, So, in the secrecy of love,
Falls the sweet influence from above.
5 That heavenly influence let me find In holy silence of the mind,
While every grace maintains its bloom, Diffusing wide its rich perfume.
6 Nor let these blessings be confined To ine, but poured on all mankind, Till earth's wild wastes in verdure rise, And a young Eden bless our eyes.
HYMN 422. C. M. [# or b]
Breathing after the holy Spirit.
1 COME, holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, With all thy quickening powers; Kindle a flame of sacred love In these cold hearts of ours.
2 Look, how we grovel here below, Fond of these trifling toys; Our souls can neither fly nor go To reach eternal joys.
3 In vain we tune our formal songs, In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues, And our devotion dies.
4 Dear Lord, and shall we ever live At this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to thee, And thine to us so great?
5 Come, holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, With all thy quickening powers; Come, shed abroad a Saviour's love, And that shall kindle ours.
HYMN 423. L. M. [#]
Pleasures of Devotion.
1 FAR from my thoughts, vain world, be gone; Let my religious hours alone:
Fain would my eyes my Saviour see; I wait a visit, Lord, from thee.
2 My heart grows warm with holy fire, And kindles with a pure desire; Come, my dear Jesus, from above, And feed my soul with heavenly love. 3 Blest Jesus, what delicious fare! How sweet thine entertainments are! Never did angels taste, above, Redeeming grace and dying love. 4 Hail, great Immanuel, all divine! In thee thy Father's glories shine, Thou brightest, sweetest, fairest one, That eyes have seen, or angels known!
HYMN 424. L. M. [#]
Spiritual Provisions devoutly acknowledged. 1 THE Lord, our Shepherd, feeds his flock, And shades them with the towering rock; Our God provides each heavenly good, And fills our souls with lasting food.
2 Where pastures grow in living green, And spread a rich and flowing scene, There do we rest, when toil o'ercomes, Inhaling all the sweet perfumes.
3 Where waters of salvation flow, To cheer the humble vale below, There doth our Shepherd kindly guide, And for our parching thirst provide. 4 When from this fold we ever stray, He marks our wandering, devious way, Reclaims our souls to blissful rest, And brings us leaning on his breast. 5 Shepherd and Bishop of my soul, O make thy wounded servant whole; Continue all thy gifts of love, Till I shall reach thy fold above.
HYMN 425. 7s M. [# or b ]
Devout Thanks and Supplication.
1 THANKS for mercies past receive; Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us, henceforth, how to live, With eternity in view.
2 Bless thy word to old and young; Grant us, Lord, thy peace and love; And, when life's short race is run, Take us to thy house above.
1 ETERNAL Source of life and light, Supremely good and wise,
To thee we bring our grateful vows, To thee lift up our eyes.
2 Our dark and erring minds illume With truth's celestial rays; Inspire our hearts with sacred love, And tune our lips to praise.
3 Safely conduct us by thy grace, Through life's perplexing road, To pleasures which forever flow At thy right hand, O God.
HYMN 427. 81. L. M. [ # or b ]
God's Presence the Refuge of the Afflicted. 1 WHEN dread misfortune's tempests rise, And roar through all the darkened skies, Where shall the trembling pilgrim gain A shelter from the wind and rain? Within the covert of thy grace,
O Lord, there is a hiding-place, Where, unconcerned, we hear the sound, Though storm and tempest rage around.
2 When, wandering o'er the desert bare, Of burning sands and sultry air,
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