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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