2 My life, bowed down with pain, Mourns its decaying bloom;
Lord, clothe these bones with flesh again,
And save me from the tomb.
3 Without one murmuring word
Thy chastening I receive,
But with submission ask, O Lord,
A merciful reprieve.
4 My supplicating voice.
Unwearied I will raise :
Say to thy servant's soul, rejoice,
And fill my mouth with praise.
HYMN 532. 81. L. M. [b]
On the dangerous Sickness of a Minister.
1 O THOU, before whose gracious throne
We bow our suppliant spirits down,
Thou know'st the anxious cares we feel,
And all our trembling lips would tell :
Thou, only, canst assuage our grief,
And give our sorrowing hearts relief;
In mercy, then, thy servant spare,
Nor turn aside thy people's prayer.
2 Avert thy desolating stroke,
Nor smite the shepherd of the flock;
Restore him, sinking to the grave;
Stretch out thine arm, make haste to save:
Bound to each soul by tender ties,
In every heart his image lies;
Thy pitying aid, O God, impart,
Nor rend him from each bleeding heart.
3 But if our supplications fail,
And prayers and tears cannot prevail,
Be thou his Strength, be thou his Stay;
Support him through the gloomy way.
Around him may thine angels stand,
Waiting the signal of thy hand,
To bid his happy spirit rise,
And bear him to their native skies.
HYMN 533. C. M. [b]
On Occasion of a destructive Fire.
1 ETERNAL God, our humbled souls
Before thy presence bow;
With all thy wasting magazines,
How terrible art thou!
2 Fanned by thy winds, whole sheets of flame
Like a wild deluge pour;
And all our confidence of wealth
Lies mouldered in an hour.
3 Rolled fiercely on, in horrid pomp,
Destruction rears its head;
And blackened walls and smoking heaps
Through all the streets are spread.
4 Lord, in the dust we lay us down,
With awe adore thy name;
Yet bless the hand of guardian Love,
That snatched us from the flame.
HYMN 534. 7 & 6s. M. [#]
Earth exchanged for Heaven.
1 RISE, my soul, and stretch thy wings; Thy better portion trace;
Rise from transitory things,
To heaven, thy native place:
Sun, and moon, and stars decay;
Time shall soon this earth remove:
Rise, my soul, and haste away
To seats prepared above.
2 Rivers to the ocean run,
Nor stay in all their course;
Fire moves upward to the sun;
Both seek their kindred source:
So a soul, that's born of God,
Pants to view his glorious face,
Upwards tends to his abode,
To rest in his embrace.
3 Cease, ye pilgrims, cease to mourn;
Press onward to the prize;
Soon our Saviour will return,
Triumphant in the skies:
Yet a season, and, you know,
Happy entrance will be given,
All our sorrows left below,
And earth exchanged for heaven.
HYMN 535. C. M. [#]
On returning from abroad.
1 LET Songs of praise from all below
To thee, O God, ascend;
Whose bounties unexhausted flow,
Whose mercies know no end.
2 The wandering exile, doomed to stray
Who fearless takes his lonely way,
With God his Guard and Guide ;—
3 The sailor, on the swelling sea,
When storms impending lower,
Or tempests rage, who trusts in thee,
And owns thy mighty power;—
4 The wretched, pressed by countless woes,
That no cessation see,
Still bids his steadfast hope repose,
Almighty Lord, on thee:
5 All, all shall join to bless thy name,
Whose heavenly aid they prove;
As all have felt, let all proclaim
Thy boundless power and love.
HYMN 536. C. M. [b]
Death of Kindred improved.
1 MUST friends and kindred droop and die?
Must helpers be withdrawn,
While sorrow, with a weeping eye,
Recounts our comforts gone?
2 Be thou our Comfort, mighty God,
Our Helper and our Friend;
Nor leave us in this dangerous road,
Till all our trials end.
Our pious fathers led;
With love and holy zeal obey
The counsels of the dead.
HYMN 537. L. M. [#]
Solemnization of Marriage.
1 WITH cheerful voices rise and sing
The praises of our God and King;
For he alone can minds unite,
And bless with conjugal delight.
2 This youthful pair, O Lord, inspire
With heavenly love, that sacred fire:
From this blest moment may they prove
The bliss divine of mutual love.
3 O may they both unceasing find
Substantial pleasures of the mind;
Prospered and happy may they be,
And both united, Lord, to thee.
4 So may they live as truly one;
And, when their work on earth is done,
Rise, hand in hand, to heaven, and share
The joys of love forever there.
HYMN 538. C. M. [#]
Matrimonial Occasions.
1 THOUGH made by God's almighty hand And in his image formed, Yet Adam knew no happiness
Till love his bosom warmed.
2 Eden, with all its beauteous groves,
And fruits of richest taste,
To one for social bliss designed
Was but a lonely waste.
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