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HYMNS

SEASONS.

BEFORE ANNUAL SERMONS TO YOUNG PEOPLE
ON NEW-YEAR EVENINGS.

HYMN VII.

Prayer for a Blessing.

1 Now, gracious Lord, thine arm reveal,
And make thy glory known;
Now let us all thy presence feel,

And soften hearts of stone !

2 Help us to venture near thy throne,
And plead a Saviour's name;
For all that we can call our own,
Is vanity and shame.

3 From all the guilt of former sin
May mercy set us free;
And let the year we now begin,
Begin and end with thee.

4 Send down thy Spirit from above,
That saints may love thee more,
And sinners now may learn to love,
Who never lov'd before.

5 And when before thee we appear
In our eternal home,

May growing numbers worship here,
And praise thee in our room.

HYMN VIII.

ANOTHER.

1 BESTOW, dear Lord, upon our youth,
The gift of saving grace;
And let the seed of sacred truth
Fall in a fruitful place.

2 Grace is a plant, where'er it grows,
Of pure and heavenly root;
But fairest in the youngest shows,
And yields the sweetest fruit.

3 Ye careless ones, O hear betimes
The voice of sovereign love!
Your youth is stain'd with many crimes,
But mercy reigns above.

4 True, you are young, but there's a stone
Within the youngest breast,

Or half the crimes which you have done,
Would rob you of your rest.

5 For you the public prayer is made,
Oh! join the public prayer!
For
you the sacred tear is shed,
O shed yourselves a tear!

6 We pray that you may early prove
The Spirit's power to teach;
You cannot be too young to love
That Jesus whom we preach.

HYMN IX.

ANOTHER.

C.

1 Now may fervent prayer arise,
Wing'd with faith and pierce the skies;
Fervent prayer shall bring us down
Gracious answers from the throne.

2 Bless, O Lord, the op'ning year,
To each soul assembled here;
Clothe thy word with power divine,
Make us willing to be thine.

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3 Shepherd of thy blood-bought sheep! Teach the stony heart to weep: Let the blind have eyes to see, See themselves and look on thee! 4 Let the minds of all our youth Feel the force of sacred truth; While the gospel-call they hear, May they learn to love and fear. 5 Show them what their have been, ways Show them the desert of sin; Then thy dying love reveal, This shall melt a heart of steel. 6 Where thou hast thy work begun, Give new strength the race to run; Scatter darkness, doubts, and fears, Wipe away the mourner's tears. 7 Bless us all, both old and young; Call forth praise from every tongue; Let the whole assembly prove All thy power, and all thy love.

HYMN X.

Casting the Gospel-Net.

1 WHEN Peter, through the tedious night,*
Had often cast his net in vain,
Soon as the Lord appear'd in sight,
He gladly let it down again.

2 Once more the gospel-net we cast,
Do thou, O Lord, the effort own;
We learn from disappointments past,
To rest our hope on thee alone.
3 Upheld by thy supporting hand,
We enter on another year;

And now we meet at thy command,
To seek thy gracious presence here.
4 May this be a much-favour'd hour
To souls in Satan's bondage led;
O clothe thy word with sovereign power
To break the rocks, and raise the dead!
5 Have mercy on our num'rous youth,
Who, young in years, are old in sin :
And by thy Spirit, and thy truth,
Show them the state their souls are in.
6 Then by a Saviour's dying love,
To every wounded heart reveal'd,
Temptations, fears, and guilt remove,
And be their sun, and strength, and shield.
7 To mourners speak a cheering word,
On seeking souls vouchsafe to shine;
Let poor backsliders be restor'd,
And all thy saints in praises join.

8 O hear our prayer, and give us hope,
That when thy voice shall call us home,
Thou still wilt raise a people up,
To love and praise thee in our room.

* Luke v. 4.

HYMN XI.

Pleading for and with Youth.

1 SIN has undone our wretched race, But Jesus has restor❜d,

And brought the sinner face to face
With his forgiving Lord.

2 This we repeat, from year to
year,
And press upon our youth;
Lord, give them an attentive ear,
Lord, save them by thy truth.
3 Blessings upon the rising race!
Make this a happy hour,
According to thy richest grace,
And thine almighty power.
4 We feel for your unhappy state,
(May you regard it too)
And would a while ourselves forget,
To pour out prayer for you.

5 We see, though you perceive it not,
The approaching, awful doom;
O tremble at the solemn thought,
And flee the wrath to come.

6 Dear Saviour, let this new-born year
Spread an alarm abroad;
And cry, in every careless ear,
Prepare to meet thy God!"

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HYMN XII.
Prayer for Children.

1 GRACIOUS Lord, our children see,
By thy mercy we are free;
But shall these, alas! remain,
Subjects still of Satan's reign;
Israel's young ones, when of old
Pharaoh threaten'd to withhold;
Then thy messenger said, "No,
Let the children also go."
2 When the angel of the Lord,
Drawing forth his dreadful sword,
Slew, with an avenging hand,
All the first-born of the land;†
Then thy people's doors he pass'd,
Where the bloody sign was placed:
Hear us now, upon our knees,
Plead the blood of Christ for these!
3 Lord, we tremble, for we know

How the fierce malicious foe,
Wheeling round his watchful flight,
Keeps them ever in his sight:
Spread thy pinions, King of kings!
Hide them safe beneath thy wings;
Lest the rav'nous bird of prey
Stoop, and bear the brood away.

HYMN XIII. The Shunamite.

1 THE Shunamite, oppress'd with grief, When she had lost the son she lov'd, Went to Elisha for relief,

Nor vain her application prov'd.

C.

C.

Exod. x. 9. ↑ Exod. xii. 13. 12 Kings iv, 31.

2 He sent his servant on before, To lay a staff upon his head; This he could do, but do no more; He left him, as he found him-dead. 3 But when the Lord's almighty power Wrought with the prophet's prayer and The mother saw a joyful hour, [faith, She saw her child restor'd from death. 4 Thus, like the weeping Shunamite, For many dead in sin we grieve; Now, Lord, display thine arm of might, Cause them to hear thy voice and live. 5 Thy preachers bear the staff in vain, Though at thine own command we go; Lord, we have tried and tried again, We find them dead, and leave them so. 6 Come then thyself-to ev'ry heart The glory of thy name make known; The means are our appointed part, The power and grace are thine alone.

HYMN XIV. Elijah's Prayer.*

1 Does it not grief and wonder move, To think of Israel's shameful fall? Who needed miracles to prove Whether the Lord was God or Baal! 2 Methinks I see Elijah stand,

His features glow with love and zeal: In faith and prayer he lifts his hand, And makes to heaven his great appeal. 3 "O God, if I thy servant am, If 'tis thy message fills my heart, Now glorify thy holy name, And show this people who thou art!" 4 He spake, and, lo! a sudden flame Consum'd the wood, the dust, the stone; The people struck, at once proclaim, "The Lord is God, the Lord alone." 5 Like him, we mourn, an awful day, When more for Baal than God appear; Like him, believers, let us pray, And may the God of Israel hear!

6 Lord, if thy servant speak thy truth,
If he indeed is sent by thee,
Confirm the word to all our youth,
And let them thy salvation see.
7 Now may thy Spirit's holy fire
Pierce every heart that hears thy word,
Consume each hurtful vain desire,
And make them know thou art the Lord.

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2 When sent to preach to mould'ring bones, Who could have thought he would succeed, But well he knew the Lord from stones Could raise up Abrah'm's chosen seed. 3 Can these be made a num'rous host, And such dry bones new life receive? The prophet answer'd, "Lord, thou know'st They shall, if thou commandment give." 4 Like him, around I cast my eye,

HYMN XVII.

God speaking from Mount Zion. 1 THE God who once to Israel spoke From Sinai's top, in fire and smoke, In gentler strains of gospel-grace Invites us now to seek his face.

2 He wears no terrors on his brow,
He speaks in love from Zion now;
It is the voice of Jesu's blood,
Calling poor wand'rers home to God.
3 The holy Moses quak'd and fear'd,
When Sinai's thund'ring law he heard;
But reigning grace, with accents mild,
Speaks to the sinner as a child.
Hark! how from Calvary it sounds,
From the Redeemer's bleeding wounds!
"Pardon and grace I freely give,
Poor sinner, look to me, and live."

And, oh! what heaps of bones appear; Like him, by Jesus sent, I'll try, For he can cause the dead to hear. 5 Hear, ye dry bones, the Saviour's word! He, who, when dying, gasp'd, "Forgive," That gracious sinner-loving Lord Says, "Look to me, dry bones, and live."4 6 Thou heavenly wind, awake and blow, In answer to the prayer of faith; Now thine almighty influence show, And fill dry bones with living breath. 7 O make them hear, and feel, and shake, And at thy call obedient move; The bonds of death and Satan break, And bone to bone unite in love.

HYMN XVI.

The Rod of Moses.

1 WHEN Moses wav'd his mystic rod,
What wonders follow'd while he spoke!
Firm as a wall the waters stood,*
Or gush'd in rivers from the rock!†
2 At his command the thunders roll'd,
Lightning and hail his voice obeyed,‡
And Pharaoh trembled to behold
His land in desolation laid.

3 But what could Moses' rod have done,
Had he not been divinely sent?
The power was from the Lord alone,
And Moses but the instrument.

4 O Lord, regard thy people's prayers!
Assist a worm to preach aright;
And since thy gospel-rod he bears,
Display thy wonders in our sight.
5 Proclaim the thunders of thy law,
Like lightning let thine arrows fly,
That careless sinners, struck with awe,
For refuge may to Jesus cry!

6 Make streams of godly sorrow flow
From rocky hearts, unus'd to feel;
And let the poor in spirit know,

That thou art near, their griefs to heal. 7 But chiefly, we would now look up To ask a blessing for our youth, The rising generation's hope, That they may know and love thy truth. 8 Arise, O Lord, afford a sign,

Now shall our prayers success obtain;
Since both the means and power are thine,
How can the rod be rais'd in vain!

Exod. xiv. 22. † Numb. xx. 11. Exod. ix. 23.

5 What other arguments can move
The heart that slights a Saviour's love!
Yet, till almighty power constrain,
This matchless love is preach'd in vain.
6 O Saviour, let thy power be felt,
And cause each stony heart to melt!
Deeply impress upon our youth,
The light and force of gospel-truth.
7 With this new year may they begin
To live to thee, and die to sin;
To enter by the narrow way,
Which leads to everlasting day.

8 How will they else thy presence bear,
When, as a judge, thou shalt appear!
When slighted love to wrath shall turn,
And the whole earth like Sinai burn!

HYMN XVIII.

A Prayer for Power on the means of Grace. 10 THOU, at whose almighty word

The glorious light from darkness sprung,
Thy quick'ning influence afford,

And clothe with power the preacher's
tongue.

2 Though 'tis thy truth he hopes to speak,
He cannot give the hearing ear;
"Tis thine the stubborn heart to break,
And make the careless sinner fear.

3 As when of old the water flow'd
Forth from the rock at thy command,*
Moses in vain had wav'd his rod,
Without thy wonder-working hand.
4 As when the walls of Jericho,†

Down to the earth at once were cast,
It was thy power that brought them low,
And not the trumpet's feeble blast.

5 Thus we would in the means be found,
And thus on thee alone depend,
To make the gospel's joyful sound
Effectual to the promis'd end.

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6 Now, while we hear thy word of grace, Let self and pride before it fall; And rocky hearts dissolve apace, In streams of sorrow at thy call. 7 On all our youth assembled here, The unction of thy Spirit pour; Nor let them lose another year,

Lest thou shouldst strive and call no more.

HYMN XIX.

Elijah's Mantle. 2 Kings ii. 11–14.
1 ELISHA, struck with grief and awe,
Cried, "Ah! where now is Israel's stay?"
When he his honour'd master saw
Borne by a fiery car away.

2 But while he look'd a last adieu,
His mantle, as it fell, he caught:
The Spirit rested on him too,
And equal miracles he wrought.
3 "Where is Elijah's God?" he cried,
And with the mantle smote the flood;
His word control'd the swelling tide,
The obedient waters upright stood.
4 The wonder-working gospel, thus
From hand to hand has been conveyed;
We have the mantle still with us,
But where, O where, the Spirit's aid?
5 When Peter first his mantle wav'd,*
How soon it melted hearts of steel!
Sinners by thousands then were sav'd,
But now how few its virtues feel?
6 Where is Elijah's God, the Lord,
Thine Israel's hope, and joy, and boast?
Reveal thine arm, confirm thy word,
Give us another Pentecost!

7 Assist thy messenger to speak,

And while he aims to lisp thy truth, The bonds of sin and Satan break, And pour thy blessing on our youth. 8 For them we now approach thy throne, Teach them to know and love thy name; Then shall thy thankful people own Elijah's God is still the same.

HYMNS

AFTER SERMONS TO YOUNG PEOPLE ON NEWYEAR EVENINGS, SUITED TO THE SUBJECTS.

HYMN XX.

David's Charge to Solomon.
1 Chron. xxviii. 9.

1 O DAVID'S Son, and David's Lord!
From age to age thou art the same;
Thy gracious presence now afford,
And teach our youth to know thy name.
2 Thy people, Lord, though oft distress'd
Upheld by thee. thus far are come;
And now we long to see thy rest,
And wait thy word to call us home.

• Acts.

3 Like David, when this life shall end,
We trust in thee, sure peace to find;
Like him, to thee we now commend
The children we must leave behind.
4 Ere long we hope to be where care,
And sin, and sorrow, never come;
But, oh! accept our humble prayer,
That these may praise thee in our room.
5 Show them how vile they are by sin,
And wash them in thy cleansing blood;
Oh! make them willing to be thine,
And be to them a covenant-God.
6 Long may thy light and truth remain,
To bless this place when we are gone,
And numbers here be born again,
To dwell for ever near thy throne.

HYMN XXI.

The Lord's Call to his Children.
2 Cor. vi. 17, 18.

1 LET us adore the grace that seeks
To draw our hearts above!
Attend, 'tis God the Saviour speaks,
And every word is love.

2 Though, fill'd with awe, before his throne Each angel veils his face;

He claims a people for his own
Amongst our sinful race.

3 Careless, a while, they live in sin,
Enslav'd to Satan's power;

But they obey the call divine,

In his appointed hour.

4 "Come forth (he says,) no more pursue
The paths that lead to death:
Look up, a bleeding Saviour view;
Look, and be sav'd by faith.

5 "My sons and daughters you shall be,
Through the atoning blood;

And you shall claim, and find in me,
A Father and a God."

6 Lord, speak these words to ev'ry heart,
By thine all-powerful voice;
That we may now from sin depart,
And make thy love our choice.

7 If now we learn to seek thy face
By Christ the living way,
We'll praise thee for this hour of grace
Through an eternal day.

HYMN XXII.

The Prayer of Jabez. 1 Chron. iv. 9, 10.

1 JESUS, who bought us with his blood,
And makes our souls his care,
Was known of old as Israel's God,
And answer'd Jabez' prayer.

2 Jabez a child of grief! the name
Befits poor sinners well;
For Jesus bore the cross and shame,
To save our souls from hell.

3 Teach us, O Lord, like him to plead For mercies from above;

O come, and bless our souls indeed, With light, and joy, and love. 4 The gospel's promis'd land is wide, We fain would enter in;

But we are press'd on ev'ry side

With unbelief and sin.

5 Arise, O Lord, enlarge our coast,
Let us possess the whole,
That Satan may no longer boast,
He can thy work control.

6 Oh! may thy hand be with us still,
Our guide and guardian be,
To keep us safe from ev'ry ill,

Till death shall set us free.

7 Help us on thee to cast our care,

And on thy word to rest,

That Israel's God, who heareth prayer, Will grant us our request.

HYMN XXIII.

Waiting at Wisdom's Gates.
Prov. viii. 34, 35.

1 ENSNAR'D too long my heart has been
In Folly's hurtful ways;
Oh! may I now, at length, begin
To hear what Wisdom says!
2 "Tis Jesus, from the mercy-seat,
Invites me to his rest;

He calls poor sinners to his feet,
To make them truly bless'd.

3 Approach, my soul, to Wisdom's gates,
While it is call'd to-day;

No one who watches there, and waits,
Shall e'er be turn'd away.

4 He will not let me seek in vain,
For all who trust his word
Shall everlasting life obtain,
And favour from the Lord.

5 Lord, I have hated thee too long,
And dar'd thee to thy face;
I've done my soul exceeding wrong
In slighting all thy grace.

6 Now I would break my league with death, And live to thee alone;

Oh! let thy Spirit's seal of faith
Secure me for thine own.

7 Let all the saints assembled here,
Yea, let all heaven rejoice,
That I begin with this new year
To make the Lord my choice.

HYMN XXIV.

Asking the way to Zion.

1 ZION, the city of our God,

How glorious is the place!

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We were Pharaoh's Bondmen.
Deut. vi. 20-23.

1 BENEATH the tyrant Satan's yoke,
Our souls were long oppress'd:
Till grace our galling fetters broke,
And gave the weary rest.

2 Jesus, in that important hour,
His mighty arm made known:
He ransom'd us by price and power,
And claim'd us for his own.

3 Now, freed from bondage, sin, and death, We walk in wisdom's ways;

And wish to spend our ev'ry breath
In wonder, love, and praise.

4 Ere long, we hope with him to dwell
In yonder world above;

And now we only live to tell
The riches of his love.

5 O might we, ere we hence remove,
Prevail upon our youth

To seek, that they may likewise prove
His mercy and his truth.

6 Like Simeon, we shall gladly go,*
When Jesus calls us home;

If they are left a seed below,

To serve him in our room.

7 Lord, hear our prayer, indulge our hope,
On these thy Spirit pour,
That they may take our story up,
When we can speak no more.

HYMN XXVI.

Travelling in Birth for Souls. Gal. iv. 19

Jer. 1. 5.

1

The Saviour there has his abode, And sinners see his face!

WHAT contradictions meet

In ministers employ!

It is a bitter sweet,

A sorrow full of joy:

* Luke ii 29

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