3 For if, unheeding or beguiled, In danger’s path they roam, His pity follows through the wild, And guards them safely home.
4 O, gentle Shepherd, still behold Thy helpless charge in me; And take a wanderer to thy fold, That, trembling, turns to thee.
449 C. M. You are come unto Mount Zion. Heb. 12:22.
Not to the terrors of the Lord, The tempest, fire, and smoke— Not to the thunder of that word Which God on Sinai spoke;—
2 But we are come to Zion hill, The city of our God, Where milder words declare his will, And spread his love abroad.
3 Behold the great, the glorious host Of angels clothed in light! Behold the spirits of the just, Whose faith is turned to sight!
4 Behold the blest assembly there, Whose names are writ in heaven! And God, the Judge, who doth declare Their vilest sins forgiven!
5 Saints here, and those in Jesus dead, But one communion make; All join in Christ, their living head, And of his grace partake.
6 In such society as this My weary soul would rest; The man that dwells where Jesus is Must be for ever blessed.
450 C. M. Rev. 1:20.
Our Christ hath reached his heavenly seat, Through sorrows and through scars; The golden lamps are at his feet, And in his hand the stars.
2 O God of life, and truth, and grace, Ere nature was begun! Make welcome to our erring race Thy Spirit and thy Son.
3 We hail the Church, built high o’er all The heathens’ rage and scoff; Thy providence its fenced wall, “The Lamb the light thereof.”
4 O, may he walk among us here, With his rebuke and love— A brightness o’er this lower sphere, A ray from worlds above!
451 C. M. His kingdom is everlasting. Danl. 7:27.
O where are kings and empires now, Of old that went and came? But holy Church is praying yet, A thousand years the same.
2 Mark ye her holy battlements, And her foundations strong: And hear within, the solemn voice, And her unending song.
3 For not like kingdoms of the world, The Holy Church of God! Though earthquake shocks are rocking her, And tempests are abroad;
4 Unshaken as eternal hills, Unmovable she stands— A mountain that shall fill the earth, A fane unbuilt by hands.
452 S. M. The Lord is great in Zion. Psalm 99:2.
Great is the Lord our God, And let his praise be great; He makes his churches his abode, His most delightful seat.
2 These temples of his grace, How beautiful they stand! The honors of our native place, And bulwarks of our land.
3 In Zion God is known, A refuge in distress; How bright has his salvation shone, Through all her palaces!
4 When kings against her joined, And saw the Lord was there, In wild confusion of the mind, They fled with hasty fear.
5 Oft have our fathers told, Our eyes have often seen, How well our God secures the fold Where his own sheep have been.
6 In every new distress We’ll to his house repair; We’ll call to mind his wondrous grace, And seek deliverance there.
453 S. M. I love thy kingdom, Lord.
I Love thy kingdom, Lord— The house of thine abode, The church our blest Redeemer saved With his own precious blood.
2 I love thy Church, O God! Her walls before thee stand, Dear as the apple of thine eye, And graven on thy hand.
3 For her my tears shall fall, For her my prayers ascend; To her my cares and toils be given, Till toils and cares shall end.
4 Beyond my highest joy I prize her heavenly ways, Her sweet communion, solemn vows, Her hymns of love and praise.
5 Jesus, thou Friend divine, Our Saviour and our King, Thy hand from every snare and foe Shall great deliverance bring.
6 Sure as thy truth shall last, To Zion shall be given The brightest glories earth can yield, And brighter bliss of heaven.
454 S. M. How amiable are thy tabernacles. Psalm 84:1.
How charming is the place Where my Redeemer God Unvails the beauties of his face, And sheds his love abroad!
2 Not the fair palaces To which the great resort, Are once to be compared with this, Where Jesus holds his court.
3 Here on the mercy-seat, With radiant glory crowned, Our joyful eyes behold him sit, And smile on all around.
4 To him their prayers and cries Each humble soul presents; He listens to their broken sighs, And grants them all their wants.
5 Give me, O Lord, a place Within thy blessed abode, Among the children of thy grace, The servants of my God.
455 S. M. It shall stand for ever. Dan. 2:44.
Thy kingdom, gracious Lord, Shall never pass away; Firm as thy truth it still shall stand, When earthly thrones decay.
2 Thy people here have found, Through many weary years, The sweet communion, joy and peace, To banish all their fears.