951 L. M. Prayer for general peace.
Thy footsteps, Lord, with joy we trace, And mark the conquests of thy grace; Complete the work thou hast begun, And let thy will on earth be done.
2 O, show thyself the Prince of Peace; Command the din of war to cease; O, bid contending nations rest, And let thy love rule every breast!
3 Then peace returns with balmy wing; Glad plenty laughs, the valleys sing; Reviving commerce lifts her head, And want, and woe, and hate, have fled.
4 Thou good and wise, and righteous Lord, All move subservient to thy word; O, soon let every nation prove The perfect joy of Christian love!
952 L. M. I pray—that thou shouldst keep, etc. John 17:12.
While others pray for grace to die O Lord, I pray for grace to live; For every hour a fresh supply; O see my need and freely give.
2 I do not dread the hour of death; If I am thine, no fears remain; I know that with my parting breath I yield for ever mortal pain.
3 E’en if the darkness should appear Too deep for faith as well as sight, If I am thine, thou wilt be near, And take me to thy heavenly light.
4 But O! my Lord, in life’s highway I crave the sunshine of thy face; And every moment of the day I need thy strong supporting grace.
5 I dare not—will not—Lord, deny That heart and feet both go astray; Therefore the more to thee I cry To keep me in the chosen way.
6 The more my sin and unbelief Keep me from walking near to thee, The more, Lord Jesus, is my grief— The more I long thy face to see.
953 C. M. I was a father to the poor. Job 29:16.
Blest is the man whose softening heart Feels all another’s pain; To whom the supplicating eye Was never raised in vain;
2 Whose breast expands with generous warmth A stranger’s woes to feel; And bleeds in pity o’er the wound He wants the power to heal.
3 He spreads his kind supporting arms, To every child of grief; His secret bounty largely flows, And brings unasked relief.
4 To gentle offices of love, His feet are never slow; He views, through mercy’s melting eye, A brother in a foe.
5 Peace from the bosom of his God, The Saviour’s grace shall give; And when he kneels before the throne, His trembling soul shall live.
954 C. M. I delivered the poor and the fatherless. Job 59:12.
Bright Source of everlasting love, To thee our souls we raise; And to thy sovereign bounty rear A monument of praise.
2 Thy mercy gilds the path of life With every cheering ray, Kindly restrains the rising tear, Or wipes that tear away.
3 To tents of woe, to beds of pain, Our cheerful feet repair, And with the gifts thy hand bestows, Relieve the mourners there.
4 The widow’s heart shall sing for joy; The orphan shall be fed; The hungering soul we’ll gladly point To Christ, the living Bread.
955 C. M. Ye have the poor always with you. Matt. 26:11.
Lord, lead the way the Saviour went, By lane and cell obscure, And let our treasures still be spent Like his, upon the poor.
2 Like him, through scenes of deep distress, Who bore the world’s sad weight, We, in their gloomy loneliness, Would seek the desolate.
3 For thou hast placed us side by side In this wide world of ill; And, that thy followers may be tried, The poor are with us still.
4 Small are the offerings we can make; Yet thou hast taught us, Lord, If given for the Saviour’s sake, They lose not their reward.
956 C. M. A new commandment.
Beneath the shadow of the cross, As earthly hopes remove, His new commandment Jesus gives, His blesséd word of love.
2 O, bond of union, strong and deep! O, bond of perfect peace! Not e’en the lifted cross can harm, If we but hold to this.
3 Then, Jesus, be thy Spirit ours! And swift our feet shall move To deeds of pure self-sacrifice, And the sweet tasks of love.
957 C. M. Scorn not the slightest word or deed.
Scorn not the slightest word or deed, Nor deem it void of power; There’s fruit in each wind-wafted seed, That waits its natal hour.
2 A whispered word may touch the heart, And call it back to life; A look of love bid sin depart, And still unholy strife.
3 No act falls fruitless, none can tell How vast its power may be, Nor what results infolded dwell Within it silently.
4 Work on, despair not, bring thy mite, Nor care how small it be, God is with all that serve the right, The holy, true, and free.
958 C. M. Make channels for the streams of love.
Make channels for the streams of love, Where they may broadly run; And love has overflowing streams, To fill them every one.