993 L. M. The things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18.
Thy will be done! I will not fear The fate provided by thy love; Though clouds and darkness shroud me here, I know that all is bright above.
2 The stars of heaven are shining on, Though these frail eyes are dimmed with tears; The hopes of earth indeed are gone, But are not ours the immortal years?
3 Father! forgive the heart that clings, Thus trembling, to the things of time; And bid my soul, on angel wings, Ascend into a purer clime.
4 There shall no doubts disturb its trust, No sorrows dim celestial love; But these afflictions of the dust, Like shadows of the night, remove.
5 E’en now, above, there’s radiant day, While clouds and darkness brood below; Then, Father, joyful on my way To drink the bitter cup I go.
994 L. M. Blessed are they that mourn. Matt. 5:4.
Deem not that they are blest alone Whose days a peaceful tenor keep; The God who loves our race has shown A blessing for the eyes that weep.
2 The light of smiles shall fill again The lids that overflow with tears, And weary hours of woe and pain Are earnests of serener years.
3 O, there are days of hope and rest For every dark and troubled night! And grief may bide an evening guest, But joy shall come with early light.
4 And thou who o’er thy friend’s low bier Dost shed the bitter drops like rain, Hope that a brighter, happier sphere Will give him to thy arms again.
5 Nor let the good man’s trust depart, Though life its common gifts deny; Though with a pierced and broken heart, And spurned of men, he goes to die.
6 For God hath marked each anguished day, And numbered every secret tear; And heaven’s long age of bliss shall pay For all his children suffer here.
995 L. M. Let not the water-flood overflow me. Psalm 69:15.
God of my life, to thee I call; Afflicted at thy feet I fall; When the great water-floods prevail, Leave not my trembling heart to fail.
2 Friend of the friendless and the faint, Where should I lodge my deep complaint? Where, but with thee, whose open door Invites the helpless and the poor?
3 He who has helped me hitherto, Will help me all the journey through, And give me daily cause to raise New trophies to his endless praise.
4 Though rough and thorny be the road, It leads thee home, apace, to God; Then count thy present trials small, For heaven will make amends for all.
996 L. M. God only is my rock. Psalm 62:2.
My spirit looks to God alone; My rock and refuge is his throne; In all my fears, in all my straits, My soul for his salvation waits.
2 Trust him, ye saints, in all your ways; Pour out your hearts before his face; When helpers fail, and foes invade, God is our all-sufficient aid.
997 L. M. 6 lines. Heb. 4:15.
As oft, with worn and weary feet, We tread earth’s rugged valley o’er, The thought—how comforting and sweet! Christ took this very path before! Our wants and weaknesses he knows, From life’s first dawning to its close.
2 Do sickness, feebleness, or pain, Or sorrow, in our path appear? The recollection will remain, More deeply did he suffer here! His life, how truly sad and brief, Filled up with suffering and with grief!
3 If Satan tempt our hearts to stray, And whisper evil things within, So did he, in the desert way, Assail our Lord with thoughts of sin; When worn, and in a feeble hour, The tempter came with all his power.
4 Just such as I, this earth he trod, With every human ill but sin; And, though indeed the Son of God, As I am now, so he has been. My God, my Saviour, look on me With pity, love and sympathy.
998 L. M. The refiner’s fire. Mal. 3:3.
Saviour! though my rebellious will Has been, by thy blest power, renewed; Yet in its secret workings still How much remains to be subdued!
2 Oft I recall, with grief and shame, How many years their course had run Ere grace my murmuring heart o’ercame, Ere I could say, “Thy will be done!”
3 At length thy patient, wondrous love, Unchanging, tender, pitying, strong, Availed that stony heart to move, Which had rebelled, alas! so long.
4 Then was I taught by thee to say, “Do with me what to thee seems best, Give—take, whate’er thou wilt away, Health, comfort, usefulness, or rest.
5 “Be my whole life in suffering spent, But let me be in suffering thine; Still, O my Lord, I am content, Thou now hast made thy pleasure mine.”
999 L. M. 6 lines. Touched with the feeling of, etc. Heb. 4:15.