282. A Pilgrim and Stranger. 8—8—6.
These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of
them, and embraced them, and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.-HEB. xi. 13.
HOW happy is the pilgrim's lot,
How free from anxious care and thought,
From worldly hope and fear!
Confin'd to neither court nor cell,
His soul disdains on earth to dwell;
He only sojourns here.
2 Nothing on earth I'd call my own:
A stranger, to the world unknown,
I'd all their goods despise;
I'd trample on their whole delight,
And seek a country out of sight,-
A country in the skies.
3 There is my house and portion fair;
My treasure and my heart are there,
And my abiding home:
For me my elder brethren stay,
And angels beckon me away,
And JESUS bids me come.
4 I come, thy servant, Lord! replies:
I come to meet thee in the skies,
And claim my heav'nly rest:
Now let the pilgrim's journey end;
Now, Oh, my SAVIOUR, brother, friend!
Receive me to thy breast!
283 Freely Pardoned. C.M.
And not only so, but we also joy in GOD, through our LORD JESUS CHRIST, by whom we have now received the atonement.-ROM. v. 11.
TEN thousand talents once I ow'd,
And nothing had to pay;
But JESUS freed me from the load,
And wash'd my debt away.
2 Yet, since the Lord forgave my sin,
And blotted out my score,
Much more indebted I have been,
Than e'er I was before.
3 My guilt is cancell'd quite, I know,
And satisfaction made;
But the vast debt of love I owe
Can never be repaid.
4 The love I owe for sins forgiv'n,
For power to believe,
For present peace and promis'd heav'n,
No angel can conceive.
5 [That love of thine, thou sinner's friend! (Witness thy bleeding heart!)
little all can ne'er extend
To pay a thousandth part.
6 Nay more, the poor returns I make
1 first from thee obtain:
And 'tis of grace that thou wilt take
Such poor returns again.]
7 "Tis well-it shall my glory be
(Let who will boast their store),
In time and to eternity,
To owe thee more and more.
284. Pressing on in the Christian Race. C. M.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of GOD in CHRIST JESUS.-PHIL. iii. 14.
AWAKE, my soul, stretch ev'ry nerve
And press with vigour on:
A heav'nly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown.
2 A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey:
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way.
3 'Tis God's all-animating voice,
That calls thee from on high:
'Tis his own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye.
4 Blest SAVIOUR, introduc'd by thee,
Have I my race begun ;
And, crown'd with vict'ry, at thy feet
I'll lay my honours down,
285. Redeem'd from Spiritual Bondage.
O Lord our GOD, other Lords beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.-ISAIAH Xxvi. 13.
ONCE to other Lords we bow'd,
None were more enslav'd than we:
Once we join'd the thoughtless crowd:
SAVIOUR, now we come to thee.
2 Long, too long alas! we were
Slaves of sin and foes to thee ;
Now with truth we can declare,
than we.
None owe more to grace
3 Lord, we now confess with shame,
How we slighted all thy love,
How we long withstood thy claim,
And against thy mercy strove.
4 Henceforth we desire to be
Thine alone, for ever thine :
Thou hast set the pris❜ners free;
SAVIOUR, on thy people shine.
5 Let us walk with thee below;
Thee on whom our hopes depend:
Then with all thy people go,
There, where all our conflicts end.
286. Rejoicing in the Lord. C.M.
If ye then be risen with CHRIST, seek those things which are above, where CHRIST sitteth on the right hand of GOD. COL. iii. 1.
JESUS, away from earth I fly,
And with thy church unite;
Thy saints shall be my company,
Thy presence my delight.
2 Thy name shall dwell upon my tongue,
Through all the heav'nly road;
Thy truth and grace shall be my song,
Till I get home to God.
3 The wonders of thy bleeding love,
For one so vile as I,
Shall often draw my heart above,
And fix my thoughts on high.
4 Yes, in thy name I will rejoice,
And triumph in thy word;
In echo to my heart, my voice
Shall magnify the Lord.
5 And may I never cease to tell
The wonders of his love;
Till heav'nly notes my bosom swell
In yonder courts above.
6 Till I, without a jarring sound,
Thy free salvation sing;
And make thy courts above resound
The glories of my King.
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