382 The Sight of God and Christ in Heaven.

1 DESCEND

ESCEND from heaven, immortal Dove,
Stoop down and take us on thy wings,
And mount, and bear us far above
The reach of these inferior things;
2 Beyond, beyond this lower sky,
Up where eternal ages roll,
Where solid pleasures never die,
And fruits immortal feast the soul.
3 Oh for a sight, a pleasing sight

Of our almighty Father's throne!
There sits our Saviour, crowned with light,
Clothed in a body like our own.

4 Adoring saints around him stand,

And thrones and powers before him fall;
The God shines gracious through the man,
And sheds sweet glories on them all.
5 Oh what amazing joys they feel,

While to their golden harps they sing,
And sit on every heavenly hill,

And spread the triumphs of their King!
6 When shall the day, dear Lord, appear,
That I shall mount to dwell above,
And stand and bow among them there,
And view thy face, and sing, and love?

L.M.

Watts.

383 Death and immediate Glory. 2 Cor. v. 1, 5—8. C. M.

1 THERE is a house not made with hands,

Eternal, and on high;

And here my spirit waiting stands,
Till God shall bid it fly.

2 Shortly this prison of my clay
Must be dissolved and fall;
Then, O my soul, with joy obey
Thy heavenly Father's call.
3 "Tis he, by his almighty grace,

That forms thee fit for heaven;
And, as an earnest of the place
Has his own Spirit given.

4 We walk by faith of joys to come;
Faith lives upon his word:

But while the body is our home,

We're absent from the Lord.

5 'Tis pleasant to believe thy grace,
But we had rather see:

We would be absent from the flesh,
And present, Lord, with thee.

384

The sight of God in Heaven.

[P to the fields where angels lie,

1 And living waters gently roll,

Fain would my thoughts leap out and fly,
But sin hangs heavy on my soul.

2 Oh might I once mount up and see
The glories of th' eternal skies,
What little things these worlds would be!
How despicable to my eyes!

3 Had I a glance of thee, my God,

Kingdoms and men would vanish soon; Vanish, as though I saw them not,

As a dim candle dies at noon.

4 Then they might fight and rage and rave, I should perceive the noise no more Than we can hear a shaking leaf,

While rattling thunders round us roar.

5 Great All in All, eternal King,
Let me but view thy lovely face,
And all my powers shall bow, and sing
Thine endless grandeur and thy grace.

385

1

The Joys of Faith.

MY thoughts surmount these lower skies

And look within the vail;

There springs of endless pleasure rise,
The waters never fail.

2 There I behold, with sweet delight,
The blessed Three in One;

And strong affections fix my sight
On God's incarnate Son.

3 His promise stands for ever firm,
His grace shall ne'er depart;
He binds my name upon his arm,
And seals it on his heart.

Watts.

L. M.

Watts.

C. M.

4 Light are the pains that nature brings;
How short our sorrows are,
When with eternal future things
The present we compare!

5 I would not be a stranger still
To that celestial place,
Where I for ever hope to dwell
Near my Redeemer's face.

386

1 T

Longing to be with Christ.

O Jesus, the crown of my hope,
My soul is in haste to be
Oh bear me, ye cherubim, up,

gone;

And waft me away to his throne. 2 My Saviour, whom absent I love; Whom, not having seen, I adore; Whose name is exalted above

All glory, dominion, and power

3 Dissolve thou these bonds, that detain
My soul from her portion in thee;
Oh strike off this adamant chain,
And make me eternally free.

4 When that happy era begins,

Arrayed in thy glories I'll shine; Nor grieve any more, by my sins, The bosom on which I recline.

387

1

MY

Confidence in God.

Y soul, triumphant in the Lord,
Shall tell its joys abroad,

And march with holy vigor on,
Supported by its God.

2 Through all the winding maze of life
His hand has been my guide;

And in that long experienced care
My heart shall still confide.

3 His grace through all the desert flows,
An unexhausted stream;

That grace, on Zion's sacred mount,
Shall be my endless theme.

4 Beyond the choicest joys of time
These distant courts I love;

Watts.

8s.

Cowper.

C. M.

But oh, I burn with strong desire
To view thy house above.
5 Amid the shining, glorious band,
My soul would there adore;
A pillar in thy temple fixed,

To be removed no more.

388

1

Y

Longing for Heaven.

Doddridge.

88.

E angels who stand round the throne,
And view my Immanuel's face,
In rapturous songs make him known;
Tune, tune your soft harps to his praise.
Ye saints, who stand nearer than they,
And cast your bright crowns at his feet,
His grace and his glory display,

And all his rich mercy repeat.

2 Oh, when will the period appear,
When I shall unite in your song?
I'm weary of lingering here,
And I to your Saviour belong:
I'm fettered and chained up in clay;
I struggle and pant to be free;
I long to be soaring away,

My God and my Saviour to see.

3 I long to put on my attire,

Washed white in the blood of the Lamb;

I long to be one of your choir,

And tune my sweet harp to his name.

I long-oh, I long to be there,

Where sorrow and sin bid adieu;

Your joy and your friendship to share,
To wonder and worship with you.

De Fleury.

389

1

PRAYER.

Coming to the Mercy-seat.

APPROACH, my soul, the mercy-seat,

Where Jesus answers prayer;

There humbly fall before his feet,
For none can perish there.

C. M.

2 Thy promise is my only plea-
With this I venture nigh;

Thou callest burdened souls to thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

3 Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without and fears within,
I come to thee for rest.

4 Be thou my shield and hiding-place,
That, sheltered near thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him thou hast died.

5 Oh wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead thy gracious name!

390

1

Persevering Prayer. Luke xviii. 7.
UR Lord, who knows full well
The heart of every saint,

Invites us all our wants to tell,
and never faint.

To pray,

2 He bows his gracious ear-
We never plead in vain;
Yet we must wait till he appear,
And pray, and pray again.
3 'Twas thus a widow poor,
Without support or friend,
Beset the unjust judge's door,
And gained, at last, her end.
4 And will not Jesus hear

His chosen when they cry?
Yes, though he may a while forbear,
He'll help them from on high.

5 Then let us earnest be,

And never faint in prayer;

He loves our humble faith to see,
And makes our cause his care.

391

1

The Mercy-seat.

FROM every stormy

ROM every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,

Newton

S. M.

Newton.

L. M.