!(i : :. 
 
FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 Scctlott (&JO(0 
 
/ 
 
 HYMNS 
 
 
 FOE, THE 
 
 
 
 SIC K-E, O O M 
 
 Make tis glad, according to th.e days wherein 
 thou, hast afflicted us." 
 
 W. I 
 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 A. D. F. RANDOLPH, 683 BROADWAY 
 
 1860. 
 
d, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 
 ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH, 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 
 District of New- York. 
 
 JOHN A. GRAY, 
 
 Printer & Stereotyper, 
 
 16 and 13 Jacob St. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This book is not intended for the mourner, but for 
 the sick ; not only for those sick unto death, but for 
 the young and joyous, laid aside it may be for a few 
 weeks, struck down suddenly by sickness or by acci- 
 dent ; for the aged pilgrim, bending under infirmities, 
 slight in the view of others, but to him the shadow 
 of death ; for all , who, from any bodily weakness, are 
 cut oif from active employment, and while earth's busy 
 noises are hushed, may lend a hearing ear to that voice 
 which, for so many years, has charmed in vain, or, if 
 long loved and sought, now more eagerly welcomed as 
 the voice of the beloved, consoling and comforting in 
 the day of trouble. The hymns are not all those which 
 speak of sorrow and trial, or death and eternity — but 
 the only other theme is the one never out of Wres; and 
 still less so in the sick chamber — Jesus, the great 
 Physician, Jesus the Resurrection and the Life. 
 
 There are many books for the sick-room, containing 
 poems full of beauty and of holy consolation ; but they 
 are poems — not hymns — and they who have watched 
 beside the sick and dying know how many hours there 
 
IV PKEFACE. 
 
 are when the listless mind can not grasp the beauty of 
 the idea, or follow the inequalities of the rhyme — times 
 when an old verse of Watts or of Doddridge, learned 
 in childhood by the knee of the dead mother, or heard 
 many a year ago in the old church far away by the 
 homestead in the shadow of the hills, will go right past 
 the sickness and the sinking, and thrill through the 
 parting soul, as if it caught already the melodies of 
 heaven. There is, therefore, little novelty in this col- 
 lection — little has been sought after. The meditations 
 are principally from the pens of old divines ; the 
 greater number of the hymns, those which have been 
 long endeared to the hearts of God's people, and it is 
 hoped that they may still be to them, and to other, as 
 wells of living waters, from which many a thirsty soul 
 may draw refreshment in the hour of need. 
 
 H. L. P. 
 
 Crotox, Oct. 1859. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, 
 and they have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like 
 the Son of God." — Daniel 3 : 25. 
 
 " So the Christian is not alone when he is cast into the fur- 
 nace of affliction ; though all things may seem arrayed against 
 him, one walketh with him whose form is the likeness of the 
 Son of God." 
 
 And wilt thou now forsake me, Lord ? 
 
 I feel it can not be ; 
 No earthly tongue can ever teU 
 
 What thou hast been to me. 
 
 Through all the changing scenes of life 
 
 Thy love hath sheltered me ; 
 And wilt thou now forget thy child ? 
 
 I feel it can not be. 
 
 Thy love hath been my heritage 
 
 Through many a weary year ; 
 I've trusted to thy promises, 
 
 And thou hast dried each tear. 
 
 In life or death, I take my stand 
 
 Where I have ever stood, 
 Beneath the shelter of thy cross, 
 
 And trusting to thy blood. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-BOOM. 
 
 And then when youth, and health, and strength, 
 
 And energy have fled, 
 The shades of evening peacefully 
 
 Shall close around my head. 
 
 And when in all the helplessness 
 
 Of death I turn to thee, 
 Thou wilt not then forsake me, Lord — 
 
 I feel it can not be. 
 
 " Unto you therefore which believe he is precious."— 1 Pet. 
 2:7. 
 
 " Heaven is, in some sort, dearer to us than to Noah — that 
 Christ is there not only as God, but as God and man." 
 
 Oh ! speak of Jesus ! other names 
 Have lost for me their interest now ; 
 
 His is the only one that claims 
 To be an antidote for woe ; 
 
 It falls like music on the ear, 
 
 When nothing else can soothe or cheer. 
 
 Oh ! speak of Jesus ! of his power, 
 As perfect God, and perfect man, 
 
 Which day by day, and hour by hour, 
 As he wrought out the wondrous plan, 
 
 Led him, as God, to save and heal — 
 
 As man, to sympathize and feel. 
 
 Oh ! speak of Jesus ! of his death ; 
 
 For us he lived, for us he died ; 
 " 'Tis finished," with his latest breath, 
 
 The Lord, Jehovah-Jesus, cried : 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 That death of shame and agony- 
 Won life, eternal life, for me. 
 
 Yes, speak of Jesus ! while mine ear 
 
 Can listen to a human voice, 
 That name my parting soul will cheer, 
 
 Will bid me e'en in death rejoice ; 
 Then prove, when these clay-bonds are riven, 
 My passport at the gates of heaven. 
 
 "All my springs are in thee."— Ps. 87 : 7. 
 
 "As Israel's water-springs were in Canaan, so the believer's 
 springs are above in his heavenly inheritance ; therefore, if thy 
 springs of comfort be but few, consider that thou art yet in the 
 wilderness." 
 
 Guide me, O thou great Jehovah : 
 Pilgrim through this barren land ; 
 
 I am weak, but thou art mighty, 
 Hold me with thy powerful hand : 
 
 Bread of heaven, 
 
 Feed me till I want no more. 
 
 Open thou the crystal fountain, 
 
 Whence the healing streams do flow ; 
 
 Let the fiery cloudy pillar 
 
 Lead me all my journey through : 
 
 Strong deliverer ! 
 
 Be thou still my strength and shield. 
 
 Feed me with the heavenly manna 
 In this barren wilderness ; 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Be my sword and shield and banner, 
 
 Be my robe of righteousness : 
 Fight and conquer 
 All my foes by sovereign grace. 
 
 "When I tread the verge of Jordan, 
 Bid my anxious fears subside ; 
 
 Foe to death, and hell's destruction, 
 Land me safe on Canaan's side : 
 
 Songs of praises 
 
 I will ever give to thee. 
 
 " Is his mercy clean gone forever ? doth his promise fail for 
 evermore ?"— Ps. 77 : 7. 
 "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." — Heb. 13 : 5. 
 
 " The sympathy of the head with the members is quick, 
 constant, tender, perfect. Such is the sympathy of Jesus. 
 Suffering one, Christ alone can suitably sympathize with thee ; 
 because he alone can so sympathize as to sustain, sanctify thy 
 sufferings, and certainly and honorably deliver thee." 
 
 Pensive, doubting, fearful heart, 
 
 Hear what Christ the Saviour says ; 
 Every word should joy impart, 
 
 Change thy mourning into praise : 
 Yes, he speaks, and speaks to thee ; 
 
 May he help thee to believe ! 
 Then thou presently wilt see 
 
 Thou hast little cause to grieve. 
 
 Fear thou not, nor be ashamed, 
 
 All thy sorrows soon shall end : 
 I who heaven and earth have framed 
 
 Am thy husband and thy friend : 
 
HYMN'S FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 I the high and Holy One, 
 
 Israel's God by all adored, 
 As thy Saviour will be known, 
 
 Thy Redeemer and thy Lord. 
 
 For a moment I withdrew, 
 
 And thy heart was filled with pain ; 
 But my mercies I'll renew, 
 
 Thou shalt soon rejoice again : 
 Though I seem to hide my face, 
 
 Very soon my wrath shall cease ; 
 'Tis but for a moment's space, 
 
 Ending in eternal peace. 
 
 When my peaceful bow appears, 
 
 Painted on the watery cloud, 
 'Tis to dissipate thy fears, 
 
 Lest the earth should be o'erflowed. 
 'Tis an emblem, too, of grace, 
 
 Of my cov'nant love a sign ; 
 Though the mountains leave their place, 
 
 Thou shalt be forever mine. 
 
 Though afflicted, tempest-tossed, 
 
 Comfortless awhile thou art, 
 Do not think thou canst be lost, 
 
 Thou art graven on my heart : 
 All thy wastes I will repair, 
 
 Thou shalt be rebuilt anew ; 
 And in thee it shall anpear 
 
 What a God of lovo can do. 
 1* 
 
10 HYMNS FOE THE SICK-EOOH. 
 
 "Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of 
 the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." — Luke 
 15 : 10. 
 
 " Christ did not count his converts by thousands, nor yet 
 
 by hundreds, nor yet by tens — be counted them by units, he 
 
 valued one soul, and yet at last shall he welcome his redeemed 
 
 as a great multitude whom no man can number." 
 
 Thou art my hiding-place, O Lord ! 
 
 In thee I put my trust ; 
 Encouraged by thy holy word, 
 
 A feeble child of dust, 
 I have no argument beside, 
 
 I urge no other plea ; 
 And 'tis enough my Saviour died, 
 
 My Saviour died for me ! 
 
 'Mid trials, heavy to be borne, 
 
 When mortal strength is vain, 
 A heart with grief and anguish torn 
 
 A body racked with pain ; 
 Ah ! what could give the sufferer rest, 
 
 Bid every murmur flee ? 
 But this, the witness in my breast, 
 
 My Saviour died for me ! 
 
 And when thine awful voice comraan Is 
 
 This body to decay, 
 And life in its last lingering sands 
 
 Is ebbing fast away ; 
 Then, though it be in accents weak, 
 
 And faint and tremblingly, 
 Oh ! give me strength in death to speak 
 
 Mv Saviour died for me ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 11 
 
 " And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for 
 there is no night there, and they shall bring the glory and 
 honor of the nations into it." — Rev. 21 : 25, 26. 
 
 " I have not said that there is no sin in heaven. I have not 
 thought that necessary. If sin was there, night would be 
 there, and the curse, and death, and all the other evils — the 
 train of sin. These are not there. Therefore sin is not No, 
 4 we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is.' " 
 
 Oh ! let our heart and mind 
 
 Continually ascend, 
 That haven of repose to find 
 
 Where all our labors end. 
 
 Where all our toils are o'er, 
 
 Our suffering and our pain ; 
 Who meet on that eternal shore, 
 
 Shall never part again. 
 
 O happy, happy place ! 
 
 Where saints and angels meet ! 
 There we shall see each other's face, 
 
 And all our brethren greet. 
 
 The church of the first-born 
 
 We shall with them be blest, 
 And, crowned with endless joy, return 
 
 To our eternal rest. 
 
 With joy we shall behold, 
 
 In yonder blest abode, 
 The patriarchs and prophets old, 
 
 And all the saints of God. 
 
12 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 TTe shall our time beneath 
 Live out in cheerful hope, 
 
 And fearless pass the vale of death, 
 And reach the mountain-top. 
 
 To gather home his own 
 God will his angels send, 
 
 And bid our bliss, on earth begun, 
 In deathless triumph end. 
 
 " It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, 
 and the servant as his lord." — Matt. 10 : 25. 
 
 "What bereavement have any of God's adopted children 
 ever suffered, the sense of which was so keen as that under 
 which the only begotten Son cried out : ' My God, my God, 
 why hast thou forsaken me ?' " 
 
 Must Jesus bear the cross alone, 
 
 And all the world go free ? 
 !N"o ; there's a cross for every one, 
 
 And there's a cross for me. 
 
 How happy are the saints above 
 TVho once went sorrowing here ; 
 
 But now they taste lumiingled love, 
 And joy without a tear. 
 
 The consecrated cross Fll bear, 
 
 Till death shall set me free, 
 And then go home my crown to wear — 
 
 For there's a crown for me ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 13 
 
 Upon the crystal pavement, clown 
 
 At Jesus' pierced feet, 
 Joyful I'll cast my golden crown, 
 
 And his dear name repeat. 
 
 And palms shall wave, and harps shall ring 
 
 Beneath heaven's arches high ; 
 The Lord that lives, the ransomed sing, 
 
 That lives no more to die ! 
 
 O precious cross ! O glorious crown ! 
 
 O resurrection day ! 
 Ye angels, from the stars come down, 
 
 And bear my soul away ! 
 
 "We love him because he first loved us."— 1 John 4 : 19. 
 " "Who loved me and gave himself for me." — Gal. 2 : 20. 
 
 " It is so broad that it comprehends a great multitude which 
 no man can number — so long that it reaches from the infinite 
 past into the infinite future — so deep that it stooped below the 
 grave to hell itself — and so high that it reaches up to that hea- 
 ven where he reigns King of kings, and God over all." 
 
 We love thee, Lord, because when we 
 
 Had erred and gone astray, 
 Thou didst recall our wandering souls 
 
 Into the homeward way. 
 When helpless, hopeless, we were lost 
 
 In sin and sorrow's night, 
 Thou didst send forth a guiding ray 
 
 Of thy benignant light. 
 
14 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Because when we forsook thy ways, 
 
 Nor kept thy holy will, 
 Thou wert not an aveno-inor Judare, 
 
 But a gracious Father still ; 
 Because we have forgot thee, Lord, 
 
 But thou hast not forgot ; 
 Because we have forsaken thee, 
 
 But thou forsakest not. 
 
 Because, O Lord, thou lovedst us 
 
 With everlasting love ; 
 Because thou gav'st thy Son to die, 
 
 That we might live above ; 
 Because, when we were heirs of wrath, 
 
 Thou gav'st the hopes of heaven ; 
 We love, because we much have sinned, 
 
 And much have been forgiven. 
 
 " Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
 voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no 
 light ? let him trust m the name of the Lord, and stay upon 
 his God." — Isa. 50 : 10. 
 
 " God bids us to draw near to him, simply to do it, and he, 
 in his good time, will give an answer to our prayers. It is an 
 exercise of faith when our minds are clouded, still to trust, and 
 wait, and look, and look for our answer in his own good time." 
 
 Children of God, who, pacing slow, 
 
 Your pilgrim path pursue, 
 In strength and weakness, joy and woe, 
 
 To God's high calling true. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 15 
 
 Why move ye thus, with lingering tread, 
 
 A doubtful, mourning band ? 
 Why faintly hangs the drooping head ? 
 
 Why fails the feeble hand ? 
 
 Oh ! weak to know a Saviour's power, 
 
 To feel a Father's care ; 
 A moment's toil, a passing shower, 
 
 Is all the grief ye share. 
 
 The Lord of light, though veiled awhile, 
 
 He hide his noontide ray, 
 Shall soon in lovelier beauty smile 
 
 To gild the closing day. 
 
 And bursting through the dusky cloud 
 
 That dared his power invest, 
 Ride throned in light o'er every cloud, 
 
 Triumphant to his rest. 
 
 Then, Christian, dry the falling tear, 
 
 The faithless doubt remove ; 
 Redeemed at last from guilt and fear, 
 
 Oh ! wake thy heart to love. 
 
 A Saviour's blood hath bought ttry peace ; 
 
 Thy Saviour God adore ; 
 He bade the throb of terror cease, 
 
 The pains of guilt he bore. 
 
16 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " I will not leave you comfortless." — John 14 : 18. 
 
 11 The two great pillars of a sinner's hope are, what Christ 
 has done for us in the flesh — and what he is doing for us in the 
 spirit." 
 
 Blest Comforter divine, 
 
 Let rays of heavenly love 
 Amid our gloom and darkness shine 
 And guide our souls above. 
 
 Turn us, with gentle voice, 
 
 From every sinful way, 
 And bid the mourning saint rejoice, 
 
 Though earthly joys decay. 
 
 By thine inspiring breath 
 
 Make every cloud of care, 
 And e'en the gloomy vale of death, 
 
 A smile of glory wear 
 
 "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." — Deut. 33 : 35. 
 
 "There are some particular promises in the word of God, 
 made in an especial manner, which would never have been ours 
 had we remained in prosperity." 
 
 Afflicted saint, to Christ draw near, 
 The Saviour's gracious promise hear ; 
 His faithful word declares to thee, 
 That, as thy days, thy strength shall be. 
 
 Let not thy heart despond and say, 
 " How shall I stand the trying day ?" 
 He has engaged, by firm decree, 
 That, as thy days, thy strength shall be. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 17 
 
 Thy faith is weak, thy foes are strong, 
 And, if the conflict should be long, 
 Thy Lord will make the tempter flee ; 
 For, as thy days, thy strength shall be. 
 
 When called to bear the weighty cross, 
 Or share affliction, pain, or loss, 
 Or deep distress, or poverty — 
 Still, as thy days, thy strength shall be. 
 
 When ghastly death appears in view, 
 Christ's presence shall thy fears subdue : 
 He comes to set thy spirit free, 
 And, as thy days, thy strength shall be. 
 
 " And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Eph- 
 raim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon 
 Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly."— Gen. 48 : 14. 
 
 11 God often blesses his children by crossing his hands. We 
 can not see the reasons of our afflictions, but must trust him 
 that he has guided his hands wittingly." 
 
 My times are in thy hands, 
 
 My God, I wish them there ; 
 My life, my friends, my soul I leave, 
 
 Entirely to thy care. 
 
 My times are in thy hand, 
 
 Whatever they may be ; 
 Pleasing or painful, dark or bright, 
 
 As best may seem to thee. 
 
18 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 My times are in thy hand, 
 "Why should I doubt or fear ? 
 
 A Father's hand will never cause 
 His child a needless tear. 
 
 My times are in thy hand, 
 
 Jesus, the crucified ; 
 The hand my cruel sins had pierced, 
 
 Is now my guard and guide. 
 
 My times are in thy hand, 
 I'll always trust in thee ; 
 
 Till I have left this weary land, 
 And all thy glory see. 
 
 "For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to 
 face ; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I 
 am known." — 1 Cor. 13 : 12. 
 
 11 In quietness and rest ye shall be saved. If men do any 
 thing contrary to your heart, ye "may ask both ' Who did it,' 
 and 'What is done,' and 'Why ?' When God hath done any 
 such thing, we are to inquire, ' Who hath done it ?' and to 
 know that this cometh from the Lord." 
 
 Thy way, O God ! is in the sea, 
 
 Thy paths I can not trace ; 
 ISTor comprehend the mystery 
 
 Of thy unbounded grace. 
 
 Here the dark veils of flesh and sense 
 
 My captive soul surround ; 
 Mysterious deeps of providence 
 
 My wondering thoughts confound. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 19 
 
 When I behold thy awful hand 
 
 My earthly hopes destroy, 
 In deep astonishment I stand, 
 
 And ask the reason why ? 
 
 As through a glass, I dimly see 
 
 The wonders of thy love : 
 How little do I know of thee, 
 
 Or of the joys above ! 
 
 'Tis but in part, I know thy will ; 
 
 I bless thee for the sight : 
 When will thy love the rest reveal 
 
 In glory's clearer light ? 
 
 With rapture shall I then survey 
 
 Thy providence and grace ; 
 And spend an everlasting day 
 
 In wonder, love, and praise. 
 
 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." 
 — Heb. 12 : 2. 
 
 "As the Hebrew when he prayed looked towards the temple 
 where was the Mercy-seat and the peculiar presence of God, so 
 ought we in all our prayers to God, to look to Christ in whom 
 dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 
 
 Jesus ! lover of my soul, 
 
 Let me to thy bosom fly, 
 While the billows near me roll — 
 
 While the tempest still is high. 
 
20 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Hide me, O my Saviour ! hide, 
 Till the storm of life is past ; 
 
 Safe into the haven guide ; 
 Oh ! receive my soul at last. 
 
 Other refuge have I none — 
 
 Hangs my helpless soul on thee ! 
 
 Leave, ah ! leave me not alone ! 
 Still support and comfort me ! 
 
 All my trust on thee is staid ; 
 
 All my help from thee I bring ; 
 Cover my defenseless head 
 
 With the shadow of thy wing. 
 
 Thou, O Christ ! art all I want ; 
 
 More than All in thee I find : 
 Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, 
 
 Heal the sick, and lead the blind. 
 
 Just and holy is thy name, 
 I am all unrighteousness ! 
 
 Vile, and full of sin I am — 
 
 Thou art full of truth and grace. 
 
 Plenteous grace with thee is found- 
 Grace to pardon all my sin ; 
 
 Let the healing streams abound ; 
 Let me feel them flow within. 
 
 Thou of life the fountain art, 
 Freely let me take of thee ! 
 
 Spring thou up within my heart — 
 Rise to all eternity ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 21 
 
 "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
 thee." - Isa. 43 : 2. 
 
 " Abide with us ; for it is towards evening, and the day is 
 far spent."— Luke 24 : 29. 
 
 " The Christian, with whom every thing goes smoothly, and on 
 whom every thing looks smilingly, knows comparatively but lit- 
 tle of what God is, and what the sympathy of the Saviour, 
 with those whose nature he assumed, and whose iniquity he 
 bore." 
 
 "Abide with me," thou gracious Guide, 
 My lamp by night, my 8un by day ; 
 Thy gracious presence at my side 
 Bids every anxious fear away. 
 
 "Abide with me !" when lips beloved 
 
 Shall lisp on earth their sad farewell ; 
 The best of friends is not removed, 
 If thou within my bosom dwell ! 
 
 "Abide with me !" when sleepless laid 
 
 On sick-bed — weary — lone — distressed ; 
 Blessed Saviour ! let'my throbbing head 
 Lie pillowed on thy peaceful breast. 
 
 "Abide with me !" when death is near, 
 To calm the waves of ebbing life ; 
 Be nigh to wipe earth's closing tear, 
 And bear me from its ended strife. 
 
22 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now 
 mine eye seeth thee."— Job 42 : 5. 
 
 " When pain searcheth into the body or the spirit, we feel 
 as if we had awoke up to know that we have learned nothing 
 really until then. There is laid before us a mighty hand, from 
 whose shadow we can not flee. Such are the effects wrought 
 by sorrows, sickness, bodily pains, anxieties, and the like." 
 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 Even though it be a cross 
 
 That raiseth me ; 
 Still all my song shall be, 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 
 Though like a wanderer, 
 
 The sun gone down, 
 Darkness comes over me, 
 
 My rest a stone, 
 Yet in my dreams I would be 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 
 There let my way appear 
 
 Steps unto heaven ; 
 All that thou sendest me 
 
 In mercy given — 
 Angels to beckon me 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Then with my waking thoughts, 
 Bright with thy praise, 
 
 Out of my stony griefs 
 
 Bethels I will raise ; 
 
 So by my woes to be 
 
 Nearer, my God, to thee, 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 
 Or if on joyful wing, 
 
 Cleaving the sky, 
 
 Sun, moon, and stars forgot, 
 Upward I fly, 
 
 Still all my song shall be, 
 
 Nearel*, my God, to thee, 
 Nearer to thee ! 
 
 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, 
 but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peace- 
 able fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised 
 thereby." — Heb. 12 : 11. 
 
 11 ATe are living stones built upon the great foundation laid 
 in Zion for the heavenly temple. God uses affliction as his 
 hammer and chisel in polishing us here ; in patient love the 
 Father gives stroke upon stroke." 
 
 O thou, whose mercy guides my way, 
 
 Though now it seem severe, 
 Forbid my unbelief to say 
 
 There is no mercy here. 
 
 Oh ! grant me to desire the pain 
 That comes in kindness down, 
 
 More than the world's alluring gain 
 Succeeded by a frown. 
 
24 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Then, though thou bow my spirit low, 
 
 Love only shall I see ; 
 The very hand that strikes the blow 
 
 Was wounded once for me. 
 
 "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."— 2 Cor. 6 : 10. 
 
 "It is our nature to rejoice when all within and without is 
 undisturbed ; the miracle is, 'To rejoice in tribulation;' and 
 this miracle is continually wrought as the believer is passing 
 through the wilderness." 
 
 Your harps, ye trembling saints, 
 
 Down from the willows take, 
 Loud, to the love of praise divine, 
 
 Bid every string awake. 
 
 Though in a foreign land, 
 
 We are not far from home ; 
 And nearer to our house above 
 
 We every moment come. 
 
 His grace will to the end 
 
 Stronger and brighter shine ; 
 Nor present things, nor things to come, 
 
 Shall quench the spark divine. 
 
 If through unruffled seas 
 
 Toward heaven we calmly sail, 
 
 With grateful hearts, O God ! to thee, 
 We'll own the fostering gale. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 25 
 
 But should the surges rise, 
 
 And rest delay to come, 
 Blest be the sorrow, kind the storm, 
 
 Which drives us nearer home. 
 
 Soon shall our doubts and fears 
 
 All yield to thy control ; 
 Thy tender mercies shall illume 
 
 The midnight of the soul. 
 
 Teach us, in every state, 
 
 To make thy will our own ; 
 And when the joys of sense depart, 
 
 To live by faith alone. 
 
 When we in darkness walk, 
 
 Nor feel the heavenly flame ; 
 Then is the time to trust our God, 
 
 And rest upon his name. 
 
 Wait till the shadows flee ; 
 
 Wait thy appointed hour ; 
 Wait till the bridegroom of thy soul, 
 
 Reveals his love with power. 
 
 The time of love will come, 
 
 Then we shall clearly see 
 Not only that he shed his blood, 
 
 But each shall say : " For me." 
 2 
 
26 HYMNS FOE THE SICK-KOOM. 
 
 " Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." — 
 Rom. 13 : 11. 
 
 " Only let us not weary ; the miles to that land are fewer 
 and shorter than when we first believed. Strangers are not 
 wise to quarrel with their host and complain of their lodging. 
 It is a foul way, but a fair home." 
 
 My days are gliding swiftly by, 
 
 And I, a pilgrim stranger, 
 Would not detain them as they fly — 
 Those hours of toil and danger. 
 
 For oh ! we stand on Jordan's strand, 
 
 Our friends are passing over ; 
 And just before, the shining shore 
 We may almost discover. 
 
 We'll gird our loins, my brethren dear, 
 
 Our distant home discerning ; 
 Our absent Lord has left us word, 
 
 Let every lamp be burning. 
 
 For oh ! we stand on Jordan's strand, etc. 
 
 Should coming days be cold and dark^ 
 We need not cease our singing ; 
 
 That perfect rest naught can molest, 
 Where golden harps are ringing. 
 
 For oh ! we stand on Jordan's strand, etc. 
 
 Let sorrow's rudest tempests blow, 
 
 Each chord on earth to sever ; 
 Our King says come, and there's our home, 
 
 Forever, oh! forever. 
 
 For oh ! we stand on Jordan's strand, etc. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 27 
 
 "I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations."— Eph. 3 : 13. 
 
 " The sick-room, the sick-bed has its special, its appropriate 
 duties — duties to the full as difficult, as honorable, as remuner- 
 ative, as any which devolve on the Christian whilst yet in his 
 unbroken strength. They are not precisely the same duties as 
 belonged to the man in health, but they differ only by such 
 differences as a change in outward circumstances and position 
 will always introduce." 
 
 Wish not, dear friends, my pain away — 
 Wish me a wise and thankful heart, 
 
 With God in all my griefs to stay, 
 Nor from his loved correction start. 
 
 In life's long sickness evermore 
 
 Our thoughts are tossing to and fro ; 
 
 We change our posture o'er and o'er, 
 But can not rest, nor cheat our wo. 
 
 Were it not better to he still, 
 
 Let him strike home, and bless the rod, 
 
 Never so safe as when our will 
 
 Yields undiscerned by all but God ? 
 
 " Men ought always to pray, and not to faint."— Luke 18 : 1. 
 
 PRAYER FOR PATIENCE IN SICKNESS. 
 
 O Lord ! shall a living man complain — a man for the 
 punishment of his sins ? Shall I, who am less than the 
 least of all thy mercies, which have been new unto me 
 every morning, and every moment of my life, complain 
 
28 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 when, for a season, some of these are withdrawn — 
 when, instead of the health of body which I have so 
 long enjoyed, but so little improved, alas ! to thy glory, 
 thou visitest me with pining sickness — when, instead 
 of the relish with which I have hitherto partaken of the 
 gifts of thy providence, all are now become as physi- 
 cians of no value — when thou holdest mine eyes wak- 
 ing, and I am so troubled that I can not speak, and 
 even the kindness and sympathy of friends can yield no 
 relief to my sorrow — when thus thou seemest to hide 
 thy face from me, to hedge up my way with thorns, 
 and for peace I have great bitterness, shall I grow 
 weary of thy correction, faint when rebuked of thee, 
 and say : " My strength and hope are perished from the 
 Lord ?" Holy Father, forbid it. 
 
 Rather let me consider the years of the right hand 
 of the Most High, when thou didst make the outgoings 
 of the morning and evening to rejoice over me, loading 
 me with thy benefits. Let me remember, that thy 
 faithfulness and love are no less displayed in creating 
 the darkness than in forming the light. Oh ! may I 
 humble myself under thy mighty hand, and adore thy 
 holy name, that in the midst of suffering thou permit- 
 test me to sing of mercy as well as of judgment, mak- 
 ing the valley of Achor a door of hope ; when I con- 
 sider what is the portion I have deserved at thy hand, 
 may I not only possess my soul in patience, but esteem 
 it a blessed thing to be chastened of the Lord, that I 
 may not be condemned with the world. From the pain 
 of my body may I be led to feel more of the plague of 
 my heart, knowing that sin is the cause of all suffering ; 
 that, on account of which the whole creation groaneth 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 29 
 
 and travaileth in pain together until now; that evil 
 thing which my soul hateth, and to atone for which, 
 cost thy beloved Son such bitter agonies, and tears, and 
 groans. In this may I groan, being burdened. From 
 this, my chief malady, may I long to be delivered ; and 
 though my wound is grievous, may I rejoice that it is 
 not incurable ; for there is balm in Gilead, and a skillful 
 physician there. Christ hath redeemed me from the 
 curse of the law, being made a curse for me. Thanks, 
 eternal thanks, be unto thee, O holy Father, for thine 
 unspeakable gift — for this precious and tried corner- 
 stone, which thou hast laid in Zion, as a sure foundation 
 of the sinner's hope towards thee. For as sin hath 
 reigned unto death, even so hath grace reigned through 
 righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 And though by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be 
 justified, and every mouth must be stopped before 
 thee, the holy and just God, yet thy holiness and jus- 
 tice, no less than thy mercy, are vindicated in justify- 
 ing all who believe in Jesus. 
 
 Look, then, upon me, not as I am in myself, altogether 
 polluted and vile — for, from the crown of my head to 
 the sole of my foot, there is no soundness in me — but 
 see, God, my shield — look upon me in the face of thine 
 anointed, through whom thou seest no iniquity in Jacob, 
 and no perversity in Israel. While I put my hand on my 
 mouth, and my mouth in the dust, because of all the 
 evils I have committed, may I still hope, and quietly 
 wait for the salvation of the Lord ! For with thee, 
 O Lord, there is mercy that thou mayest be found, and 
 plenteous redemption that thou mayest be sought. Do 
 thou redeem me from all mine iniquities. If it be thy 
 
30 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 holy will, in thy good time do thou heal all my dis- 
 eases ; but especially give me patience to bear with 
 meekness all thou seest meet to lay upon me. Sanctify 
 this sickness unto me, that whether it be of longer or 
 of shorter duration, whether the issue be life or death, 
 the fruit may be unto holiness, the end everlasting life. 
 Hear, O Lord, in heaven thy dwelling-place, my humble 
 prayer, and when thou nearest, forgive ; for my blessed 
 Redeemer's sake. Amen. 
 
 Why should a living man complain 
 
 Of deep distress within, 
 Since every sigh and every pain 
 
 Is but the fruit of sin ? 
 
 Lord, to thy dealings I'll submit, 
 
 Nor would I dare rebel ; 
 Yet sure I may, here at thy feet, 
 
 My painful feelings tell. 
 
 Thou seest what floods of sorrow rise, 
 
 And beat upon my soul ; 
 Deep calls to deep ; oh ! hear my cry, 
 
 While stormy billows roll. 
 
 From fear to hope, and hope to fear, 
 
 My shipwrecked soul is tost ; 
 Till I am tempted in despair 
 
 To give up all for lost. 
 
 Yet through the stormy clouds I look 
 
 Once more to thee, my God ; 
 Oh ! fix my feet on Christ, the rock, 
 
 Who bought me with his blood. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 31 
 
 One look of mercy from thy face, 
 
 "Will set my heart at ease ; 
 One all-commanding word of grace, 
 
 "Will make the tempest cease. 
 
 *' He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised 
 for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon 
 him; and with his stripes we are healed." — Isa. 53: 5. 
 
 " Though heart and flesh may fail, though thou hast not 
 gone this way heretofore, thy Saviour has crossed before, and 
 made the passage safe for every one of his true followers. His 
 death is thy deliverance from the bitter pains of eternal death. 
 His rising to life again, is the restoration of eternal life unto 
 thee. Therefore, fear not, only believe." 
 
 There is no pain that I can bear, 
 But thou, my God, hast borne it ; 
 
 No robe of scorn, that I can wear, 
 But thou, my Lord, hast worn it. 
 
 There's no temptation I endure, 
 But thou, my King, endured it ; 
 
 There's not a wound that asks a cure, 
 But my Redeemer cured it. 
 
 For me, thy sacred " temples bled ;" 
 For me, " thou wert upbraided ;" 
 
 " And as a lamb to slaughter led," 
 Unpitied and unaided. 
 
 And can I doubt thy tender love ? 
 
 Thy rich compassion — doubt it ? 
 My spirit hath no hope above, 
 
 No stav on earth without it. 
 
32 HY3IXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great 
 mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face 
 from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will 
 I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." — Isa. 
 54 : 7, 8. 
 
 " They who look shall be saved. The sun in the firmament 
 is often faintly seen through a cloud, but the spectator may be 
 no less looking than when he is seen in full and undiminished 
 effulgence. It is not to him who sees Christ clearly that the 
 promises are given, but to him who looks to Christ." 
 
 Jesus, in sickness and in pain, 
 
 Be near to succor me ; 
 My sinking spirit still sustain ; 
 
 To thee I turn, to thee. 
 
 "When cares and sorrows thicken round, 
 
 And nothing bright I see, 
 In thee alone can help be found ; 
 
 To thee I turn, to thee. 
 
 Should strong temptations fierce assail, 
 
 As if to ruin me, 
 Then in thy strength will I prevail, 
 
 While still I turn to thee. 
 
 When past transgressions fearful rise 
 
 Before my memory, 
 I'll plead thy perfect sacrifice, 
 
 And turn to thee, to thee. 
 
 Through all my pilgrimage below, 
 
 What e'er my lot may be, 
 In joy or sadness, weal or wo, 
 
 Jesus, I'll turn to thee. 
 
HYMN'S FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 33 
 
 " For there is none other name under heaven given among 
 men whereby we must be saved." — Acts 4 : 12. 
 
 11 One new discovery of the glory of Christ Jesus will dc 
 more towards scattering clouds of darkness in one minute, 
 than examining old experiences by the best marks through a 
 whole year." 
 
 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 
 
 In a believer's ear ! 
 It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, 
 
 And drives away his fear. 
 
 It makes the wounded spirit whole 
 
 And calms the troubled breast ; 
 'Tis manna to the hungry soul, 
 
 And to the weary, rest. 
 
 By thee, my prayers acceptance gain, 
 
 Although with sin defiled ; 
 Satan accuses me in in vain, 
 
 And I am owned a child. 
 
 Jesus ! my shepherd, guardian, friend, 
 
 My prophet, priest, and king ; 
 My lord, my life, my way, my end, 
 
 Accept the praise I bring. 
 
 Weak is the eifort of my heart, 
 
 And cold my warmest thought ; 
 But when I see thee as thou art, 
 
 I'll praise thee as I ought. 
 
 Till then I would thy love proclaim, 
 
 With every fleeting breath ; 
 And may the music of thy name, 
 
 Refresh my soul in death. 2* 
 
34 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 •' The whole family in heaven and earth." — Eph. 3 : 15. 
 
 " The difference betwixt them and us is not that we are 
 really two, but one body of Christ in divers places. True, we 
 are below-stairs, and they are above." 
 
 Come, let us join our friends above, 
 TTho have obtained the prize, 
 
 And on the eagle-wings of love 
 To joy celestial rise. 
 
 Let saints below in concert sing 
 TTith those to glory gone ; 
 
 For all the servants of our King- 
 In heaven and earth are one. 
 
 One family, we dwell in him ; 
 
 One church above, beneath ; 
 Though now divided by the stream — 
 
 The narrow stream — of death. 
 
 One army of the living God, 
 
 To his command we bow ; 
 Part of the host have crossed the flood, 
 
 And part are crossing now. 
 
 E'en now to their eternal home 
 
 Some happy spirits fly ; 
 And we are to the margin come, 
 
 And soon expect to die. 
 
 O Saviour ! be our constant guide ; 
 
 Then, when the word is given, 
 Bid Jordan's narrow stream divide, 
 
 And land us safe in heaven. 
 
HYHXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 35 
 
 " Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest." — Heb 
 4 : 11. 
 
 " The trials of life will soon be over. The fashion of this 
 
 world passeth away. Let the thoughts of eternity mingle 
 
 with the trials of time, and its weightiest trials will be felt to 
 
 be as 4 light affliction which is but for a moment' " 
 
 Though hard the winds are blowing, 
 
 And loud the billows roar, 
 Full swiftly we are going 
 
 To our dear native shore. 
 
 The billows breaking o'er us, 
 The storms that round us swell, 
 
 Are aiding to restore us 
 To all we loved so well. 
 
 So sorrow often presses 
 
 Life's mariner along ; 
 Afflictions and distresses 
 
 Are gales and billows strong. 
 
 The sharper and severer 
 
 The storms of life we meet, 
 The sooner and. the nearer 
 
 Is heaven's eternal seat. 
 
 Come, then, afflictions dreary ! 
 
 Sharp sickness, pierce my breast ! 
 You only bear the weary 
 
 More quickly home to rest ! 
 
86 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for- 
 ever." — Hebrews 13 : 8. 
 
 "Heaven and earth may pass away, but his word shall not 
 pass away. All that he saith cometh surely to pass. His 
 arms are ever open to receive us. On his bosom we may 
 always pillow our weary head. In his blood we may always 
 wash away our sins and make our robes white. On his word 
 we may always with confidence depend. Christ alone, then, 
 should be the object of our confidence.'* 
 
 "When languor and disease invade 
 
 This trembling house of clay, 
 'Tis sweet to look beyond the cage, 
 
 And long to soar away. 
 
 Sweet to look inward, and attend 
 
 The whispers of his love ; 
 Sweet to look upward to the throne, 
 
 Where Jesus pleads above. 
 
 Sweet to look back, and see my name 
 In life's fair book marked down ; 
 
 Sweet to look forward, and behold 
 Eternal joys my own. 
 
 Sweet to reflect how grace divine 
 
 My sins on Jesus laid ; 
 Sweet to remember that his death 
 
 My debt of suffering paid. 
 
 Sweet on his faithfulness to rest, 
 
 Whose love can never end ; 
 Sweet on the promise of his grace 
 
 For all things to depend ; 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 37 
 
 Sweet, in the confidence of faith, 
 
 To trust his firm decrees ; 
 Sweet to lie passive in his hands, 
 
 And know no will but his. 
 
 Sweet in his righteousness to stand 
 
 Who saves from second death ; 
 Sweet to experience, day by day, 
 
 The Spirit's quickening breath. 
 
 Sweet to rejoice in lively hope 
 That when my change shall come, 
 
 Angels will hover round my bed, 
 And waft my spirit home. 
 
 There shall my disembodied soul 
 
 View Jesus and adore ; 
 Be with his likeness satisfied, 
 
 And grieve and sin no more. 
 
 Shall see him wear that very flesh 
 
 On which my guilt was lain ; 
 His love intense, his merit fresh, 
 
 As though but newly slain. 
 
 Soon, too, my slumbering dust shall hear 
 The trumpet's quickening sound ; 
 
 And by my Saviour's power rebuilt, 
 At his right hand be found. 
 
 If such the views which grace unfolds, 
 
 Weak as it is below, 
 What raptures must the Church above 
 
 In Jesus' presence know ! 
 
38 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 If such the sweetness of the streams, 
 What must the fountain be, 
 
 Where saints and angels draw their bliss 
 Direct, O Lord ! from thee ? 
 
 Oh ! may the unction of these truths, 
 
 Forever with me stay ; 
 Till from her sinful cage dismissed, 
 
 My spirit flies away. 
 
 " Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it."— Micah 6 : 9. 
 
 " The heaviest and sharpest of our sorrows is only just 
 enough to heal us. He doth not loillingly afflict. If any 
 thing short of our present trial would have wrought his pur- 
 pose of love to us, he would have sent the lighter and kept 
 back the heavier." 
 
 My Jesus, as thou wilt ! 
 
 Oh ! may thy will be mine ; 
 Into thy hand of love 
 
 I would my all resign. 
 Through sorrow or through joy 
 
 Conduct me as thine own ; 
 And help me still to say, 
 
 My Lord, thy will be done ! 
 
 My Jesus, as thou wilt ! 
 
 All shall be well for me ; 
 Each changing future scene 
 
 I gladly trust with thee. 
 Straight to my home above 
 
 I travel calmly on, 
 And sing, in life or death, 
 
 My Lord, thy will be done ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 39 
 
 " Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come 
 after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and 
 follow me." — Matt. 16 : 24. 
 
 " Our blessed Lord, when he calls us to take up our cross, 
 sends us not on a way which he does not know. He himself 
 has gone before us, bearing his own cross ; and thus he says : 
 1 Follow me.' It is to the fellowsJi ip of his sufferings that we 
 are called, greater than any that we can ever know, for he was 
 God as well as man." 
 
 Thou Lamb of God, thou Prince of Peace, 
 For thee my thirsty soul doth pine ; 
 
 My longing heart implores thy grace — 
 Oh ! make me in thy likeness shine. 
 
 When pain o'er my weak flesh prevails, 
 With heavenly patience arm my breast ; 
 
 When grief my wounded soul assails, 
 In lowly meekness may I rest. 
 
 Close by thy side still may I keep, 
 Howe'er life's various currents flow ; 
 
 With steadfast eye mark every step, 
 And follow thee where'er thou go. 
 
 Thou, Lord, the dreadful fight hast won ; 
 
 Alone thou hast the wine-press trod ; 
 In me thy strengthening grace be shown ; 
 
 Oh ! may I conquer through thy blood. 
 
 So when on Sion thou shalt stand, 
 
 And all heaven's hosts adore their king ; 
 
 Shall I be found at thy right hand, 
 And free from pain thy glories sing ! 
 
40 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."— Mai. 3 : 6. 
 
 " Let the Lord absolutely have the ordering of your evils 
 and troubles, and put them off you by recommending your 
 cross and your furnace to him who hath skill to melt his own 
 metal, and knows well what to do with his furnace." 
 
 Why should. I murmur or repine, 
 O Lamb of God, who bled for me ? 
 
 What are my griefs compared with thine — 
 Thy tears, thy groans, thine agony ! 
 
 If thou the furnace dost employ, 
 
 Thou sittest as refiner near, 
 To purge away the base alloy, 
 
 Till thine own image bright appear. 
 
 Though oft thy way is in the sea, 
 Thy footsteps in the winged storm ; 
 
 Though crested billows threaten me — 
 LoA^e slumbers in their frowning form ! 
 
 Submissive would I kiss the rod ; 
 
 Needful each stroke I humbly own ; 
 Or let me trust thee, O my God ! 
 
 If now the " need be" is unknown. 
 
 Wave upon wave which rolled before 
 Tempestuous o'er this ruffled breast, 
 
 There lulled to sleep, shall break no more 
 The rapture of eternal rest. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 41 
 
 " Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, 
 he with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." — 
 John 17 : 24. 
 
 " So Christ ascended to the Father as our fore-runner. There 
 the door of salvation stands open to all believers ; and, by 
 virtue of Christ's ascension, they also shall ascend after him, 
 1 far above all heavens.' " 
 
 From the cross uplifted high, 
 Where the Saviour deigns to die, 
 What melodious sounds we hear, 
 Bursting on the rafcished ear ! 
 " Love's redeeming work is done ; 
 Come and welcome, sinner, come. 
 
 " Sprinkle now with blood the throne, 
 Why beneath thy burdens groan ? 
 On my pierced body laid, 
 Justice owns the ransom paid ; 
 Bow the knee, embrace the Son ; 
 Come and welcome, sinner, come. 
 
 " Spread for thee, the festal board 
 See with richest dainties stored ; 
 To thy Father's bosom pressed, 
 Yet again a child confessed, 
 Xever from his house to roam, 
 Come and welcome, sinner, come. 
 
 " Soon the days of life shall end ; 
 Lo ! I come, your Saviour, friend, 
 Safe your spirits to convey 
 To the realms of endless day, 
 Up to my eternal home ; 
 Come and welcome, sinner, come." 
 
42 HY3JEKS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none 
 upon earth that I desire beside thee." — Ps. 73 : 24. 
 
 " By faith I see the promised land, and every day brings me 
 nearer to the possession of my heavenly inheritance. Then 
 shall I see God and live ; and face to face behold my triumphant 
 Redeemer. I have nothing here to linger for ; my hopes, my 
 rest, my treasure, and my joys are all above." 
 
 I sojourn in a vale of tears, 
 
 Alas ! how can I sing ? 
 My harp doth on the willows hang, 
 
 Untuned in every string. 
 
 Oh ! come, my dear almighty Lord, 
 
 My sweetest, surest Friend : 
 Come, for I loathe these Kedar tents — 
 
 Thy fiery chariots send. 
 
 What have I here ? — my thoughts and joys, 
 
 So long disposed to roam, 
 Are fixed — and I will follow them 
 
 To my eternal home. 
 
 What have I in this barren land ? 
 
 My Jesus is not here ; 
 Mine eyes will ne'er be blest, until 
 
 My Jesus doth appear. 
 
 My Jesus is gone up to heaven, 
 
 To get a place for me ; 
 For 'tis his will that where he is, 
 
 His followers should be. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 43 
 
 Canaan I view from Pisgah's top ; 
 
 Of Eshcol's grapes I taste ; 
 My Lord, who sends unto me here, 
 
 Will send for me at last. 
 
 I have a God that changeth not, 
 
 Why should I be perplexed ? 
 My God, who owns me in this world, 
 
 Will own me in the next. 
 
 Go fearless, then, my soul, with God, 
 
 Into another room : 
 Thou who hast walked with him here, 
 
 Go, see thy God, at home. 
 
 " Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh 
 for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 11 ye children of sorrow ! dream of any thing rather than 
 of what ye endure, now excusing you from future punishment, 
 or giving you a sort of title to rest beyond the grave. But 
 affliction worketh for us glory, in the sense of preparing or fit- 
 ting us for glory. God thereby disciplines his people." 
 
 'Tis my happiness below, 
 
 Not to live without the cross, 
 But the Saviour's power to know, 
 
 Sanctifying every loss. 
 Trials must and will befall ; 
 
 But with humble fiith to see 
 Love inscribed upon them all — 
 
 This is happiness to me. 
 
44 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 God in Israel sows the seeds 
 
 Of affliction, pain, and toil ; 
 These spring up and choke the weeds 
 
 Which would else o'erspread the soil. 
 Trials make the promise sweet ; 
 
 Trials give new life to prayer ; 
 Trials bring me to his feet, 
 
 Lay me low, and keep me there. 
 
 Did I meet no trials here, 
 
 No chastisement by the way, 
 Might I not with reason fear 
 
 I should prove a castaway ? 
 Worldlings may escape the rod, 
 
 Simk in earthly vain delight, 
 But the true-born child of God 
 
 Must not — tcould not, if he might. 
 
 " Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching 
 forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the 
 mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' ' 
 — Phil. 3 : 13, 14. 
 
 " It is a harder task to suffer cheerfully in submission to the 
 
 will of God, than to work laboriously. It is a higher testimony 
 
 to the sustaining power of the Gospel." 
 
 Lord, I believe thy every word, 
 
 Thy every promise true ; 
 And lo ! I wait on thee, my Lord, 
 
 Till I my strength renew. 
 If in this' feeble flesh I may 
 
 Awhile show forth thy praise, 
 Jesus, support the tottering clay, 
 
 And lengthen out my days ! 
 
HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 45 
 
 If such a worm as I can spread 
 
 The common Saviour's name, 
 Let him who raiseth from the dead 
 
 Quicken my mortal frame. 
 Still let me live thy blood to show 
 
 Which purgeth every stain ; 
 And gladly linger out below, 
 
 A few more years in pain ! 
 
 Spare me till I my strength of soul, 
 
 Till I thy love retrieve ; 
 Till faith shall make my spirit whole, 
 
 And perfect soundness give. 
 For this in steadfast hope I wait ; 
 
 Now, Lord, my soul restore, 
 Now the new heavens and earth create, 
 
 And I shall sin no more. 
 
 •' It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait 
 for the salvation of the Lord." — Lam. 3 : 26. 
 
 " All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my 
 change come." — Job. 14 : 14. 
 
 " The supreme and absolute Former of all things giveth not 
 
 an account of any of his matters. The good husbandman may 
 
 pluck his roses and gather his lilies at midsummer." 
 
 Now let our souls on wings sublime 
 Rise from the vanities of time ; 
 Draw back the parting vail, and see 
 The glories of eternity. 
 
 Born by a new, celestial birth, 
 Why should we grovel here on earth ? 
 Why grasp at vain and fleeting toys, 
 So near to heaven's eternal joys ? 
 
46 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Shall aught beguile us on the road, 
 While we are walking back to God ? 
 For strangers into life we come, 
 And dying is but going home. 
 
 Welcome sweet hour of full discharge, 
 That sets our longing souls at large, 
 Unbinds our chains, breaks up our cell, 
 And gives us with our God to dwell. 
 
 To dwell with God, to feel his love, 
 Is the full heaven enjoyed above ; 
 And the sweet expectation now 
 Is the young dawn of heaven below. 
 
 " My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the 
 Lord."— Ps. 84 : 2. 
 
 PRAYER OX BEING DEPRIVED OF 
 RELIGIOUS ORDINANCES. 
 
 Lord ! Thou art my God ; early will I seek thee ! 
 My soul thirsteth for thee ; my flesh longeth for thee 
 in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy 
 power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanc- 
 tuary, when I went with the multitude unto the house 
 of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with the mul- 
 titude that kept holiday ! 
 
 1 was glad when they said unto me : " Let us go up 
 unto the house of the Lord." For how amiable are 
 thy tabernacles, O Lord God of Hosts ! Blessed are 
 they that dwell in thy house ; they shall be still prais- 
 ing Thee. For thy way, O God ! is in the sanctuary. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 47 
 
 Who is so great a God as our God ? There thou, Lord, 
 commandest the blessing, even life for evermore ! 
 
 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of 
 the Lord ; my heart and flesh cry out for the living 
 God. For a day spent in thy courts is better than a 
 thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house 
 of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness. One 
 thing have I desired of thee, O Lord ! that will I seek 
 after, that I may dwell in thy house all the days of my 
 life, to behold thy beauty, and to inquire in thy temple. 
 For there have I sat under thy shadow with great de- 
 light, and thy fruit was sweet to my taste. Thy words 
 were found, and I did eat them ; and thy word was 
 unto me as the joy and rejoicing of my heart. 
 
 Yet will I remember thee in my solitude. For 
 though thou lovest the gates of Zion, thou hast also a 
 blessing for the dwellings of Jacob. Oh ! be unto me 
 a little sanctuary in this place of my retirement. Sat- 
 isfy me early with thy mercy, give me to eat of that 
 hidden manna of which no one knoweth, saving they 
 that receive it, and to drink of that river, the streams 
 whereof make glad the city of God, that my soul being 
 nourished and refreshed thereby, I may be enabled to go 
 from strength to strength, till I appear perfect before 
 thee in the Zion above. May my fellowship be indeed 
 this day with thee, the Father, and with thy Son Jesus 
 Christ, through the Holy Spirit, that I may have cause 
 to say with the Patriarch of old, " Surely the Lord is 
 in this place and I knew it not ! This is none other 
 than the house of God and the gate of heaven ;" and to 
 the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all the glory for- 
 ever ! Amen. 
 
48 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 SABBATH HYMN FOR A SICK-CHAMBER. 
 
 Thousands, O Lord of hosts ! this day 
 
 Around thine altar meet ; 
 And tens of thousands throng to pay 
 
 Their homage at thy feet. 
 
 They see thy power and glory there, 
 
 As I have seen them too ; 
 They read, they hear, they join in prayer, 
 
 As I was wont to do. 
 
 They sing thy deeds, as I have sung, 
 
 In sweet and solemn lays ; 
 Were I among them, my glad tongue 
 
 Might learn new themes of praise. 
 
 For thou art in the midst, to teach 
 
 When on thy name they call ; 
 And thou hast blessings, Lord, for each ; 
 
 Hast blessings, Lord, for all. 
 
 I, of such fellowship bereft, 
 
 In spirit turn to thee. 
 Oh ! hast thou not a blessing left ? 
 
 A blessing, Lord, for me ? 
 
 The dew lies thick on all the ground, 
 
 Shall my poor fleece be dry ? 
 The manna rains from heaven around, 
 
 Shall I of hunger die ? 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 49 
 
 Behold thy prisoner ; loose my bands, 
 
 If 'tis thy gracious will ; 
 If not, contented in thy hands, 
 
 Behold thy prisoner still ! 
 
 I may not to thy courts repair, 
 
 Yet here thou surely art ; 
 Lord, consecrate a house of prayer 
 
 In my surrendered heart. 
 
 To faith reveal the things unseen ; 
 
 To hope the joys unfold ; 
 Let love without a veil between, 
 
 This glory now behold. 
 
 Oh ! make thy face on me to shine, 
 
 That doubt and fear may cease ; 
 Lift up thy countenance benign 
 
 On me, and give me peace. 
 
 "The way, the truth, and the life." — John 14 : 6 . 
 
 " They can not go amiss whose guide is the Way. They can 
 not err whose director is the Truth. They can not perish 
 whose preserver is the Life. 
 
 Thou art the way : to thee alone 
 
 From sin and death we flee ; 
 And he who would the Father seek, 
 
 Must seek him, Lord, by thee. 
 
 Thou art the truth : thy word alone 
 
 True wisdom can impart ; 
 Thou only canst instruct the mind, 
 
 And purify the heart, 
 3 
 
50 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Thou art the Life : the rending tomb 
 Proclaims thy conquering arm ; 
 
 And those who put their trust in thee 
 !N"or death nor hell shall harm. 
 
 Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life 
 Grant us to know that Way ; 
 
 That Truth to keep, that Life to win, 
 Which leads to endless day. 
 
 " But it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be 
 light." -Zech. 14 : 7. 
 
 "Let me have a firm faith in God's truth and love ; let me 
 be confident that he will do what he hath said, and perform all 
 that he has promised ; and I discover mercy's bow bent on for- 
 tune's blackest cloud, and under most trying providences shall 
 enjoy in my heart and exhibit to others in my temper the 
 blessed difference between a sufferer that mourns, and a spirit 
 that murmurs." 
 
 We journey through a vale of tears, 
 
 By many a cloud o'ercast ; 
 And worldly cares and worldly fears 
 
 Go with us to the last. 
 Not to the last ! thy word hath said, 
 
 Could we but read aright ; 
 Poor pilgrim, lift in hope thy head, 
 
 At eve there shall be light ! 
 
 Though earth-born shadows now may shroud 
 
 Thy thorny path awhile, 
 God's blessed word can part each cloud, 
 
 And bid the sunshine smile. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 51 
 
 Only believe, in living faith, 
 
 His love and power divine, 
 And ere thy sun shall set in death, 
 
 His light shall round thee shine ! 
 
 When tempest-clouds are dark on high, 
 
 His bow of love and peace 
 Shines sweetly in the vaulted sky. 
 
 Betokening storms shall cease ! 
 Hold on thy way, with hope unchilled, 
 
 By faith and not by sight ; 
 And thou shalt own his word fulfilled — 
 
 At eve it shall be light ! 
 
 "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to 
 sing praises unto thy name, O most High ! to show forth thy 
 loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every 
 night." — Psalm 92 : 1, 2. 
 
 " There is nothing glorifies God like praise. ' Whoso offer- 
 eth praise, glorifieth me.' Prayer expresses dependence and 
 desire ; but praise admiration and gratitude. By it men tes- 
 tify and tell all abroad that God is good, and thus others are 
 persuaded to ' taste and see that the Lord is good.' " 
 
 God of my life ! through all its days 
 My grateful powers shall sound thy praise ; 
 The song shall wake with opening light, 
 And warble to the silent night. 
 
 When anxious thoughts w^ould break my rest, 
 Or griefs disturb my throbbing breast, 
 Thy tuneful praises, raised on high, 
 Shall check the murmur and the sigh. 
 
52 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 When death o'er nature shall prevail, 
 And all my powers of language fail, 
 Joy through my swimming eyes shall break, 
 And mean the thanks I can not speak. 
 
 And oh ! when that last conflict's o'er, 
 And I am chained to earth no more, 
 With what glad accents shall I rise, 
 To join the triumphs of the skies ! 
 
 Soon shall I learn the exalted strains 
 That echo o'er the heavenly plains, 
 And emulate, with joy unknown, 
 The glowing seraphs round thy throne. 
 
 The cheerful tribute will I give 
 Long as a deathless soul shall live ; 
 A work so sweet, a theme so high, 
 Demands and crowns eternity. 
 
 "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." — Heb. 13 : 5. 
 
 " Christ will stand by his people in trouble and death. When 
 flesh and heart fail, when friends fail, yea, when life fails, 
 Christ will not fail, but will stand by us and strengthen us, 
 and will be a light in our darkest hours, to raise our spirits 
 when they are ready to sink within us — whom he loveth he 
 loveth to the end, or rather world without end." 
 
 Almighty Father of mankind, 
 
 On thee my hopes remain ; 
 And when the day of trouble comes, 
 
 I shall not trust in vain. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 53 
 
 In early years thou wast my guide, 
 
 And of my youth the friend ; 
 And as my days began with thee, 
 
 With thee my days shall end. 
 
 I know the power in whom I trust, 
 
 The arm on which I lean ; 
 He will my Saviour ever be, 
 
 Who has my Saviour been. 
 
 Thou wilt not cast me off, when age 
 
 And evil days descend ; 
 Thou wilt not leave me in despair, 
 
 To mourn my latter end. 
 
 Therefore, in life I'll trust to thee, 
 
 In death I will adore ; 
 And after death will sing thy praise, 
 
 When time shall be no more. 
 
 " For now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to 
 face : now I know in part ; but then shall I know even as also 
 I am known." — 1 Cor. 13 : 12. 
 
 "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." — Ps. 56 : 3. 
 
 " "We see his working and we sorrow. The end of his coun- 
 sel and working lieth hidden and underneath the ground, and 
 therefore we can not believe." 
 
 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. 
 
54 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 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 th' immortal years ? 
 
 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. 
 
 There shall no doubts disturb its trust, 
 
 ~No sorrows dim celestial love ; 
 But these afflictions of the dust, 
 
 Like shadows of the night remove. 
 
 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 ! 
 
 "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, 
 but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the 
 covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath 
 mercy on thee." —Is. 54 : 10. 
 
 " Thy care, be it what it will, has a promise either of sup- 
 port or of deliverance. If thou art not delivered, yet, if Christ 
 support thee, so that thy faith and patience fail not, does not 
 this show his infinite goodness to thee ?" 
 
 Often, my God ! when most I need 
 
 Thy pitying aid, I seek it least ; 
 And fail thy promises to plead, 
 
 When weary and with pain oppressed. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 55 
 
 For Satan then, with guileful power, 
 Draws near, and tempts me to delay ; 
 
 Suggesting still, from hour to hour, 
 " Thou art too sick, too weak, to pray. 
 
 " Nor mind nor body now can bear 
 The high employment ; wait awhile." 
 
 Oh ! what could comfort me like prayer ! 
 What cheer me like my Saviour's smile ? 
 
 I will approach thee — I will force 
 My way through obstacles to thee ; 
 
 To thee for strength will have recourse, 
 To thee for consolation flee. 
 
 Not willingly dost thou so grieve 
 
 And chasten thy still pardoned child ; 
 
 Wilt thou not soon my pain relieve, ■ 
 
 And cheer me with thy accents mild ? 
 
 Oh ! cast me, cast me not away 
 
 From thy dear presence, gracious Lord I 
 
 My burden at thy feet I lay, 
 My soul reposes on thy word. 
 
56 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "Lord, increase our faith." — Luke 17 : 5. 
 
 " Art thou blind ? then come to Jesus, that he may restore 
 you. Hast thou a measure of light ? then pray that he may 
 lay his hands again on thee, that thou mayest be enabled to 
 read thy title clear to thy heavenly inheritance." 
 
 Oh ! for a faith that will not shrink, 
 
 Though pressed by every foe, 
 That will not tremble on the brink 
 
 Of any earthly wo ! 
 
 That will not murmur nor complain 
 
 Beneath the chastening rod ; 
 But, in the hour of grief or pain, 
 
 Will lean upon its God ; 
 
 A faith that shines more bright and clear 
 
 When tempests rage without ; 
 That when in danger knows no fear, 
 
 In darkness feels no doubt ; 
 
 That bears, unmoved, the world's dread frown, 
 
 Nor heeds its scornful smile ; 
 That seas of trouble can not drown, 
 
 Nor Satan's arts beguile ; 
 
 A faith that keeps the narrow way 
 
 Till life's last hour is fled, 
 And, with a pure and heavenly ray, 
 
 Lights up a dying-bed. 
 
 Lord, give us such a faith as this, 
 
 And then, whate'er may come, 
 We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss 
 
 Of an eternal home. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 57 
 
 "Perfect love casteth out fear." — 1 John 4 : 18. 
 
 " Death to a good man is but passing through a dark entry 
 out of one little dusky room of his father's house, into another 
 that is fair and large, lightsome and glorious, and divinely 
 entertaining." 
 
 Lord, it belongs not to my care 
 
 Whether I die or live ; 
 To love and serve thee is my share, 
 
 And this thy grace must give. 
 
 If life be long, I will be glad, 
 
 That I may long obey ; 
 If short, yet why should I be sad, 
 
 To soar to endless day ? 
 
 Christ leads me through no darker rooms 
 
 Than he went through before ; 
 He that unto God's kingdom comes 
 
 Must enter by his door. 
 
 Come, Lord, when grace has made me meet 
 
 Thy blessed face to see ; 
 For if thy work on earth be sweet, 
 
 "What will thy glory be ? 
 
 Then shall I end my sad complain 1 s 
 
 And weary sinful days, 
 And join with the triumphant saints 
 
 That sing Jehovah's praise. 
 
 My knowledge of that life is small, 
 
 The eye of faith is dim ; 
 But 'tis enough that Christ knows all, 
 
 And I shall be with him. 
 
58 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial 
 ■which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened 
 unto you : But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of 
 Christ's sufferings ; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye 
 may be glad also with exceeding joy." — 1 Peter 4 : 12, 13. 
 
 11 God has need of sufferers, as well as of laborers in Ms 
 kingdom. The service of the sufferer is a more difficult, and, 
 therefore, a higher service than that of the laborer. Not every 
 one is qualified for the higher service. God, therefore, takes 
 those, sometimes, who promised to be the most effective 
 laborers, and transforms them into sufferers." 
 
 When this passing world is doisc, 
 When has sunk yon glaring sun, 
 When we stand with Christ in glory, 
 Looking o'er life's finished story, 
 Then, Lord, shall I fully know — 
 Not till then — how much I owe. 
 
 When I stand before the throne, 
 Dressed in beauty not my own, 
 When I see thee as thou art, 
 Love thee with unsinning heart, 
 Then, Lord, shall I fully know — 
 Not till then — how much I owe. 
 
 When the praise of heaven I hear, 
 Loud as thunders to the ear, 
 Loud as many waters' noise, 
 Sweet as harp's melodious voice, 
 Then, Lord, shall I fully know — 
 Not till then — how much I owe. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 59 
 
 Chosen not for good in me, 
 Wakened up from wrath to flee, 
 Hidden in the Saviour's side, 
 By the Spirit sanctified ; 
 Teach me, Lord, on earth to show, 
 By my love, how much I owe. 
 
 Oft I walk beneath the cloud, 
 Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud ; 
 But when fear is at the height, 
 Jesus comes, and all is light. 
 Blessed Jesus ! bid me show 
 Doubting saints how much I owe. 
 
 Oft the nights of sorrow reign — 
 Weeping, sickness, sighing, pain.; 
 But a night thine anger burns — 
 Morning comes, and joy returns : 
 Blessed Jesus ! bid me show 
 Weary sinners all I owe. 
 
 " He is the rock, his work is perfect." — Deut. 32 : 4. 
 
 " Reeds fail, but the rock is firm footing ; yea, when the soul 
 can no longer tabernacle here, it can cast itself upon God with, 
 ' Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' " 
 
 Rock of ages ! cleft for me ! 
 
 Let me hide myself in thee ! 
 
 Let the water and the blood, 
 
 From thy wounded side which flowed, 
 
 Be of sin the double cure ; 
 
 Cleanse me from its guilt and power. 
 
60 fiYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Not the labor of my hands 
 Can fulfill thy law's demands ; 
 Could my zeal no respite know, 
 Could my tears forever flow ; 
 All for sin could not atone ; 
 Thou must save, and thou alone. 
 
 Nothing in my hand I bring, 
 Simply to thy cross I cling ; 
 Naked, come to thee for dress, 
 Helpless, look to thee for grace ; 
 Vile ! I to the fountain fly, 
 Wash me, Saviour, or I die. 
 
 While I draw this fleeting breath, 
 When my eyelids close in death, 
 When I soar to worlds unknown, 
 See thee on thy judgment throne- 
 Rock of ages, shelter me ! 
 Let me hide myself in thee ! 
 
 "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness."— 
 Ps. 17 : 15. 
 
 " ye who, in this tabernacle, do groan, being burdened ; 
 bear up, and press on ; for the day of your redemption draw- 
 eth nigh : soon shall ye pass through the waters, leaning on 
 your beloved, and enter into his rest — and his rest shall be 
 glorious." 
 
 Tossed on the billows far and wide, 
 And struggling 'gainst a whelming tide, 
 When shall I to the haven come, 
 And moor my bark, and see my home ? 
 When I am over Jordan ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 61 
 
 When shall I see my sins all slain ? 
 When shall I see my Saviour reign 
 Victorious o'er these fears of mine, 
 Which dare his boundless love confine ? 
 When I am over Jordan ! 
 
 When shall I see him face to face, 
 And find a blessed resting-place ? 
 And hide me where his people hide, 
 Who have been washed and purified ? 
 When I am over Jordan ! 
 
 When shall my falt'ring tongue confess 
 The wonders of his righteousness ? 
 And sing the song the ransomed raise, 
 Dearer than angels' loftiest praise ? 
 When I am over Jordan ! 
 
 Here, cast about, and faint and weak, 
 Dumb when I would his praises speak ; 
 There shall my voice ring out on high, 
 Till heaven's wide arches give reply — 
 When I am over Jordan ! 
 
 " Come unto me all ye that weary and are heavy laden, and 
 I will give you rest."— Matt. 11 : 28. 
 
 " You are weary and heavy laden ; well, it is you Christ in- 
 vites to come to him and find rest. He asks you to cling to 
 him, to lean on him ; he does not command you to walk alone 
 without stumbling. He does not tell you, as your fellow-men 
 
62 HYMNS FOE THE SICK-EOOM. 
 
 do, that you must first merit his love ; he neither condemns 
 nor reproaches you for the past, he only bids you come to him 
 that you may have life." 
 
 Jesus, full of all compassion, 
 
 Hear thine humble suppliant's cry ; 
 Let me know thy great salvation ; 
 
 See ! I languish, faint, and die. 
 Guilty, but with heart relenting, 
 
 Overwhelmed with helpless grief, 
 Prostrate at thy feet repenting — 
 
 Send, oh ! send me quick relief. 
 
 "Whither should a wretch be flying, 
 
 But to him who comfort gives ? 
 Whither, from the dread of dying, 
 
 But to him who ever lives ? 
 While I view thee, wounded, grieving, 
 
 Breathless on the cursed tree, 
 Fain I'd feel my heart believing 
 
 Thou didst suffer thus for me. 
 
 With thy righteousness and spirit, 
 
 I am more than angels blest ; 
 Heir with thee, all things inherit, 
 
 Peace, and joy, and endless rest. 
 Without thee, the world possessing, 
 
 I should be a wretch undone ; 
 Search through heaven, the land of blessing, 
 
 Seeking good, and finding none. 
 
 Hear then, blessed Saviour, hear me ! 
 Mv soul cleaveth to the dust ; 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 63 
 
 Send the Comforter to cheer me ; 
 
 Lo ! in thee I put my trust, 
 On the word thy blood hath sealed, 
 
 Hangs my everlasting all ; 
 Let thine arm be now revealed ; 
 
 Stay, oh ! stay me lest I fall. 
 
 In the world of endless ruin, 
 
 Let it never, Lord, be said : 
 " Here's a soul that perished, suing 
 
 For the boasted Saviour's aid ! " 
 Saved ! the deed shall spread new glory 
 
 Through the shining realms above ; 
 Angels sing the pleasing story, 
 
 All enraptured with thy love. 
 
 " I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a peo- 
 ple." — Rom. 8 : 10. 
 
 " The Father sinks you on earth that you may rise in 
 heaven, and makes you sad for a moment that he may make 
 you happier through eternity there. ' The trying of your 
 faith worketh patience.' " 
 
 My God, the cov'nant of thy love 
 
 Abides forever sure ; 
 And, in its matchless grace, I feel 
 
 My happiness secure. 
 
 Since thou, the everlasting God, 
 
 My Father art become ; 
 Jesus, my Guardian and my Friend, 
 
 And heaven my final home ; 
 
64 HYMNS FOE THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 I welcome all thy sov'reign will, 
 
 For all that will is love ; 
 And when I know not what thou dost, 
 
 I wait the light above. 
 
 Thy cov'nant in the darkest gloom 
 Shall heavenly rays impart ; 
 
 And when my eyelids close in death, 
 Sustain my fainting heart. 
 
 " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all 
 men unto me." — John 12 : 32. 
 
 " Think of him whose love fills heaven with happiness ; 
 whose dying sorrows have procured immortal life for countless 
 multitudes ; whose compassion shines like the noon-day sun, 
 but' has no setting beam ; and can you distrust such tender- 
 ness, or droop beneath the noon-day warmth of such compas- 
 sion ?" 
 
 O sacred head ! now wounded, 
 
 With grief and shame weighed down ; 
 O sacred brow ! surrounded 
 
 With thorns, thine only crown ! 
 Once on a throne of glory, 
 
 Adorned with light divine, 
 Now all despised and gory, 
 
 I joy to call thee mine. 
 
 O noblest brow and dearest ! 
 
 In other days the world 
 All feared as thou appearedst ; 
 
 What shame is on thee hurled ! 
 
HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 65 
 
 How art thou pale with anguish, 
 
 With sore abuse and scorn ; 
 How does that bosom languish 
 
 Which once was bright as morn. 
 
 The blushes late residing 
 
 Upon that holy cheek ; 
 The roses once abiding 
 
 Upon those lips so meek ; 
 Alas ! they have departed ; 
 
 Pale death has rifled all ! 
 For weak and broken-hearted 
 
 I see thy body fall. 
 
 What thou, my Lord, hast suffered, 
 
 Was all for sinners' gain — 
 Mine, mine, was the transgression, 
 
 But thine the deadly pain ! 
 Lo ! here I fall, my Saviour, 
 
 'Tis I deserve thy place ; 
 Look on me with thy favor, 
 
 Vouchsafe to me thy grace. 
 
 Receive me, my Redeemer, 
 
 My Shepherd, make me thine ; 
 Of every good the fountain, 
 
 Thou art the spring of mine. 
 Thy lips with love distilling, 
 
 And milk of truth sincere, 
 With heaven's bliss are rilling 
 
 The soul that trembles here. 
 
HYilXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Beside thee, Lord, I've taken 
 
 My place — forbid me not ! 
 Hence will I ne'er be shaken, 
 
 Though thou to death be brought. 
 If pain's last paleness hold thee 
 
 In agony oppressed, 
 Then, then, will I enfold thee 
 
 Within this arm and breast. 
 
 The joy can ne'er be spoken 
 
 Above all joys beside, 
 "When in thy body broken 
 
 I thus with safety hide. 
 My Lord of life desiring 
 
 Thy glory now to see, 
 Beside the cross expiring, 
 
 I'd breathe my soul to thee. 
 
 What language can I borrow 
 
 To thank thee, dearest Friend, 
 For this thy dying sorrow, 
 
 Thy pity without end ? 
 Oh ! make me thine forever ; 
 
 And should I fainting be, 
 Lord, let me never, never 
 
 Outlive my love to thee. 
 
 Be near when I am dying ; 
 
 Oh ! show thy cross to me, 
 And for my succor flying, 
 
 Come, Lord, to set me free. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 67 
 
 These eyes new faith receiving, 
 
 From Jesus shall not move ; 
 For he who dies believing, 
 
 Dies safely in thy love. 
 
 " I know, O Lord ! that thy judgments are right, and that 
 thou in very faithfulness hast afflicted me."— Psalm 119 : 75. 
 
 11 Sickness is the rod of God, sometimes falling lightly on 
 us, at other times more heavily. Let us kiss the rod ; let us 
 open our mouth wide to the blessing, seeking so to profit by 
 each bodily ailment, slight or severe, that it may bring forth 
 in us the peaceable fruits of righteousness. ' I know,' says 
 one, ' of no greater blessing than health, except pain and sick- 
 ness.' " 
 
 Saviour ! I can welcome sickness, 
 If these words be said of me ; 
 Can rejoice, 'midst pain and weakness, 
 If I am but loved by thee ; 
 
 Love so precious 
 Balm for every wound will be. 
 
 Thou who wait est not for fitness 
 In the souls thy blood has saved, 
 
 Let thy spirit now bear witness 
 He this sentence has engraved." 
 
 Love so precious 
 Gives me all my prayers have craved. 
 
 Though that love sends days of sadness 
 
 In a life so brief as this, 
 It prepares me days of gladness 
 
 And a life of perfect bliss. 
 Love so precious 
 
 Bids me every fear dismiss. 
 
68 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "Forever with the Lord." — 1 Thess. 4 : 17. 
 
 " In this world there can not be that harmony and oneness 
 of body and soul that there will be in heaven. Here the body 
 sometimes sins against the soul, and the soul vexes and per- 
 plexes the body. In heaven shall be perfect union." 
 
 " Forever with the Lord !" 
 Amen ! so let it be : 
 Life from the dead is in that word ; 
 'Tis immortality ! 
 
 Here in the body pent, 
 
 Absent from him I roam, 
 Yet nightly pitch my moving tent 
 
 A day's march nearer home. 
 
 My Father's house on high, 
 
 Home of my soul, how near 
 At times to faith's illumined eye 
 
 Thy golden gates appear ! 
 
 My thirsty spirit faints 
 
 To reach the land I love, 
 The bright inheritance of saints, 
 „ Jerusalem above. 
 
 Yet clouds will intervene, 
 
 And all my prospect flies ; 
 Like Noah's dove, I flit between 
 
 Rough seas and stormy skies. 
 
 Anon the clouds disperse, 
 
 The winds and waters cease, 
 And sweetly o'er my gladdened heart 
 
 Expands the bow of peace. 
 
HYMN'S FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 69 
 
 Beneath the flowery arch, 
 
 Along the hallowed ground, 
 I see cherubic armies march, 
 
 A camp of fire around. 
 
 Then, then I feel that he, 
 
 Remembered or forgot, 
 The Lord, is never far from me, 
 
 Though I perceive him not. 
 
 All that I am, have been, 
 
 All that I yet may be, 
 He sees as he hath ever seen, 
 
 And shall forever see. 
 
 How can I meet his eyes ! 
 
 Mine on the cross I cast, 
 And own my life a Saviour's prize, 
 
 Mercy from first to last. 
 
 " Forever with the Lord !" 
 Father, if 'tis thy will, 
 The promise of thy gracious word, 
 E'en here to me fulfill. 
 
 Be thou at my right hand ; 
 
 So shall I never fail : 
 Uphold thou me and I shall stand ; 
 
 Help, and I shall prevail. 
 
 So, when my latest breath 
 
 Shall rend the vail in twain, 
 By death I shall escape from death, 
 
 And life eternal gain. 
 
70 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Knowing as I am known, 
 
 How shall I love that word, 
 And oft repeat before the throne, 
 
 " Forever with the Lord !" 
 
 The trump of final doom 
 
 Shall speak the self-same word, 
 
 And heaven's voice sound through the tomb, 
 " Forever with the Lord !" 
 
 Then shall I upward fly ; 
 
 That resurrection word 
 Shall be my shout of victory, 
 
 " Forever with the Lord !" 
 
 '• In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts 
 delight my soul." — Ps. 94 : 19. 
 
 "Confident we are the life and death, the blood and right- 
 eousness of Jesus are the life of our graces, the spring of our 
 comforts, the support of our weary minds, and the only reviving 
 cordial of our fainting spirits. Are we panting sinners at his 
 footstool ? Considering Jesus makes us joyful before his 
 throne now, soon we shall stand eternally happy in his 
 presence." 
 
 O Lord ! how happy is the time 
 
 When in thy love I rest ; 
 When from my weariness I climb 
 
 E'en to thy tender breast. 
 The night of sorrow endeth there, 
 
 Thy rays outshine the sun ; 
 And in thy pardon and thy care 
 
 The heaven of heavens is won ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 71 
 
 Let the world call itself my foe, 
 
 Or let the world allure ; 
 I care not for the world, I go 
 
 To this tried Friend and sure ; 
 And when life's fiercest storms are sent 
 
 Upon life's wildest sea, 
 My little bark is confident, 
 
 Because it holds by thee. 
 
 When the law threatens endless death, 
 
 Upon the dreadful hill, 
 Straightway from its consuming breath 
 
 My soul mounts higher still ; 
 She hastes to Jesus, wounded, slain, 
 
 And finds in him her home, 
 Whence she shall not go forth again, 
 
 And where no death can come. 
 
 And if the gate that opens there 
 
 Be closed to other men, 
 It is not closed to those who share 
 
 The heart of Jesus then ; 
 That is not losing much of life 
 
 Which is not losing thee — 
 Thou art as present in the strife 
 
 As in the victory. 
 
 Wherefore, how happy is the time 
 
 When in thy love I rest ; 
 When from my weariness I climb 
 
 E'en to thy tender breast ! 
 
72 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 The night of sorrow endeth there, 
 Thy rays outshine the sun ; 
 
 And in thy pardon and thy care, 
 The heaven of heaven is won ! 
 
 " These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might 
 have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation." — John 
 16 :33. 
 
 ■ The fellowship of his sufferings." — Phil. 3 : 10. 
 
 " As peace was left to you in Christ's Testament, so the 
 other half of the legacy was Christ's sufferings. Because, then, 
 ye are made heirs and assigns to a life-rent of Christ's cross, 
 think that fiery trial no strange thing." 
 
 Thou who didst stoop below 
 
 To drain the cup of woe, 
 And wear the form of frail mortality, 
 
 Thy blessed labors done, 
 
 Thy crown of victory won, 
 Hast passed from earth — passed to thy home on high, 
 
 It was no path of flowers, 
 
 Through this dark world of ours, 
 Beloved of the Father ! thou didst tread ; 
 
 And shall we in dismay 
 
 Shrink from the narrow way, 
 When clouds and darkness are around it spread ? 
 
 O thou who art our life ! 
 
 Be with us through the strife ; 
 "Was not thy head by earth's rude tempests bowed ? 
 
 Raise thou our eyes above 
 
 To see a Father's love 
 Beam, like" the bow of promise, through the cloud. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 73 
 
 E'en through the awful gloom 
 
 Which hovers o'er the tomb, 
 That light of love our guiding star shall be ; 
 
 Our spirits shall not dread 
 
 The shadowy way to tread, 
 Friend, guardian, Saviour ! which doth lead to thee. 
 
 " Therefore I will allure her, and bring her into the wilder- 
 ness, and speak comfortably unto her ; and I will give her 
 vineyards from thence."— Hosea 2 : 14, 15. 
 
 M And he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and 
 oil out of the flinty rock."— Deut. 32 : 13. 
 
 " We take comparatively little note of the vine amid a hun- 
 dred other tokens of fertility ; and the honey is, perhaps, 
 almost untasted, when even luscious fruit is offering itself 
 abundantly. The worth of the vineyard is felt when met in the 
 wilderness, and the honey, to be appreciated, must be found in 
 the rock." 
 
 When I can trust my all with God, 
 
 In trial's fearfcil hour, 
 Bow, all resigned, beneath his rod, 
 
 And bless his sparing power, 
 A joy springs up amid distress, 
 A fountain in the wilderness. 
 
 Oh ! to be brought to Jesus' feet, 
 
 Though trials fix me there, 
 Is still a privilege most sweet, 
 
 For he will hear my prayer ; 
 Though sighs and tears its language be, 
 The Lord is nigh to answer me. 
 
74 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Oh ! blessed be the hand that gave — 
 Still blessed when it takes ; 
 
 Blessed be he who smites to save — 
 Who heals the heart he breaks ; 
 
 Perfect and true are all his ways, 
 
 Whom heaven adores and death obeys. 
 
 " Fear not : for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee 
 by my name ; thou art mine. "When thou passest through 
 the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they 
 shall not overflow thee."— Isaiah 43:1, 2. 
 
 " The death and resurrection of the Son of God are stepping- 
 stones and a stay to you. Set down your feet by faith upon 
 these stones, and go through, as on dry land." 
 
 Christ, of all my hopes the ground — 
 Christ, the spring of all my joy ! 
 
 Still in thee let me be found, 
 
 Still for thee my powers employ. 
 
 Fountain of o'erflowing grace ! 
 
 Freely from thy fullness give ; 
 Till I close my earthly race, 
 
 Be it " Christ for me to live !" 
 
 Firmly trusting in thy blood, 
 
 Nothing shall my heart confound ; 
 
 Safely I shall pass the flood, 
 
 Safely reach Immanuel's ground. 
 
 When I touch the blessed shore, 
 Back the closing waves shall roll ; 
 
 Death's dark stream shall never more 
 Part from thee my ravished soul. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 75 
 
 Thus, oh ! thus an entrance give 
 
 To the land of cloudless skies ; 
 Having known it " Christ to live," 
 
 Let me know it " gain to die." 
 
 " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." — Job 13 : 15. 
 
 11 Sickness teaches us that activity of service is not the only- 
 way in which God is glorified. ' They also serve who only 
 stand and wait' Active duty is that which man judges most 
 acceptable ; but God shows us that in bearing and suffering he 
 is also glorified." 
 
 Faith almost changes into sight 
 
 When from afar she spies 
 Her fair inheritance in light 
 
 Above created skies. 
 
 Had but the prison walls been strong, 
 
 And firm, without a flaw, 
 In darkness she had dwelt too long, 
 
 And less of glory saw. 
 
 But now the everlasting hills 
 
 Through every chink appear ; 
 And something of the joy she feels 
 
 "While she's a prisoner here. 
 
 The beams of heaven rush sweetly in 
 
 At all the gaping flaws ; 
 Visions of endless bliss are seen, 
 
 And native air she draws. 
 
76 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Oh ! may these walls stand tottering still, 
 
 The breaches never close ; 
 If I must here in darkness dwell, 
 
 And all this glory lose ! 
 
 Or rather let this flesh decay, 
 
 The ruins wider grow ; . 
 Till, glad to see th' enlarged way, 
 
 I stretch my pinions through ! 
 
 ""Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, and he shall 
 strengthen thine heart : wait, I say, on the Lord.— Ps. 27 : 14* 
 
 . " God could give you health ; to give you health would be a 
 little thing, compared with giving you Christ. Surely, if he 
 does not give you health, the reason must be that he sees it 
 best to appoint you sickness. Doubt not his love who gave 
 you a Saviour." 
 
 Father, whate'er of earthly bliss 
 
 Thy sovereign w T ill denies, 
 Accepted at thy throne of grace 
 
 Let this petition rise : 
 
 Give me a calm and thankful heart, 
 
 From every murmur free ; 
 The blessings of thy grace impart, 
 
 And let me live to thee. 
 
 Let the sweet hope that thou art mine 
 
 My life and death attend ; 
 Thy presence through my journey shine, 
 
 And crown my journey's end. 
 
HYMNS FOE THE SICK-ROOM. 77 
 
 " And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that 
 heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And 
 whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."— Rev. 
 22 : 17. 
 
 " What do we here but sin and suffer ? Oh ! when shall the 
 night be gone, the shadows flee away, and the morning of that 
 long, long day, without cloud or night, dawn ! The Spirit and 
 the bride say, Come. Oh ! when shall the Lamb's wife be 
 ready, and the bridegroom say, Come !" 
 
 With tearful eyes I look around, 
 Life seems a dark and stormy sea ; 
 
 Yet midst the gloom I hear a sound, 
 A,heavenly whisper — " Come to me!" 
 
 It tells me of a place of rest ; 
 
 It tells me where my soul may flee ! 
 Oh ! to the weary, faint, opprest, 
 
 How sweet the bidding — " Come to me !" 
 
 When the poor heart with anguish learns 
 That earthly props resigned must be, 
 
 And from each broken cistern turns, 
 It hears the accents — " Come to me." 
 
 When nature shudders, loth to part 
 
 From all I love, enjoy, and see ; 
 When a faint chill steals o'er my heart, 
 
 A sweet voice utters — " Come to me." 
 
 " Come, for all else must fail and die ; 
 Earth is no resting-place for thee ; 
 Heavenward direct thy weeping eye ; 
 I am thy portion — Come to me." 
 
78 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 O voice of mercy ! voice of love ! 
 
 In death's last fearful agony, 
 Support me, cheer me, from above, 
 
 And gently whisper — " Come to me." 
 
 " Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salva- 
 tion."— Ps. 27 : 9. 
 
 " The chastened spirit must find peace in believing, not that 
 he is the best of men, but that he is the ' chief of sinners ;' 
 not in holding fast his integrity, but in repenting in dust and 
 ashes." 
 
 O thou God who hear est prayer, 
 Every hour and every where ! 
 Listen to my feeble breath, 
 Now I touch the gates of death ; 
 For his sake, whose blood I plead, 
 Hear me in my hour of need, 
 
 Hear and save me, gracious Lord ! 
 For my trust is in thy word ; 
 Wash me from the stain of sin, 
 That thy peace may rule within. 
 May I know myself thy child, 
 Ransomed, pardoned, reconciled. 
 
 Dearest Lord, may I so much 
 As thy garment's hem but touch, 
 Or but raise my languid eye 
 To the cross where thou didst die, 
 It shall make my spirit whole, 
 It shall heal and save my soul. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 79 
 
 Thou art merciful to save ! 
 
 Thou hast snatched me from the grave t 
 
 I would kiss the chastening rod, 
 
 O my Father and my God ! 
 
 Only hide not now thy face, 
 
 God of all-sufficient grace ! 
 
 Leave me not, my strength, my trust ! 
 Oh ! remember I'm but dust ! 
 Leave me not again to stray ; 
 Leave me not the tempter's prey. 
 Fix my heart on things above ; 
 Make me happy in thy love. 
 
 " Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you."— 
 1 Pet. 5 : 7. 
 
 " There is a reason given by Peter for casting care on God, 
 that is expressibly touching. He says, • casting all your 
 care on him,' and then follows no flourish of rhetoric, no parade 
 of reasons, but this — oh ! how happily selected, I would say, 
 but that he wrote by inspiration, which does every thing feli- 
 citously — ' for he careth for you.' " 
 
 Are the days of darkness many ? 
 
 Are such now assigned to me ? 
 Yet, O Lord, there are not any 
 
 Which may not be spent with thee : 
 Saviour, thou canst make them bright ; 
 Turn my darkness into light. 
 
 Shall distress, however bitter, 
 
 Separate my soul from thee ? 
 No ! distress but makes it fitter 
 
80 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 To its hiding-place to flee : 
 Though of all beside bereft, 
 >Tis enough if thou art left. 
 
 Should it please thee now to sever 
 Life-long unions, dearest ties, 
 
 "Whisper, " I will leave thee never," 
 This shall check my tears and sighs ; 
 
 He whose mind is " stayed on thee," 
 
 Kever desolate shaU be. 
 
 " All things are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas f 
 or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things 
 to come ; all are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is 
 God's." — 1 Cor. 3 : 22, 23. 
 
 " ' There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague 
 come nigh thy dwelling,' is a promise to the fullest extent veri- 
 fied in the case of all who ' dwell in the secret place of the Most 
 High.' To them, sorrows are not 'evils,' sicknesses are not 
 ' plagues ;' the shadow of the Almighty, extending far around 
 those who abide under it, alters the character of all things 
 which come within its influence." 
 
 If God is mine, then present things 
 
 And things to come are mine ; 
 Yea, Christ, his word, and spirit, too, 
 
 And glory all divine. 
 
 "If he is mine, then from his love 
 
 He every trouble sends ; 
 All things are working for my good, 
 
 And bliss his rod attends. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 81 
 
 If he is mine, I need not fear 
 
 The rage of earth and hell ; 
 He will support my feeble power, 
 
 Their utmost force repel. 
 
 If he is mine, let friends forsake, 
 
 Let wealth and honors nee — 
 Sure, he who giveth me himself, 
 
 Is more than these to me. 
 
 If he is mine, I'll boldly pass 
 
 Through death's tremendous vale ; 
 
 He is a solid comfort when 
 All other comforts fail. 
 
 Oh ! tell me, Lord, that thou art mine ; 
 
 What can I wish beside ? 
 My soul shall at the fountain live, 
 
 When all the streams are dried. 
 
 m For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, work- 
 eth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.'' 
 -2 Cor. 4 : 17. 
 
 " So that glory is not merely the issue of the tribulation, but 
 in some sense, its product. Tribulation is the soil, and glory 
 is the blossom and the fruit." 
 
 O Saviour ! whose mercy, severe in its kindness, 
 
 Has chastened my wanderings, and guided my way ; 
 
 Adored be the power which illumined my blindness, 
 And weaned me from phantoms that smiled to betray. 
 
82 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 I thought that the course of the pilgrim to heaven 
 Would be bright as the summer, and glad as the 
 morn ; 
 
 Thou showedst me the path — it was dark and uneven — 
 All rugged with rock, and all tangled with thorn. 
 
 I dreamed of celestial rewards and renown ; 
 
 I grasped at the triumph which blesses the brave ; 
 I asked for the palm-branch, the robe, and the crown — 
 
 I asked — and thou showedst me a cross and a grave. 
 
 Subdued and instructed, at length to thy will, 
 My hopes and my longings I fain would resign ; 
 
 Oh ! give me the heart that can wait and be still, 
 Xor know of a wish or a pleasure but thine ! 
 
 There are mansions exempted from sin and from wo, 
 But they stand in a region by mortals untrod ; 
 
 There are rivers of joy, but they roll not below ; 
 There is rest, but it dwells in the presence of God. 
 
 " Having a desire to depart and be with Christ."— Phii. 1 : 23. 
 
 " Death is not to be desired for itself. The Apostle chose 
 rather to be clothed upon with his house which is from heaven, 
 that mortality might be swallowed up of life. But yet, rather 
 than he would be absent from the Lord, he was willing to be 
 absent from the body. Christ in glory is worth the being 
 with." 
 
 Where shall the weary rest ? 
 
 The child of sorrow where ? 
 In Jesus' arms, forever blest, 
 
 Soon shall he banish care. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 83 
 
 When shall the sufferer's pain, 
 
 The groan of anguish, cease ? 
 In heaven the saints no more complain, 
 
 But all is endless peace. 
 
 When shall temptation's power 
 
 No longer break repose ? 
 There comes a near, a blissful hour, 
 
 Which no disturbance knows. 
 
 When shall this aching heart. 
 
 With every loved one dwell ? 
 In worlds above they never part, 
 
 They never say " farewell." 
 
 Where is the blest abode 
 
 Whence none shall ever roam ? 
 There, in the presence of our God, 
 
 Is our eternal home. 
 
 Lord, in that happy land, 
 
 From sin and sorrow free, 
 Grant us among thy chosen band 
 
 To live in joy with thee. 
 
 " What man is he that liveth and shall not see death ?" — 
 Ps. 89 : 43. 
 
 " I will ransom them from the power of the grave ; I will 
 redeem them from death : O death, I will be thy plagues ! O 
 grave, I will be thy destruction." — Rosea 13 : 14. 
 
 " It is sent to release you from a body of sin and death, to 
 take you from a world of trial and sorrow, and to place you 
 within the walls of the city after which you have been so long 
 aspiring, that there you may be clothed with immortality, and 
 
84 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 see him whom, having not seen, you love. Why, then, be- 
 liever, should you start or shrink when the summons comes ?" 
 
 Why should we start, and fear to die ? 
 
 What timorous worms we mortals are ! 
 Death is the gate of endless joy, 
 
 And yet we dread to enter there. 
 
 The pains, the groans, and dying strife 
 Fright our approaching souls away ; 
 
 We still shrink back again to life, 
 Fond of our prison and our clay, 
 
 Oh ! if my Lord would come and meet, 
 My soul should stretch her wings in haste, 
 
 Fly fearless through death's iron gate, 
 Nor feel the terrors as she passed ! 
 
 Jesus can make a dying bed 
 
 Feel soft as downy pillows are, 
 While on his breast I lean my head, 
 
 And breathe my life out sweetly there ! 
 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, 
 and thou shalt glorify me." — Ps. 50 : 15. 
 
 " The unchangeableness of God's love to his people gives 
 
 confidence that they shall in no wise be cast out. They know 
 
 Christ will be the same to them at last as he was as first ; the 
 
 same in the pangs of death as in the comforts of life ; ' having 
 
 loved his own, he loved them unto the end.' " 
 
 God of my life ! to thee I call ; 
 Afflicted, at thy feet I fall ; 
 When high the water-floods prevail, 
 Leave not my trembling heart to fail. 
 
HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 85 
 
 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 ? 
 
 Did ever mourner plead with thee, 
 And thou refuse that mourner's plea ? 
 -Doth not the word still fixed remain, 
 That none shall seek thy face in vain ? 
 
 That were a grief I could not bear, 
 Didst thou not hear and answer prayer ; 
 But a prayer-hearing, answering God, 
 Supports me under every load. 
 
 Fair is the lot that's cast for me, 
 I have an advocate with thee ; 
 They whom the world caresses most 
 Have no such privilege to boast. 
 
 Poor though I am, despised, forgot, 
 Yet God, my God, forgets me not ; 
 And he is safe, and must succeed, 
 For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead. 
 
 " Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."— Matt 
 6 : 10. 
 
 "Who would exercise the fearful privilege of ordering a 
 
 single event which is to affect him ? And shall we contend for 
 
 a privilege which we would not exercise if we had it ? Shall 
 
 we claim to choose in a case in which, if the right of choice 
 
 were given us, we should immediately give it back into the 
 
 hands of God ?" 
 
 Thy will be done ! in devious way 
 The hurrying stream of life may run ; 
 
86 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Yet still our grateful hearts shall say, 
 Thy will be done ! 
 
 Thy will be done ! If o'er us shine 
 
 A gladdening and a prosperous sun, 
 This prayer will make it more divine — 
 Thy will be done ! 
 
 Thy will be done ! Though shrouded o'er 
 Our path with gloom, one comfort — one 
 Is ours — to breathe, while we adore, 
 Thy will be done ! 
 
 '* I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, "Write, 
 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord."— Rev. 14 : 13. 
 
 " Oh ! trust him, then, and be not afraid ; his love has 
 
 brought thee thus far ; he has led thee in the right way to the 
 
 verge of life, and he declares that he will not leave thee nor 
 
 forsake thee in the hour of death. Fear not to look down, fear 
 
 not to go down with Jesus into the grave. He has promised, 
 
 1 1 will be with thee.' " 
 
 Happy soul, thy days are ended, 
 
 All thy mourning days below : 
 Go, by angel guards attended, 
 
 To the sight of Jesus go ! 
 Waiting to receive thy spirit, 
 
 Lo ! the Saviour stands above, 
 Shows the purchase of his merit, 
 
 Reaches out the crown of love. 
 
 Struggle through thy latest passion 
 To thy dear Redeemer's breast, 
 
 To his uttermost salvation, 
 To his everlasting rest : 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 87 
 
 For the joys he sets before thee, 
 
 Bear a momentary pain ; 
 Die, to live the life of glory, 
 
 Suffer, with thy Lord to reign 
 
 "The Lamb is the light thereof." — Rev. 21 : 23. 
 " Let us who are here cut off from ordinances take comfort. 
 Christ can come to us without need of these channels, though 
 to others the appointed means of grace ; and when he himself 
 hath laid us aside from them, he can, while alluring us into 
 the wilderness, there speak comfortably unto us." 
 
 Thou only centre of my rest, 
 
 Look down with pitying eye, 
 While with protracted pain opprest 
 
 I breathe the plaintive sigh. 
 
 Thy gracious presence, O my God ! 
 
 My every wish contains ; 
 With this, beneath affliction's load, 
 
 My heart no more complains. 
 
 This can my every care control, 
 Gild each dark scene with light, 
 
 This is the sunshine of the soul, 
 Without it all is night. 
 
 My Lord, my life, oh ! cheer my heart 
 
 With thy reviving ray, 
 And bid these mournful shades depart, 
 
 And bring the dawn of day ! 
 
 Oh ! happy scenes of pure delight I 
 Where thy full beams impart 
 
88 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Unclouded beauty to the sight, 
 And rapture to the heart. 
 
 Her part in those fair realms of bliss, 
 My spirit longs to know ; 
 
 My wishes terminate in this, • 
 Nor can they rest below. 
 
 Lord, shall the breathings of my heart 
 
 Aspire in vain to thee ? 
 Confirm my hope, that where thou art, 
 
 I shall forever be. 
 
 Then shall my cheerful spirit sing 
 The darksome hours away, 
 
 And rise on faith's expanded wing 
 To everlasting day. 
 
 " "Whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether 
 we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live therefore, or 
 die, we are the Lord's." — Bom. 14 : 8. 
 
 " When soul and body part, my spirit will be a stranger in 
 the wondrous path that conducts the righteous to the presence 
 of their God, but Jesus knows the way, and I am his." 
 
 Deathless principle, arise ! 
 Soar, thou native of the skies ! 
 Pearl of price, by Jesus bought, 
 To his glorious likeness wrought, 
 Go, to shine before his throne, 
 Deck his mediatorial crown ; 
 Go, his triumphs to adorn ; 
 Born of God to God return. 
 
 Lo ! he beckons from on high ! 
 Fearless to his presence fly ; 
 
HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 89 
 
 Thine the merit of his blood, 
 Thine the righteousness of God ! 
 Angels, joyful to attend, 
 Hovering round thy pillow bend 5 
 Wait to catch the signal given, 
 And escort thee quick to heaven. 
 
 Is thy earthly house distressed, 
 Willing to retain its guest ? 
 'Tis not thou, but it must die — 
 Fly, celestial tenant, fly ! 
 Burst thy shackles, drop thy clay, 
 Sweetly breathe thyself away ; 
 Singing, to thy crown remove, 
 Swift of wing, and fired with love. 
 
 Shudder not to pass the stream, 
 Venture all thy care on him ; 
 Him, whose dying love and power 
 Stilled its tossing, hushed its roar : 
 Safe as the expanded wave, 
 Gentle as the summer's eve ; 
 Xot one object of his care 
 Ever suffered shipwreck there ! 
 
 See the haven full in view, 
 
 Love divine shall bear thee through ; 
 
 Trust to that propitious gale, 
 
 Weigh thy anchor, spread thy sail ! 
 
 Saints in glory perfect made, 
 
 Wait thy passage through the shade ! 
 
 Ardent for thy coming o'er, 
 
 See thev throng the blissful shore ! 
 
90 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Mount, their transports to improve, 
 Join the longing choir above, 
 Swiftly to their wish be given, 
 Kindle higher joy in heaven ! 
 Such the prospects that arise 
 To the dying Christian's eyes ! 
 Such the glorious vista, Faith 
 Opens through the shades of death ! 
 
 " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow ot 
 death, I will fear no evil."— Ps. 23 : 4. 
 
 " He does not say, * I will feel no evil,' but, ' I will fear no 
 evil.' He knows that trials await him, and that flesh and 
 blood must feel them. He fosters not any false courage by a 
 vain concealment of the truth. He never deludes himself with 
 the idea that there are no difficulties, no terrors in the valley. 
 'But thou art with me,' this is enough for all." 
 
 My God, the spring of all my joys, 
 
 The life of my delights, 
 The glory of my brightest days, 
 
 And comfort of my nights ! 
 
 In darkest shades, if he appear, 
 
 My dawning is begun ; 
 He is my soul's bright morning star, 
 
 And he my rising sun. 
 
 The opening heavens around me shine 
 
 With beams of sacred bliss, 
 While Jesus shows his love is mine, 
 
 And whispers, I am his. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 91 
 
 My soul would leave this heavy clay, 
 
 At that transporting word, 
 And run with joy the shining way, 
 
 To meet my gracious Lord. 
 
 Fearless of hell and ghastly death, 
 
 I break through every foe : 
 The wings of love and arms of faith 
 
 Shall bear me conqu'ror through. 
 
 "O death! where is thy sting?"— 1 Cor. 15 : 55. 
 
 " It is when the minor lights of comfort are extinguished 
 that the sun of righteousness shines forth and more than com- 
 pensates for them all." 
 
 Oh ! for an overcoming faith 
 
 To cheer my dying hours ! 
 To triumph o'er the monster death, 
 
 And all his frightful powers. 
 
 Joyful, with all the strength I have 
 My quiv'ring lips should sing, 
 " Where is thy boasted vict'ry, grave ? 
 And where the monster's sting ?" 
 
 If sin be pardoned, I'm secure ; 
 
 Death hath no sting beside : 
 The law gives sin its damning power, 
 
 But Christ, my ransom, died. 
 
 Now to the God of victory 
 
 Immortal thanks be paid, 
 Who makes us conqu'rors while we die, 
 
 Through Christ, our living Head 1 
 
92 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-K003I. 
 
 " God commendeth his love toward us ; in that while we 
 were yet sinners, Christ died for us."— Rom. 5 : 8. 
 
 "Many waters can not quench it, neither can the floods 
 drown it. Here is love stronger than death. Oh ! the heighth, 
 oh ! the depth of this love ; there are such dimensions in this 
 love of Christ as the longest line of our most extended thoughts 
 and imaginations can never be able to reach and measure." 
 
 There is a fountain filled with blood 
 
 Drawn from Emmanuel's veins ; 
 And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
 
 Lose all their guilty stains. 
 
 The dying thief rejoiced to see 
 
 That fountain in his day ; 
 And there may I, though vile as he, 
 
 Wash all my sins away. 
 
 Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood 
 
 Shall never lose its power, 
 Till all the ransomed Church of God 
 
 Be saved, to sin no more. 
 
 E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream 
 
 Thy flowing wounds supply, 
 Redeeming love hath been my theme, • 
 
 And shall be till I die. 
 
 Then in a nobler, sweeter song 
 
 I'll sing thy power to save ; 
 When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue 
 
 Lies silent in the grave. 
 
 Lord, I believe thou hast prepared 
 (Unworthy though I be) 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 93 
 
 For me a blood-bought, free reward, . 
 A golden harp for me. 
 
 'Tis strung, and tuned for endless years, 
 
 And formed by power divine, 
 To sound in God the Father's ears 
 
 No other name but thine. 
 
 " Cast not away, therefore, your confidence which hath 
 great recompense of reward." — Heb. 10 : 35. 
 
 "Blessed be God, the believer in Jesus does not sorrow 
 as those without hope. Soon will sorrow be exchanged for 
 unclouded bliss ; soon shall we join the company of those who 
 have reached the heavenly Jerusalem, and join our voices with 
 those loved ones who have gone before us, and with them take 
 up the notes of eternal praise to him who loved us and 
 washed us from our sins in his own blood. Yet a little while, 
 and He that shall come will come and not tarry. Indeed, these 
 are words of comfort with which to cheer one another as we 
 journey through this lonely wilderness. Some are called to 
 pass through deeper waters, and to drink a larger measure of 
 the cup of sorrow. But how precious to them is He who 
 bears them up ; how deep is the joy that succeeds the night 
 of weeping !" 
 
 O thou ! to whose all-searching sight 
 The darkness shineth as the light, 
 Search, prove my heart, it pants for thee ; 
 Oh ! burst these bonds, and set it free. 
 
 Wash out its stains, refine its dross ; 
 Nail my affections to the cross ; 
 Hallow each thought ; let all within 
 Be clean as thou, my Lord, art clean. 
 
94 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 As through this wilderness I stray, 
 Be thou my light, be thou my way ; 
 No foes, no evil, need I fear, 
 If thou, my Lord, my God, art near. 
 
 When rising floods my soul o'erflow, 
 When sinks my strength in waves of woe, 
 Saviour, thy timely aid impart, 
 And raise my head and cheer my heart. 
 
 Teach me, where'er thy steps I see, 
 Dauntless, untired, to folio w thee ; 
 Oil ! let thy hand support me still, 
 And lead me to thy holy hill. 
 
 If rough and thorny be the way, 
 My strength proportion to my day ; 
 Till toil, and grief, and pain shall cease, 
 Where all is calm, and joy, and peace. 
 
 " Cast me not off in the time of old age." — Ps. 71 : 3. 
 
 PRAYER FOR AN AGED PERSON LEFT 
 SOLITARY AND IN SICKNESS. 
 
 God of all consolation and grace, how blessed is the 
 assurance, that as a father pitieth his children, so thou, 
 the Lord, pitiest them that fear thee ; for thou knowest 
 our frame ; thou rememberest that we are dust. 
 
 At this time, how lonely and miserable should I feel, 
 but for the consolations of thy holy word ! for now the 
 years are come when, with regard to the world, its oc- 
 cupations and pursuits, I have to say, that I have no 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 95 
 
 pleasure in them ; and few and evil must now be the 
 days of my pilgrimage upon earth. For my tabernacle 
 is spoiled, and my cords are broken ; I am made to 
 possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are ap- 
 pointed unto me. When I lie down I say, " When 
 shall I arise, and the night be gone ?" and I am full of 
 tossiugs to and fro till the dawning of the day. But 
 thou art the Lord, that changest not ; thy mercy en- 
 dureth forever, and thy compassions never fail. There- 
 fore, when my heart fainteth within me, will I remem- 
 ber thee, O my God ! for thou art the strength of my 
 heart, and my portion forever. Let not my heart be 
 troubled by these light afflictions, which are but for a 
 moment, but believing in Jesus as my compassionate 
 High Priest, who can be touched with a feeling of all 
 my infirmities ; as the Lord my righteousness, who hath 
 fulfilled all righteousness in my stead, that I might be 
 justified freely by his grace ; as my all-prevailing advo- 
 cate with thee, the Father, who ever liveth to make in- 
 tercession for me ; as my Redeemer, upon whom the 
 chastisement of my peace was laid, and who has taken 
 away all mine iniquity, and reconciled me to thee 
 through the blood of his cross ; as my blessed Physi- 
 cian, whose name is a balm for every wound, a cure for 
 every wo ; believing in him, and knowing him as all my 
 salvation and all my desire ; and laying hold by faith on 
 thy precious promises, addressed to me through him, 
 may I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
 And though the earthly house of this tabernacle must 
 be dissolved, and I know that thou wilt bring me to 
 death, and to the house appointed for all living — though 
 ere long the dust shall return to the dust as it was — yet 
 
96 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 will I resign my spirit without fear into the hands of God, 
 who gave it. For blessed be thou, O God, and Father 
 of my Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to thine abun- 
 dant mercy, hast begotten me again to a lively hope, 
 by the resurrection of thy dear Son from the dead, even 
 to the hope that, though after my skin worms destroy 
 this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God — see the 
 King in his beauty, and the land that is very far off. 
 
 Oh ! do thou seal me with the Holy Spirit of pro- 
 mise, which is the earnest of my future inheritance. 
 May he, the Comforter, bring the truths of thy blessed 
 word seasonably to my remembrance, and apply them 
 savingly to my soul, that this may be my comfort in 
 mine affliction, while the days of trial last. For hast 
 thou not promised to strengthen me upon the bed of 
 languishing, and to make all my bed in my sickness ? 
 Hast thou not said : " Even to old age I am he, and 
 even to hoary hairs will I carry you. I have made and 
 I will bear, even I will carry and will deliver you. For 
 the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, 
 but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither 
 shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the 
 Lord, that hath mercy on thee. Lo, I am with you 
 alway, even to the end of the world. For I know the 
 thoughts that I think toward you — thoughts of peace, 
 and not of evil ; that I may give you an expected end." 
 
 Lord, may my latter end indeed be peace. At even- 
 ing-time let there be light. When the shades of that 
 night are fast closing around me, in which no man can 
 work, do thou, O Son of righteousness, shine into my 
 heart as mine everlasting light. Then, though called to 
 walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death, 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 97 
 
 I will fear no evil ; for if thou art with me, thy rod and 
 thy staff shall comfort and support me. 
 
 Lord, all my desire is before thee. In mercy hear 
 and answer. And to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be 
 all praise and glory forever and ever ! Amen ! 
 
 With years oppressed, with sorrows torn, 
 Dejected, harassed, sick, forlorn, 
 
 To thee, O God, I pray : 
 To thee these withered hands arise, 
 To thee I lift these failing eyes, 
 
 Oh ! cast me not away ! 
 
 Thy mercy heard my infant prayer, 
 Thy love, with all a mother's care, 
 
 Sustained my childish days : 
 Thy goodness watched my ripening youth, 
 And formed my heart to love thy truth, 
 
 And filled my lips with praise. 
 
 O Saviour ! has thy grace declined ? 
 Can years affect th' Eternal mind, 
 
 Or time its love decay ? 
 A thousand ages pass thy sight, 
 And all their long and weary flight 
 
 Is gone like yesterday. 
 
 Then, e'en in age and grief thy name 
 Shall still my languid heart inflame, 
 
 And bow my faltering knee : 
 Oh ! yet this bosom feels the fire ; 
 This trembling hand and drooping lyre 
 
 Have vet a strain for thee ! 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Yes ! timeless, broken, still, O Lord, 
 This voice, transported, shall record 
 
 Thy goodness, tried so long : 
 Till, sinking slow, with calm decay, 
 In feeble numbers melt away 
 
 Into a seraph's song. 
 
 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again 
 and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may 
 be also." — John 14 : 3. 
 
 " Of those who sleep in Jesus it is said, Blessed are those 
 who die in the Lord. Oh ! happy they who thus rest in the 
 presence of their God. They have done with sorrow, done 
 with pain, done with sickness, with wearisome nights and 
 sighing days. There but remaineth for them the fullness of 
 joy at the Father's right hand for evermore." 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! blessed sleep ! 
 From which none ever wakes to weep : 
 A calm and undisturbed repose, 
 Unbroken by the last of foes ! 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! oh ! how sweet, 
 To be for such a slumber meet ! 
 With holy confidence to sing, 
 That death hath lost his venomed sting ! 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! peaceful rest, 
 Whose waking is supremely blest ; 
 No fear nor wo shall dim that hour, 
 That manifests the Saviour's power. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! oh ! for me 
 May such a blissful refuge be : 
 Securely shall my ashes lie, 
 Waiting the summons from on high ! 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! time nor space 
 Debars this precious " hiding-place :" 
 On Indian plains, or Lapland snows, 
 Believers find the same repose. 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! far from thee 
 Thy kindred, and their graves may be ; 
 But thine is still a blessed sleep, 
 From which none ever wake to weep ! 
 
 " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." — 2 
 Sam. 3 : 18. 
 
 " God has particular lessons to give, and particular ends to 
 answer, when he calls away one of his servants in the midst of 
 his strength, and with every indication of triumph, and when 
 he leaves another to spend not only years in labor, but months, 
 and even years, in the solitariness of his chamber, a prisoner 
 on his couch." 
 
 For us, the conflict and the toil, 
 
 The sickness, and the pain ; 
 For them, the wiping of the tears 
 
 Which shall not flow again. 
 For us, the path o'ergrown with thorns, 
 
 And darkness round our way ; 
 For them, the golden street of heaven 
 
 And God's eternal day ! 
 
100 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 How long, O Lord of love ! how long 
 
 Shall we go mourning here ? 
 How long till in thy courts above, 
 
 With singing we appear ? 
 "We see thy saints to glory go, 
 
 And trim our lamps anew ; 
 When shall we hear the bridegroom's voice, 
 
 And we be summoned too ! 
 
 O longing heart ! O aching head ! 
 
 Our times are in his hand ; 
 And not a drop is in the cup 
 
 Unmeasured by his hand. 
 And though the bitterness be great, 
 
 Yet deeper was the draught, 
 Which in his hour of agony, 
 
 Our great Redeemer quaffed. 
 
 Though long delayed our time of rest, 
 
 And o'er the waters wild, 
 Like Noah's dove, we have been sent, 
 
 Our rest below denied ; 
 Yet soon our exile shall be o'er, 
 
 His time of love shall come ; 
 When he shall open wide the door, 
 
 And take the wanderer home. 
 
 " For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one 
 to come." — Heb. 13 : 14. 
 
 " Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all genera- 
 tions." — Ps. 90 : 1. 
 
 " Happy is the man who has placed himself in the care of 
 a covenant God, and knows that wherever his abode may be. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 101 
 
 and whatever its form and materials, he dwells in the secret 
 place of the Most High, and abides under the shadow of the 
 Almighty, and that when the earthly tabernacle falls, an eter- 
 nal mansion awaits him on high." 
 
 " We've no abiding city here :" 
 
 This may distress the worldling's mind ; 
 But should not cost the saint a tear, 
 Who hopes a better rest to find, 
 
 " We've no abiding city here :" 
 
 Sad truth, were this to be our home ; 
 But let this thought our spirits cheer, 
 " We seek a city yet to come." 
 
 M We've no abiding city here :" 
 
 Then let us walk as pilgrims do ; 
 Let not the world our rest appear, 
 But let us live w T ith heaven in view. 
 
 " We've no abiding city here :" 
 We seek a city out of sight ; 
 Zion its name — the Lord is there, 
 It shines with everlasting light. 
 
 O sweet abode of peace and love, 
 
 Where pilgrims freed from toil are blest ! 
 
 Had I the pinions of the dove, 
 I'd fly to thee, and be at rest. 
 
 But hush, my soul ! nor dare repine ; 
 
 The time my God appoints is best : 
 While here, to do his will be mine, 
 
 And his to fix my time of rest. 
 
102 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 
 there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, 
 neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things 
 are passed away." — Kev. 21 : 4. 
 
 " God our Lord wipes off the tears. It is not time that heals 
 the sorrows of the saints, or dries up their tears. It is God, 
 God himself, God alone. He reserves this joy for himself, as 
 if it were his special joy." 
 
 I'm but a stranger here, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 Earth is a desert drear, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 Danger and sorrow stand 
 Round me on every hand, 
 Heaven is my father-land, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 
 What though the tempest rage, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 Short is my pilgrimage ; 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 And time's wild, wintry blast, 
 Soon will be overpast ; 
 I shall reach home at last, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 
 Therefore, I murmur not, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 What e'er my earthly lot, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 And I shall surely stand, 
 There at my Lord's right hand : 
 Heaven is my father-land, 
 
 Heaven is my home ! 
 
HYMN'S FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 103 
 
 " He that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him 
 about." — Ps. 32 : 10. 
 
 " Love has appeared through the disguise of every frown ; 
 its beams have glimmered through the darkest night ; by every 
 affliction thou hast been drawing me nearer to thyself, and re- 
 moving my carnal props, that I may lean with more assurance 
 on the eternal Rock. ' Bless the Lord, my soul ! and forget 
 not all his benefits.' " 
 
 God, my supporter and my hope, 
 
 My help forever near, 
 Thine arm of mercy held me up, 
 
 When sinking in despair. 
 
 Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet 
 Through this dark wilderness : 
 
 Thy hand conduct me near thy seat, 
 To dwell before thy face. 
 
 Were I in heaven without my God, 
 
 'T would be no joy to me ; 
 And while this earth is my abode, 
 
 I long for none but thee. 
 
 What if the springs of life were broke, 
 And fiesh and heart should faint ? 
 
 God is my soul's eternal rock, 
 The strength of every saint. 
 
 Then, to draw near to thee, my God, 
 
 Shall be my sweet employ : 
 My tongue shall sound thy works abroad, 
 
 And tell the world my joy. 
 
104 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-BOOM. 
 
 "My flesh also shall rest in hope." — Ps. 16:9. 
 
 " When the gracious soul comes near its God, (as it doth 
 in a dying hour,) ' then it even throws itself into his arms,' as 
 a river that, after many turnings and windings, pours itself 
 into the ocean. Nothing but God can please it in this world, 
 and nothing but God can satisfy it when it goes hence." 
 
 Rest for the toiling hand, 
 
 Rest for the anxious brow, 
 Rest for the weary, way-worn feet, 
 
 Rest from all labor now ; 
 
 Rest for the fevered brain, 
 
 Rest for the throbbing eye ; 
 Through these parched lips of thine no more 
 
 Shall pass the moan or sigh. 
 
 Soon shall the trump of God 
 
 Give out the welcome sound, 
 That shakes thy silent chamber- walls, 
 
 And breaks the turf-sealed ground. 
 
 Ye dwellers in the dust, 
 
 Awake ! come forth and sing : 
 Sharp has your frost of winter been, 
 
 But bright shall be your spring. 
 
 'T was sown in weakness here ; 
 
 'T will then be raised in power : 
 That which was sown an earthly seed, 
 
 Shall rise a heavenly flower ! 
 
HYMN'S FOE THE SICK-ROOM. 105 
 
 M "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain." — Rev. 5 : 12 . 
 
 11 It will not be from an angel's lips that this anthem will 
 issue. The angel never knew the wretchedness of being a fall- 
 en creature, and therefore can not know the thankfulness of a 
 redeemed." 
 
 Awake, and sing the song 
 
 Of Moses and the Lamb ; 
 Wake every heart, and every tongue, 
 To praise the Saviour's name. 
 
 Sing of his dying love ; 
 
 Sing of his rising power ; 
 Sing how he intercedes, above, 
 
 For us, whose sins he bore. 
 
 Sing, till we feel our heart 
 
 Ascending with our tongue ; 
 Sing, till the love of sin depart, 
 
 And grace inspire our song. 
 
 Sing on your heavenly way, 
 
 Ye ransomed sinners, sing ; 
 Sing on, rejoicing every day 
 
 In Christ, th' eternal King. 
 
 Soon shall we hear him say, 
 
 " Ye blessed children, come !" 
 Soon will he call us hence away, 
 
 To our eternal home. 
 
 There shall our raptured tongue 
 His endless praise proclaim, 
 
 And sweeter voices tune the song 
 Of Moses and the Lamb. 
 5* 
 
106 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "Death is swallowed up in victory." — 1 Cor. 15 : 53. 
 
 "Victory was our watchword in the conflict, even the hard- 
 est and sorest ; victory was our watchword on the bed of 
 death, in the dark valley, when going down for a season into 
 the tomb ; victory is to be our final watchword, when, re- 
 appearing from the grave leaving mortality behind us, and 
 ascending into glory." 
 
 Hope of our hearts, O Lord ! appear, 
 
 Thou glorious Star of day ! 
 Shine forth, and chase the dreary night, 
 
 With all our tears, away. 
 
 Strangers on earth, we wait for thee ; 
 
 Oh ! leave the Father's throne ; 
 Corne with a shout of victory, Lord, 
 
 And claim us as thine own ! 
 
 Oh ! bid the bright archangel then 
 
 The trump of God prepare, 
 To call thy saints, the quick, the dead, 
 
 To meet thee in the air ! 
 
 No resting-place we seek on earth, 
 
 No loveliness we see ; 
 Our eye is on the royal crown 
 
 Prepared for us and thee. 
 
 But, dearest Lord, however bright 
 
 That crown of joy above, 
 What is it to the brighter hope 
 
 Of dwelling in thy love ? 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 107 
 
 What to the joy, the deeper joy, 
 
 Unmingled, pure, and free, 
 Of union with our living Head, 
 
 Of fellowship with thee ? 
 
 This joy e'en now on earth is ours ; 
 
 But only Lord, above, 
 Our heart without a pang shall know 
 
 The fullness of thy love. 
 
 There, near thy heart, upon the throne, 
 
 Thy ransomed bride shall see 
 What grace was in the bleeding Lamb 
 
 Who died to make her free. 
 
 " For he knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that we are 
 dust." — Ps. 103 : 14. 
 
 " You may cast all your cares on Christ, for he careth for 
 you. All through this vale of tears you may rest assured of 
 his sympathy ; and when the vale of tears declines into the 
 valley of the shadow of death, not his sympathy only will you 
 have, but his inspiriting presence, and his timely succor." 
 
 Fountain of grace, rich, full, and free, 
 ¥» 7 hat need I, that is not in thee ? 
 Full pardon, strength to meet the day, 
 And peace which none can take away. 
 
 Doth sickness fill my heart with fear, 
 'Tis sweet to know that thou art near ; 
 Am I with dread of justice tried, 
 'Tis sweet to know that Christ hath died. 
 
108 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 In life, thy promises of aid, 
 Forbid my heart to be afraid ; 
 In death, peace gently veils the eyes — 
 Christ rose, and I shall surely rise. 
 
 O all-sufficient Saviour ! be 
 
 This all-sufficiency to me ; 
 
 Nor pain, nor sin, nor death can harm 
 
 The weakest shielded by thine arm. 
 
 ** And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
 again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there 
 ye may be also." — John 14 : 3. 
 
 " If the sheep are with the Shepherd, if the members are 
 with the Head, if the children of Christ's family are with him 
 who loved them and carried them all the days of their pilgrim- 
 age on earth, all must be well." 
 
 Let me be with thee where thou art, 
 
 My Saviour, my eternal rest ; 
 Then only will this longing heart 
 
 Be fully and forever blest. 
 
 Let me be with thee where thou art, 
 
 Thy unveiled glory to behold ; 
 Then only will this wandering heart 
 
 Cease to be false to thee and cold. 
 
 Let me be with thee where thou art, 
 "Where spotless saints thy name adore, 
 
 Then only will this sinful heart 
 Be evil and defiled no more. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 109 
 
 Let me be with thee where thou art, 
 
 Where none can die, where none remove ; 
 
 There neither death nor life will part 
 Me from thy presence and thy love. 
 
 " They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sigh- 
 ing shall flee away." — Isa. 35 : 10. 
 
 " The Christian hastening to heaven sees no more of that 
 happy home than he did when entering his course, yet he is 
 nearer every hour. He is drawing apace to the harbor though 
 he sees it not, and in a little while he will enter there. ' Sor- 
 row shall be turned into joy.' " 
 
 Every moment brings me nearer 
 To my long-sought rest above ; 
 Higher mounts my soul, and higher, 
 Oh ! how happy to remove ; 
 Then forever, 
 I shall sing redeeming love. 
 
 Soon shall I be gone to glory, 
 Join the bright angelic race, 
 There repeat the pleasing story — 
 I was saved by sovereign grace : 
 And forever 
 Yiew my loving Saviour's face. 
 
 Though my burden sore oppress me, 
 And I shrink beneath my pain ; 
 Jesus, he will soon release me, 
 And your loss will be my gain ; 
 Precious Saviour ! 
 With my Lord I shall remain. 
 
110 HYMNB FOE THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "Because I live ye shall live also." — John 14 : 19. 
 " God's people are like his ancient Israel. They have en- 
 emies who will harass them in life, but whoever or whatever 
 these may be, sin, poverty, temptations, trials, fears, doubt, 
 Satan himself, a death-bed shall be the death of all. In leaving 
 life we leave these behind ; death is their destruction, notowrs." 
 
 When sins and fears prevailing rise, 
 And fainting hope almost expires, 
 
 Jesus, to thee I lift my eyes, 
 
 To thee I breathe my soul's desires. 
 
 Art thou not mine, my living Lord ? 
 
 And can my hope, my comfort die — 
 Fixed on thine everlasting word — 
 
 That word which built the earth and sky ? 
 
 If my immortal Saviour lives, 
 
 Then my immortal life is sure : 
 His word a firm foundation gives ; 
 
 Here let me build, and rest secure. 
 
 Here let my faith unshaken dwell ; 
 
 Immovable the promise stand- ; 
 Not all the powers of earth or hell, 
 
 Can e'er dissolve the sacred bands. 
 
 Here, O my soul ! thy trust repose, 
 
 If Jesus is forever mine ; 
 Not death itself — that last of foes, 
 
 Shall break a union so divine. 
 
HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. ill 
 
 "For by grace ye are saved through faith, and that not 
 of yourselves, it is the gift of God." — Eph. 2 : 8. 
 
 "It is not long days, but good days that make the life 
 glorious and happy, and our dear Lord is gracious, who short- 
 eneth the way to glory, so that the crown which the patriarch 
 sought for many hundred years, may now be obtained by a 
 child." 
 
 Brief life is here our portion, 
 
 Brief sorrow, short-lived care ; 
 The life that knows no ending, 
 
 The tearless life is there : 
 Reward of grace, how wondrous ! 
 
 Short toil — eternal rest ! 
 For mortals, and for sinners, 
 
 A mansion with the blest ! 
 
 That we should look, poor wanderers, 
 
 To have our home on high 
 That worms should seek for dwellings 
 
 Beyond the starry sky ! 
 And now w T e fight the battle, 
 
 And then we wear the crown 
 Of full and everlasting, 
 
 And passionless renown ! 
 
 I know not, oh ! I know not 
 
 What social joys are there ; 
 What pure, unfading glory, 
 
 What light beyond compare ; 
 And w r hen I fain would sing them, 
 
 My spirit fails and faints, 
 And vainly strives to image 
 
 Th' assemblv of the saints. 
 
112 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 There is the throne of David, 
 
 And there from toil released, 
 The shout of them that triumph, 
 
 The song of them that feast : 
 O garden free from sorrow ! 
 
 O plains that fear no strife ! 
 O princely bowers, all blooming ! 
 
 O realm and home of Hie ! 
 
 " Thou shalt guide rue by thy counsel, and afterward re- 
 ceive me to glory." — Ps. 73 : 24. 
 
 " Religion does as much need passive, suffering exemplifiers, 
 as heroes of action, to exemplify it by flaming zeal. And, I 
 doubt not, the unbelieving world would be more impressed 
 with the evidence of the Divine power of our holy religion by 
 seeing a Christian of holy endowments, meekly submitting to 
 the will of God, as all his brilliant prospects for a career of 
 active usefulness are blotted out, and patiently, cheerfully re- 
 signing himself to a life of pain, and inactivity, and gloom, than 
 by the active, heroic life of Paul himself." 
 
 O Lord ! my best desire fulfill, 
 
 And help me to resign 
 Life, health, and comfort to thy will, 
 
 And make thy pleasure mine. 
 
 Why should I shrink at thy command, 
 
 Whose love forbids my fears ? 
 Or tremble at thy gracious hand 
 
 That wipes away my tears ? 
 
 No ; rather let me freely yield 
 
 What most I prize to thee, 
 Who never hast a good withheld, 
 
 Or wilt withhold from me. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 113 
 
 Thy favor all my journey through 
 
 Thou art engaged to grant ; 
 What else I want, or think I do, 
 
 'Tis better still to want. 
 
 Wisdom and mercy guide my way — 
 
 Shall I resist them both ? 
 A poor blind creature of a day, 
 
 And crushed before the moth. 
 
 But, ah ! my inward spirit cries, 
 
 Still bind me to thy sway, 
 Else the next cloud that veils the skies 
 
 Drives all these thoughts away. 
 
 " But now they desire a better country, that is, an hea- 
 venly." —Hebrews 11 : 16. 
 
 " Here is the true and only certain remedy against the fear 
 of death. As we look in simple faith to him who diedand was 
 buried, and rose again for us; as we realize his presence in the 
 gloomy vale, rest in his love, and stay ourselves upon his faith- 
 ful promise, we shall fear no evil. Fear not, believer ! to go 
 over this Jordan !" 
 
 There is a land of pure delight, 
 Where saints immortal reign ; 
 
 Eternal day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain. 
 
 There everlasting spring abides, 
 
 And never-fading flowers ; 
 Death, like a narrow sea, divides 
 
 That heavenly land from ours. 
 
114 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Sweet fields, beyond the swelling flood, 
 Stand dressed in living green ; 
 
 So to the Jews fair Canaan stood, 
 While Jordan rolled between. 
 
 But timorous mortals start and shrink 
 
 To cross this narrow sea, 
 And linger, trembling, on the brink, 
 
 And fear to launch away, n 
 
 Oh ! could we make our doubts remove — 
 Those gloomy doubts that rise — 
 
 And see the Canaan that we love 
 With unbeclouded eyes ; 
 
 Could we but climb where Moses stood, 
 And view the landscape o'er — 
 
 Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood, 
 Should fright us from the shore. 
 
 " Into thy hands I commit my spirit. Thou hast redeemed 
 me, O Lord God of truth!"— Ps. 31 : 5. 
 
 PRAYER IX PROSPECT OF DEATH. 
 
 Now, O Holy Father ! the solemn hour is at hand 
 when I must depart out of this world, and go the way 
 whence I shall not return. But blessed be thy name 
 that though time to me shall be no more, yet that thou 
 permittest me by faith to look unto the things which, 
 though now unseen, are eternal — to have a glimpse of 
 that better land, even the heavenly, that city which 
 has foundations that can never be moved, whose maker 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 115 
 
 and builder is God ; that city in which there shall be no 
 need of the sun nor of the moon to shine, for the glory 
 of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
 thereof. 
 
 Blessed be thy name, for the peace and joy I have in 
 believing that, when absent from the body, I shall be 
 present with the Lord — that as thy goodness and 
 mercy have followed me all the days of my life, so I 
 shall ere long be admitted, through the merits of my 
 dear Redeemer, to dwell in the house of the Lord for- 
 ever. Then, though the silver cord shall soon be loos- 
 ed, and the golden bowl be broken, and the pitcher be 
 broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the 
 cistern, yet shall the clods of the valley be sweet unto 
 me, when my rest is in the dust ; for there my Lord 
 hath lain, and sanctified even the tomb by his hallowed 
 presence ; and I know that my Redeemer liveth, and 
 that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth ; 
 and that the hour is coming when all that are in their 
 graves shall hear his voice, and come forth — they that 
 have done good, unto the resurrection of life — and 
 they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of dam- 
 nation. How blissful the hope, that Christ shall then 
 change this vile body, and fashion it like unto his own 
 glorious body, and I shall be satisfied when I awake 
 with his likeness, for I shall see him as he is, and shall 
 be admitted to a participation of those great blessings 
 which he hath prepared for them that love him — which 
 eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it enter- 
 ed into the heart of man to conceive. Then indeed 
 shall death be swallowed up in victory, when the Lord 
 himself shall wipe away all tears from all eyes. 
 
116 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Having this hope, may I account my present suffer- 
 ings not worthy to be compared with the glory here- 
 after to be revealed in me. For I have not come unto 
 the mount that might be touched, and that burned 
 with fire ; nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tem- 
 pest ; but unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living 
 God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable com- 
 pany of angels, to the general assembly and church of 
 the first born, which are written in heaven, and to 
 God the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Mediator of the 
 new Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that 
 speaketh better things than that of Abel. 
 
 In that precious blood may I be washed, and puri- 
 fied, and sanctified. May thy work of grace be speed- 
 ily perfected in my heart — every cloud removed which 
 unbelief would interpose to prevent my seeing thy 
 glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ, and an 
 abundant entrance ministered unto me into thine ever- 
 lasting kingdom. Then may I join with all spirits of 
 the just made perfect in that new song which they sing 
 before the throne. " Blessing and honor and glory and 
 power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
 to the Lamb forever." Amen. 
 
 Through sorrow's night and danger's path, 
 
 Amid the deepening gloom, 
 We, soldiers of a heavenly King, 
 
 Are marching to the tomb. 
 
 There, when the turmoil is no more, 
 
 And all our powers decay, 
 Our cold remains in solitude 
 
 Shall sleep the years away. 
 
HYMXS FOE THE SICK-ROOM. 117 
 
 Our labors done, securely laid 
 
 In this our last retreat, 
 Unheeded o'er our silent dust 
 
 The storms of life shall beat. 
 
 Yet not thus lifeless, in the grave, 
 
 The vital spark shall lie ; 
 For o'er life's wreck that spark shall rise, 
 
 To seek its kindred sky. 
 
 These ashes too — this little dust — 
 
 Our Father's care shall keep, 
 Until the final trump shall break 
 
 The long and dreary sleep. 
 
 Then love's soft dew o'er every eye 
 
 Shall shed its mildest rays, 
 And our long-silent dust shall rise, 
 
 With shouts of endless praise ! 
 
 " And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, 
 master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind 
 and the raging of the water : and they ceased, and there was 
 a calm. And he said unto them, "Where is your faith?"— 
 Luke 8 : 24, 25. 
 
 "Master, carest thou not that we perish ?" — Mark 4 : 38. 
 
 " You have entered the ship with Christ ; what do you ex- 
 pect? Fine weather. Rather look for wind, tempests, and 
 waves to cover the vessel till she begins to sink. This is the 
 baptism with which you must first be baptized, and then the 
 calm will follow." 
 
 The billows swell ; the winds are high ; 
 
 Clouds overcast my wintry sky : 
 
 Out of the depths to thee I call ; 
 
 My fears are great, my strength is small. 
 
118 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 O Lord ! the pilot's part perform, 
 And guide and guard me through the storm ; 
 Defend me from each threatening ill ; 
 Control the waves ; say: "Peace! be still." 
 
 Amidst the roaring of the sea, 
 My soul still hangs her hope on thee ; 
 Thy constant love, thy faithful care, 
 Is all that saves me from despair. 
 
 Dangers of every shape and name 
 Attend the followers of the Lamb, 
 Who leave the world's deceitful shore, 
 And leave it to return no more. 
 
 Though tempest-tossed, and half a wreck, 
 My Saviour through the floods I seek ; 
 Let neither winds nor stormy rain 
 Force back my shattered bark again. 
 
 " Willing rather to be absent from the body, and present 
 with the Lord." — 2 Cor. 5 : 8. 
 
 " Absent from the body, and present with the Lord. Me- 
 thinks there is a heaven comtained in the first part of these 
 words, absent from the body ; and a double happiness in the 
 last, present with the Lord" 
 
 And let this feeble body fail, 
 
 And let it faint and die, 
 My soul shall quit this mournful vale, 
 
 And soar to worlds on high ; 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 119 
 
 Shall join the disembodied saints, 
 
 And find its long-sought rest — 
 That only bliss for which it pants — 
 
 In the Redeemer's breast. 
 
 In hope of that immortal crown, 
 
 I now the cross sustain, 
 And gladly wander up and down, 
 
 And smile at toil and pain ; 
 I suffer on my threescore years 
 
 Till my Deliverer come, 
 And wipe away his servant's tears, 
 
 And take his exile home. 
 
 Oh ! what hath Jesus done for me ; 
 
 Before my raptured eyes 
 Rivers of life divine I see, 
 
 And trees of Paradise. 
 I see a world of spirits bright, 
 
 Who taste the pleasures there ; 
 They all are robed in spotless white, 
 
 And conquering palms they bear. 
 
 Oh ! what are all my sufferings here, 
 
 If, Lord, thou count me meet 
 With that enraptured host t' appear, 
 
 And worship at thy feet ! 
 Give joy or grief, give ease or pain, 
 
 Take life or friends away ; 
 But let me find them all again 
 
 In that eternal day ! 
 
120 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to 
 Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads : they 
 shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall 
 flee away." — Isa. 35 : 10. 
 
 "Mark very carefully, brethren, none of their pains or tribu- 
 lations, however great, secured for them the joyful welcome 
 into the city of the living God. Oh ! no. ' They washed their 
 robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' They 
 fled by faith, every one of them, as poor perishing sinners, to 
 that atoning blood which clean seth from all sin ; and thus their 
 welcome and their entrance into glory was procured. See to it 
 that you are personally interested in Christ, and then all shall 
 be well." 
 
 Who are these in bright array ? 
 
 This innumerable throng, 
 Round the altar, night and day 
 Tuning their triumphant song ? 
 " Worthy is the Lamb once slain, 
 Blessing, honor, glory, power, 
 Wisdom, riches, to obtain 
 New dominion every hour." 
 
 These through fiery trials trod ; 
 
 These from great affliction came ; 
 Now before the throne of God, 
 
 Sealed with his eternal name : 
 Clad in raiment, pure and white, 
 
 Victor palms in every hand, 
 Through their great Redeemer's might, 
 
 More than conquerors they stand. 
 
 Hunger, thirst, disease unknown, 
 On immortal fruits they feed : 
 
 Them the Lamb amidst the throne 
 Shall to living fountains lead ; 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 121 
 
 Joy and gladness banish sighs ; 
 
 Perfect love dispels their fears ; 
 And, forever from their eyes 
 
 God shall wipe away their tears. 
 
 " Oh ! remember not against us former iniquities : let thy 
 tender mercies speedily prevent us, for we are brought very 
 low. — Ps. 79 : 8. 
 
 11 God often withdraws his sensible presence from his people 
 in the trying hour, that they may walk, even in the dark valley, 
 by faith, and not by sight or sense." 
 
 Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat, 
 
 Where Jesus answers prayer ; 
 There humbly fall before his feet, 
 
 For none can perish there. 
 
 Thy promise is my only plea, 
 
 With this I venture nigh ; 
 Thou callest burdened souls to thee, 
 
 And such, O Lord, am I. 
 
 Bowed down beneath a load of sin, 
 
 By Satan sorely pressed, 
 By war without, and fear within, 
 
 I come to thee for rest. 
 
 Be thou my shield and hiding-place, 
 
 That, sheltered near thy side, 
 I may my fierce accuser face, 
 
 And tell him, " Thou hast died." 
 
 O wondrous love ! to bleed, and die, 
 
 To bear the cross and shame, 
 That guilty sinners, such as I, 
 
 Might plead thy gracious name. 
 
122 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit 
 be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the 
 fields shall yield no meat ; the flocks shall be cut off from 
 the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls : yet I will 
 rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." 
 — Habbakuk 3 : 17, 18. 
 
 " He who always stands, if we may use the expression, close 
 by Christ, secures for himself that all things work together for 
 good." 
 
 Jesus I know hath died for me — 
 This is my hope, my joy, my rest ! 
 
 Hither, when hell assails, I flee, 
 And look into my Saviour's breast : 
 
 Away, sad doubts and anxious fear ! 
 
 Mercy is all that's written there ! 
 
 Though waves and storms go o'er my head, 
 Though strength, and health, and friends be 
 gone; 
 
 Though joys be withered all, and dead, 
 And every comfort be withdrawn : 
 
 Steadfast on this my soul relies, 
 
 Father — thy mercy never dies. 
 
 Fixed on this ground will I remain, 
 When heart shall fail, and flesh decay ; 
 
 This anchor shall my soul sustain, 
 
 When earth's foundations melt away : 
 
 Mercy's full power I then shall prove, 
 
 Loved with an everlasting love. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 123 
 
 •*I count all things but loss for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." — Phil. 3 : 8. 
 
 " Why are not the followers of the Lamb more eager for 
 their rest ? Does the sailor, tossed by storms, long once more 
 to reach his home ? the sick man rest ? Ah ! stupified hearts ! to 
 love a toilsome, painful journey, more than an everlasting home, 
 whence toils and dangers are banished forever." 
 
 Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, 
 
 Thy better portion trace ; 
 Rise from transitory things, 
 
 Towards heaven, thy native place. 
 Sun, and moon, and stars decay, 
 
 Time shall soon this earth remove ; 
 Rise, my soul, and haste away 
 
 To seats prepared above. 
 
 Rivers to the ocean run, 
 
 Nor stay in all their course : 
 Fire ascending seeks the sun, 
 
 Both speed them to their source. 
 So a soul new-born of God 
 
 Pants to view his glorious face ; 
 Upward tends to his abode, 
 
 To rest in his embrace. 
 
 Cease, ye pilgrims, cease to mourn, 
 
 Press onward to the prize ; 
 Soon the Saviour will return 
 
 Triumphant in the skies. 
 Yet a season, and you know 
 
 Happy entrance will be given, 
 All our sorrows left below, 
 
 And earth exchanged for heaven. 
 
124 HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?"— Boca. 
 8 : 35. 
 
 " Our most beloved friends must die ; and we must die ; but 
 
 death shall never terminate the friendship of Jesus with his 
 
 humble flock. That sweet, that awful word, makes him ours 
 
 forever." 
 
 Tarry with me, O my Saviour ! 
 
 For the day is passing by ; 
 See ! the shades of evening gather, 
 
 And the night is drawing nigh : 
 Tarry with me ! tarry with me ! 
 
 Pass me not unheeded by. 
 
 Dimmed for me is earthly beauty ; 
 
 Yet the spirit's eye would fain 
 Rest upon thy lovely features ; 
 
 Shall I seek, dear Lord ! in vain ? 
 Tarry with me, O my Saviour ! 
 
 Let me see thy smile again. 
 
 Many friends were gathered round me, 
 In the bright days of the past ; 
 
 But the grave has closed above them, 
 And I linger here the last : 
 
 I am lonely ; tarry with me, 
 
 , Till the dreary night is past. 
 
 Dull my ear to earth-born music ; 
 
 Speak thou, Lord, in words of cheer ; 
 Feeble, tottering my footstep, 
 
 Sinks my heart with sudden fear : 
 Cast thine arms, dear Lord ! around me, 
 
 Let me feel thy presence near. 
 
HYMNS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 125 
 
 Faithful Memory paints before me 
 Every deed and thought of sin ; 
 
 Open thou the blood-filled fountain, 
 Cleanse my guilty soul within : 
 
 Tarry, thou forgiving Saviour, 
 Wash me wholly from my sin. 
 
 Feeble, trembling, fainting, dying, 
 
 Lord, I cast myself on thee ; 
 Tarry with me through the darkness 
 
 While I sleep, still watch by me 
 Till the morning, then awake me, 
 
 Dearest Lord, to dwell with thee ! 
 
 " Surely I come quickly, amen, even so, come Lord Jesus." 
 — Rev. 22 : 20. 
 
 " Secure for thy sins the advocate with the Father ; and so, 
 when the hour cometh that thou shalt be summoned to depart, 
 thou shalt have nothing left to do but to welcome the call* 
 1 Now is the accepted time. Do it while the evil days come 
 not. Do it before it must be undone forever.' ' And the Spirit 
 and the Bride say, Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; 
 and let him that is athirst come ; and whosoever will, let him 
 take the water of life freely. Amen.' " 
 
 Arise, and come to Jesus ! 
 
 He calleth thee to-day ; 
 The busy crowd are thronging 
 
 The broad and easy way ; 
 No loitering in the foot-path, 
 
 No dallying there with sin ; 
 The narrow gate is open, 
 
 Arise ! and enter in ! 
 
126 HYMXS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 Arise, and follow Jesus ! 
 
 Wherever he may lead ; 
 Though rough the path, or stormy, 
 
 Press on with all thy speed. 
 His feet were torn and bleeding, 
 
 Who trod the path for thee ; 
 But where his rest remaineth 
 
 He is — and thou shalt be ! 
 
 Arise, and dwell with Jesus ! 
 
 The end is drawing nigh ; 
 Who taught thee how to journey, 
 
 Now teacheth how to die. 
 Firm in his strength relying, 
 
 Yield up thy latest breath ! 
 Then rise in him triumphant, 
 
 The conqueror of death ! 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abide with me, thou gracious Guide Macduff 21 
 
 Afflicted saint, to Christ draw near Fawcett 16 
 
 Almighty Father of mankind Logan 62 
 
 And let this feeble body fail Wesley 118 
 
 And wilt thou now forsake me, Lord 5 
 
 Approach, my soul, the mercy seat Newton 121 
 
 Are the days of darkness many 79 
 
 Arise, and come to Jesus Presbyterian 125 
 
 Asleep in Jesus ! blessed sleep Mackey 98 
 
 Awake, and sing the song Hammond 105 
 
 Blest Comforter divine 16 
 
 Brief life is here our portion Ill 
 
 Children of God, who pacing slow Bowdler 14 
 
 Christ, of all my hopes the ground Windham 74 
 
 Come, let us join our friends above Wesley 34 
 
 Deathless principle, arise Toplady 88 
 
 Every moment brings me nearer Wingrove 109 
 
 Faith almost changes into sight 75 
 
 Father, whate'er of earthly bliss Steele 76 
 
 Forever with the Lord Montgomery 68 
 
 For us, the conflict and the toil 99 
 
 Fountain of grace, rich, full, and free 107 
 
 From the cross uplifted high Haweis 41 
 
 God, my supporter and my hope Watts 103 
 
 God of my life, through all its days Doddridge 51 
 
128 INDEX. 
 
 God of my life, to thee, I call Cowper 84 
 
 Guide me thou great Jehovah Oliver 7 
 
 Happy soul, thy days are ended C. Wesley 86 
 
 Hope of our hearts, Lord ! appear 106 
 
 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds Newton 33 
 
 If God is mine, then present things 80 
 
 I'm but a stranger here T. R. Taylor 102 
 
 I sojourn in a vale of tears Mason 42 
 
 Jesus, full of all compassion Turner 62 
 
 Jesus I know hath died for me J. Wesley 122 
 
 Jesus, in sickness and in pain Gallaudet 32 
 
 Jesus, lover of my soul C. Wesley 19 
 
 Let me be with thee, where thou art 108 
 
 Lord, I believe thy every word Coke and Asbury's H. B. 44 
 
 Lord, it belongs not to my care Baxter 57 
 
 My days are gliding swiftly by 26 
 
 My God, the covenant of thy love Doddridge 63 
 
 My God, the spring of all my joys Watts 90 
 
 My Jesus, as thou wilt Schmolk 38 
 
 My times are in thy hand 17 
 
 Must Jesus bear the cross alone G. N. Allen 12 
 
 Nearer, my God, to thee S. F. Adams 22 
 
 Now let our souls on wings sublime Gibbons 45 
 
 Oh ! for a faith that will not shrink 56 
 
 Oh ! for an overcoming faith Watts 91 
 
 Often, my God, when most I need 54 
 
 Oh ! let our heart and mind Coke and Asbury's H. B. 11 
 
 O Lord ! how happy is the time JDoesler 70 
 
 O Lord ! my best desires fulfill Cowper 112 
 
 O sacred head ! now wounded Gerhardt 64 
 
 O Saviour ! whose mercy Grant 81 
 
 Oh ! speak of Jesus, other names Invalid's H. B. 6 
 
INDEX. 129 
 
 thou God ! who hearest prayer Conder 78 
 
 thou ! whose mercy guides my way Edmeston 23 
 
 thou ! to whose all-searching sight J. Wesley 93 
 
 Pensive, doubting, fearful heart Olney Hymns 8 
 
 Rest for the toiling hand 104 
 
 Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings Cormick 123 
 
 Rock of ages, cleft for me Toplady 59 
 
 Saviour, I can welcome sickness 67 
 
 Tarry with me, my Saviour 124 
 
 The billows swell, the winds are high Cowper 117 
 
 There is a fountain filled with blood Cowper 92 
 
 There is a land of pure delight Watts 113 
 
 There is no pain that I can bear 31 
 
 Thou art my hiding place, Lord Baffles 10 
 
 Thou art the way, to thee alone Doane 49 
 
 Though hard the winds are blowing 35 
 
 Thou Lamb of God, thou Prince of Peace . Coke & Asbun/s H. B. 39 
 
 Thou only centre of my rest 87 
 
 Thousands, Lord of hosts ! this day Montgomery 48 
 
 Thou who didst stoop below Martineau's Coll. 72 
 
 Through sorrow's night, and danger's path H. K. White 116 
 
 Thy way, God ! is in the sea Fawcett 18 
 
 Thy will be done ! in devious way Bowring 85 
 
 Thy will be done ! I will not fear. Boscoe 58 
 
 'Tis my happiness below Newton 43 
 
 Tossed on the billows far and wide Presbyterian 60 
 
 We journey through a vale of tears B. Barton 50 
 
 We love thee, Lord, because when we 13 
 
 We've no abiding city here Kelly 101 
 
 When I can trust my all with God Conder 73 
 
 When languor and disease invade Toplady 36 
 
 When sins and fears prevailing rise Steele 110 
 
 When this passing world is done 58 
 
130 INDEX. 
 
 Where shall the weary rest Button 82 
 
 Who are these in bright array Montgomery 120 
 
 Why should a living man complain 30 
 
 Why should I murmur or repine Macduff 40 
 
 Why should we start and fear to die Watts 83 
 
 Wish not, dear friends, my pain away Keble 27 
 
 With tearful eyes I look around 77 
 
 With years oppressed, with sorrow torn .R. Grant 97 
 
 Your harps, ye trembling saints Toplady 24