1 WHAT glory gilds the sacred page!
Majestic, like the sun,
It gives a light to every age;
It gives- but borrows none.
2 The hand that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
His truths upon the nations rise;
They rise
but never set.
3 Let everlasting thanks be thine
For such a bright display
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.
Excellence of the Scriptures.—Watts.
1 LET everlasting glories crown
Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord;
For thou hast brought salvation down,
And stored its blessings in thy word.
2 In vain the trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With deep despair the spirit breaks,
Till we apply to Christ alone.
3 How well thy blessed truths agree!
How wise and holy thy commands!
Thy promises, how large and free!
Firm on this ground our comfort stands.
4 Should all the schemes that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art;
I'd count them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart.
The Word of God. —STEELE.
1 FATHER of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines!
Forever be thy name adored
For these celestial lines.
2 Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast:
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.
3 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life and everlasting joys
Attend the blissful sound.
4 O, may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light.
The Holy Scriptures. - WATTS.
1 LADEN with guilt, and full of fears,
I fly to thee, my Lord;
And not a gleam of hope appears,
But in thy written word.
2 The volume of my Father's grace
Does all my grief assuage;
Here I behold my Saviour's face
In every sacred page.
3 Here is the Judge that ends the strife
When human reasonings fail;
Here is the guide to endless life
Through all this gloomy vale.
4 O may thy counsels, mighty God,
My roving feet command,
And keep me in the narrow road
That leads to thy right hand.
Delight in the Scriptures.- MAXWELL'S COLL.
1 I LOVE the sacred book of God;
No other can its place supply:
It points me to the saints' abode,
And lifts my joyful thoughts on high.
2 Blest book! in thee my eyes discern
The image of my absent Lord:
From thine instructive page I learn
The joys his presence will afford.
3 But while I'm here, thou shalt supply
His place, and tell me of his love:
I'll read with faith's discerning eye,
And thus partake of joys above.
Truth spreading. — KELLY.
1 Look, ye saints! the day is breaking;
Joyful times are near at hand;
God, the mighty God, is speaking
By his word in every land:
Day advances -
Darkness flies at his command.
2 God of Jacob, high and glorious!
Let thy people see thy power;
Let the gospel be victorious
Through the world forevermore :
Then shall idols
Perish, while thy saints adore.
Prayer for Divine Aid.-SLINN.
1 ARISE, in all thy splendor, Lord;
Let power attend thy gracious word;
Unveil the beauties of thy face,
And show the glories of thy grace.
2 Send forth thy messengers of peace;
Make Satan's reign and empire cease;
Let thy salvation, Lord, be known,
That all the world thy power may own.
Arm of the Lord, awake. -BURDER'S COLL.
1 ARM of the Lord, awake! awake!
Put on thy strength, the nation shake!
And let the world adoring see
Triumphs of mercy wrought by thee.
2 Let Zion's time of favor come;
O! bring the tribes of Israel home;
And let our wondering eyes behold
Gentiles and Jews in Jesus' fold.
3 Almighty God! thy grace proclaim,
In every clime of every name;
Let adverse powers before thee fall,
And crown the Saviour Lord of all.
Missionary Field. - HEBER.
1 FROM Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand:
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error's chain.
2 What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile:
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen, in his blindness,
Bows down to wood and stone,
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