Joy and Peace

711 God's Presence is Light in Darkness

1 MY God, the spring of all my joys, The life of my delights, The glory of my brightest days, And comfort of my nights.

2 In darkest shades if He appear, My dawning is begun;

He is my soul's sweet morning star, And He my rising sun.

3 The opening heavens around me shine With beams of sacred bliss, While Jesus shows His heart is mine, And whispers, I am His.

4 My soul would leave this heavy clay At that transporting word, Run up with joy the shining way T' embrace my dearest Lord.

5 Fearless of hell and ghastly death, I'd break through every foe; The wings of love, and arms of faith, Should bear me conqueror through.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

712 Christ unseen but beloved

1 NOT with our mortal eyes Have we beheld the Lord;

Yet we rejoice to hear His name, And love Him in His word.

2 On earth we want the sight Of our Redeemer's face;

Yet, Lord, our inmost thoughts delight To dwell upon Thy grace.

3 And when we taste Thy love, Our joys divinely grow, Unspeakable, like those above, And heaven begins below.

Isaac Watts, 1709

713

Sing, ye Saints

1 SING, ye saints, admire and wonder, Jesu's matchless love adore:

Sing, for Sinai's awful thunder Shall upon you burst no more.

2 Sing, in spite of Satan's lying;

Sing, though sins are black and large;

Sing, for Jesus, by His dying, Set you free from every charge.

3 Sing, though sense and carnal reason Fain would stop the joyful song:

Sing, and count it highest treason For a saint to hold his tongue.

4 Sing ye loud, whose holy calling Your election plainly shows;

Sing, nor fear a final falling, Jesu's love no changes knows.

5 Sing, for you shall heaven inherit, Sing, and ne'er the song have done:

Sing to Father, Son, and Spirit, One in Three, and Three in One.

John Upland, 1775

714 The Ransomed of the Lord

1 SING, ye redeemed of the Lord, Your great Deliverer sing;

Pilgrims for Zion's city bound, Be joyful in your King.

2 A hand divine shall lead you on Through all the blissful road, Till to the sacred mount you rise, And see your smiling God.

3 There garlands of immortal joy Shall bloom on every head, While sorrow, sighing, and distress, Like shadows, all are fled.

4 March on in your Redeemer's strength, Pursue His footsteps still; And let the prospect cheer your eye, While labouring up the hill.

Philip Doddridge, 1755.

715 A gracious God

1 MY soul, arise in joyful lays, Renounce this earthly clod, Tune all thy powers to sweetest praise, And sing thy gracious God.

2 When in my heart His heavenly love He sweetly sheds abroad, How joyfully He makes me prove He is my gracious God!

3 When Jesus to my sinful soul Applies His precious blood, To pardon, cleanse, and make me whole, I sing, my gracious God.

4 In all my trials here below, I'll humbly kiss His rod, For this through grace, I surely know, He's still my gracious God.

Samuel Medley, 1789

716 Joy and Peace in Believing

1 SOMETIMES a light surprises The Christian while he sings:

It is the Lord who rises With healing in His wings. When comforts are declining, He grants the soul again, A season of clear shining, To cheer it, after rain.

2 In holy contemplation, We sweetly then pursue The theme of God's salvation, And find it ever new.

Set free from present sorrow We cheerfully can say, E'en let the unknown to-morrow Bring with it what it may:

3 It can bring with it nothing But He will bear us through: Who gives the lilies clothing, Will clothe His people too:

Beneath the spreading heavens, No creature but is fed; And He who feeds the ravens, Will give His children bread.

4 Though vine nor fig-tree neither Their wonted fruit should bear, Though all the field should wither, Nor flocks, nor herds be there!

Yet God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice; For while in Him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.

William Cowper, 1779.

717 Rejoicing in Hope

1 CHILDREN of the heavenly King, As ye journey, sweetly sing;

Sing your Saviour's worthy praise, Glorious in His works and ways.

2 We are travelling home to God, In the way the fathers trod;

They are happy now, and ye Soon their happiness shall see.

3 Oh ye banish'd seed, be glad!

Christ our Advocate is made;

Us to save our flesh assumes, Brother to our souls becomes.

4 Shout, ye little flock, and blest!

You on Jesus' throne shall rest!

There your seat is now prepared, There your kingdom and reward.

5 Fear not, brethren, joyful stand On the borders of your land.

Jesus Christ, your Father's Son, Bids you undismay'd go on,

6 Lord, obediently we go, Gladly leaving all below;

Only Thou our Leader be, And we still will follow Thee!

John Cennick, 1742

718 The Meek beautified with Salvation

1 YE humble souls rejoice, And cheerful triumphs sing;

Wake all your harmony of voice, For Jesus is your King.

2 That meek and lowly Lord, Whom here your souls have known Pledges the honour of His word To avow you for His own.

3 He brings salvation near, For which His blood was paid!

How beauteous shall your souls appear, Thus sumptuously array'd.

4 Sing, for the day is nigh, When near your Leaders seat, The tallest sons of pride shall lie, The footstool of your feet.

5 Salvation, Lord, is Thine, And all Thy saints confess The royal robes in which they shine, Were wrought by sovereign grace.

Philip Doddridge, 1755.

719 Gratitude and Hope

1 MY soul, triumphant in the Lord, Shall tell its joys abroad; And march with holy vigour on, Supported by its God.

2 Through all the winding maze of life, His hand hath been my guide; And in that long-experienced care, My heart shall still confide.

3 His grace through all the desert flows, An unexhausted stream: That grace on Zion's sacred mount Shall be my endless theme.

4 Beyond the choicest joys of earth These distant courts I love; But oh, I burn with strong desire To view Thy house above.

5 Mingled with all the shining band, My soul would there adore; A pillar in Thy temple fix'd, To be removed no more.

Philip Doddridge,1754

720 Heavenly Joys on Earth 1 COME, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known;

Join in a song with sweet accord, And thus surround the throne.

2 The sorrows of the mind, Be banish'd from the place;

Religion never was design'd To make our pleasures less.

3 Let those refuse to sing That never knew our God; But favourites of the heavenly King May speak their joys abroad.

4 The God that rules on high, And thunders when He please, That rides upon the stormy sky, And manages the seas:

5 This awful God is ours, Our Father and our love;

He shall send down His heavenly powers To carry us above.

6 There shall we see His face, And never, never sin;

There from the rivers of His grace, Drink endless pleasures in.

7 Yes! and before we rise To that immortal state, The thoughts of such amazing bliss Should constant joys create.

8 The men of grace have found Glory begun below;

Celestial fruits on earthly ground From faith and hope may grow.

9 The hill of Zion yields A thousand sacred sweets, Before we reach the heavenly fields, Or walk the golden streets.

10 Then let our songs abound, And every tear be dry:

We're marching through Immanuel's ground To fairer worlds on high.

Isaac Watts, 1709

721 Spiritual Apparel 1 AWAKE, my heart; arise, my tongue;

Prepare a tuneful voice, In God the life of all my joys, Aloud will I rejoice.

2 'Twas He adorn'd my naked soul, And made salvation mine!

Upon a poor polluted worm He makes His graces shine.

3 And lest the shadow of a spot Should on my soul be found, He took the robe the Saviour wrought, And cast it all around.

4 How far the heavenly robe exceeds What earthly princes wear!

These ornaments, how bright they shine!

How white the garments are!

5 The Spirit wrought my faith and love, And hope, and every grace; But Jesus spent His life to work The robe of righteousness.

6 Strangely, my soul, art thou array'd By the great Sacred Three! In sweetest harmony of praise Let all thy powers agree.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

722 Doubts scattered; or, Spiritual Joy restored 1 HENCE from my soul, sad thoughts, begone, And leave me to my joys; My tongue shall triumph in my God, And make a joyful noise.

2 Darkness and doubts had veil'd my mind, And drown'd my head in tears, Till sovereign grace with shining rays Dispell'd my gloomy fears.

3 Oh what immortal joys I felt, And raptures all divine, When Jesus told me I was His, And my Beloved mine!

4 In vain the tempter frights my soul, And breaks my peace in vain;

One glimpse, dear Saviour, of Thy face Revives my joys again.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

723 God speaking Peace to His People 1 UNITE, my roving thoughts, unite In silence soft and sweet: And thou, my soul, sit gently down At Thy great Sovereign's feet.

2 Jehovah's awful voice is heard, Yet gladly I attend: For lo! the everlasting God Proclaims Himself my friend.

3 Harmonious accents to my soul The sounds of peace convey: The tempest at His word subsides, And winds and seas obey.

4 By all Its joys, I charge my heart To grieve His love no more;

But, charm'd by melody divine, To give its follies o'er.

Philip Doddridge, 1765

724 The Power of Faith 1 FAITH adds new charms to earthly bliss, And saves me from its snares: Its aid in every duty brings, And softens all my cares:

2 The wounded conscience knows its power The healing balm to give; That balm the saddest heart can cheer, And make the dying live.

3 Wide it unveils celestial worlds, Where deathless pleasures reign; And bids me seek my portion there, Nor bids me seek in vain:

4 Shows me the precious promise, seal'd With the Redeemer's blood; And helps my feeble hope to rest Upon a faithful God.

5 There, there unshaken would I rest Till this vile body dies; And then, on faith's triumphant wings, At once to glory rise!

Daniel Turner, 1787.

725 Spiritual Emotions 1 OUR country is Immanuel's land, We seek that promised soil; The songs of Zion cheer our hearts, While strangers here we toil.

2 Oft do our eyes with joy o'erflow, And oft are bathed in tears;

Yet nought but heaven our hopes can raise, And nought but sin our fears.

3 We tread the path our Master trod, We bear the cross He bore; And every thorn that wounds our feet His temples pierced before.

4 Our powers are oft dissolved away In ecstasies of love: And while our bodies wander here, Our souls are fix'd above.

5 We purge our mortal dross away, Refining as we run, But while we die to earth and sense, Our heaven is here begun.

Anna Letitia Barbauld 1773

726

Calm me, my God 1 CALM me, my God, and keep me calm, Let Thine outstretched wing, Be like the shade of Elim's palm Beside her desert spring.

2 Yes; keep me calm, though loud and rude The sounds my ear that greet;

Calm in the closet's solitude, Calm in the bustling street;

3 Calm in the hour of buoyant health, Calm in my hour of pain;

Calm in my poverty or wealth, Calm in my loss or gain;

4 Calm in the sufferance of wrong, Like Him who bore my shame;

Calm 'mid the threatening, taunting throng, Who hate Thy holy name;

5 Calm me, my God, and keep me calm, Soft resting on Thy breast;

Soothe me with holy hymn and psalm, And bid my spirit rest.

Horatius Bonar, 1856

727 Pleasures of Religion 1 'TIS religion that can give Sweetest pleasures while we live;

'Tis religion must supply Solid comfort when we die.

2 Alter death its joys will be Lasting as eternity: Be the living God my friend, Then my bliss shall never end.

Mary Masters, 1755, a.