Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion Part 51

Divine Meaning in Humble Things.

1 Thou, Lord, who rear'st the mountain's height, And mak'st the cliffs with suns.h.i.+ne bright; O, grant that we may own Thy hand No less in every grain of sand!

2 With forests huge, of dateless time, Thy will has hung each peak sublime; But withered leaves beneath the tree Have tongues that tell as loud of Thee.

3 Teach us that not a leaf can grow, Till life from Thee within it flow; That not a grain of dust can be, O Fount of being! save by Thee;

4 That every human word and deed, Each flash of feeling, will, or creed, Hath solemn meaning from above, Begun and ended all in love.

304. L. M. Keble.

Seeing G.o.d in All.

1 If on our daily course our mind Be set, to hallow all we find, New treasures still, of countless price, G.o.d will provide for sacrifice.

2 Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of heaven in each we see; Some softening gleam of love and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care.

3 O could we learn that sacrifice, What light would all around us rise!

How would our hearts with wisdom talk Along life's dullest, dreariest walk!

4 The trivial round, the common task, Will furnish all we ought to ask; Room to deny ourselves, a road To bring us daily nearer G.o.d.

305. L. M. Doddridge.

Forms Vain Without the Spirit.

1 The uplifted eye and bended knee Are but vain homage, Lord, to Thee: In vain our lips Thy praise prolong, The heart a stranger to the song.

2 Can rites, and forms, and flaming zeal, The breaches of Thy precepts heal?

Or fasts and penance reconcile Thy justice, and obtain Thy smile?

3 The pure, the humble, contrite mind, Sincere, and to Thy will resigned, To Thee a n.o.bler offering yields Than Sheba's groves, or Sharon's fields.

4 Love G.o.d and man,--this great command Doth on eternal pillars stand; This did Thine ancient prophets teach, And this Thy well-beloved preach.

306. 8 & 7s. M. Anonymous.

Life's Work.

1 All around us, fair with flowers, Fields of beauty sleeping lie; All around us clarion voices Call to duty stern and high.

2 Thankfully we will rejoice in All the beauty G.o.d has given; But beware it does not win us From the work ordained of Heaven.

3 Following every voice of mercy With a trusting, loving heart; Let us in life's earnest labor Still be sure to do our part.

4 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow, Let us work with all our might, Lest the wretched faint and perish In the coming stormy night.

5 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow,-- Lest, before to-morrow's sun, We too, mournfully departing, Shall have left our work undone.

307. C. M. Anonymous.

Effort.

1 Scorn not the slightest word or deed, Nor deem it void of power; There's fruit in each wind-wafted seed, That waits its natal hour.

2 A whispered word may touch the heart, And call it back to life; A look of love bid sin depart, And still unholy strife.

3 No act falls fruitless; none can tell How vast its power may be, Nor what results infolded dwell Within it silently.

4 Work on, despair not; bring thy mite, Nor care how small it be; G.o.d is with all that serve the right, The holy, true, and free.

308. 7s. M. *Bulwer.

The Minister of Love.

1 O'er the mount and through the moor Glide the Christian's steps secure; Day and night, no fear he knows; Lonely, but with G.o.d, he goes: For the coat of mail, bedight In his spotless robe of white; For the sinful sword, his hand Bearing high the olive-wand.

2 Through the camp, and through the court, Through the dark and deadly fort, On the mission of the dove, Speeds the minister of love; By his word the wildest tames, And the world to G.o.d reclaims; War, and wrath, and famine cease, Hushed around his path of peace.

309. C. M. M. B. Lamar.

The Christian Reformer.