Sweet is Thy mercy, Lord!
Before the mercy seat
My soul, adoring, pleads Thy word,
And owns Thy mercy sweet!

My need, and God’s desires,
Are all in Christ complete:
He has the justice truth requires,
And I Thy mercy, sweet!

Light Thou my weary way,
Lead Thou my weary feet,
That while I stay on earth I may
Still find Thy mercy sweet!

The Lord Himself shall come,
And shout a quickening word!
Thousands shall answer from the tomb,
"Forever with the Lord!"

Then, as we upward fly,
That resurrection-word
Shall be our shout of victory-
"Forever with the Lord!"

"Knowing as we are known,"
How shall we love that word-
How oft repeat before the throne,
"Forever with the Lord!"

There with unwearied gaze
Our eyes on Him we’ll rest,
And satisfy with endless praise
A heart supremely blest!

That resurrection-word,
That shout of victory,
Once more-"Forever with the Lord!"
Amen, so let it be!

O blessed, living Lord,
Engage our hearts with Thee,
And strike within some answering chord
To love so rich and free!

To know Thy loving heart!
To cleave to Thy blest side!
To gaze upon Thee where Thou art,
And in Thy love abide!

To walk with Thee below!
To learn Thy holy ways!
And more to Thine own stature grow,
To Thine eternal praise!

Thyself our one Desire!
Thyself our Object here!
The goal to which our hearts aspire-
To meet thee in the air!

Our God whom we have known,
Well known in Jesus’ love,
Rests in the blessing of His own,
Before Himself above.

Glory supreme is there,
Glory that shines through all,
More precious still that love to share
As those that love did call.

Like Jesus in that place
Of light and love supreme-
Once Man of Sorrows full of grace,
Heaven’s blest and endless theme!

Like Him! Oh, grace supreme!
Like Him before Thy face!
Like Him to know that glory beam,
Unhindered, face to face!

Oh, love, supreme and bright,
Good to the feeblest heart,
That gives us now, as heavenly light,
What soon shall be our part!

O holy Lamb of God,
Thou cam’st our sins to bear-
To give Thy life, to shed Thy blood,
That we might glory share.

Love brought Thee from Thy throne
To here endure our doom:
Thy travail o’er, Thy work now done,
Soon Thou wilt take us home.

On this the sinner stands-
"He gave Himself for us!"
What grace in Thee, to burst our bands!
What love, to suffer thus!

To One so dear, may we
By Thee be e’er kept near-
Thy blood, Thy Name, our only plea,
Till Thou Thyself appear!

And shall we see Thy face,
And hear Thy heavenly voice,
Well known to us in present grace?
Well may our hearts rejoice.

With Thee in garments white,
Lord Jesus, we shall walk;
And spotless in that heavenly light,
Of all Thy sufferings talk.

Close to Thy trusted side,
In fellowship divine;
No cloud, no distance, e’er shall hide
Glories that then shall shine.

Fruit of Thy boundless love,
That gave Thyself for us;
Forever we shall with The prove
That Thou still lovest us thus.

And we love Thee, blest Lord,
E’en now, though feeble here;
Thy sorrow and Thy cross record
What makes us know Thee near.

We wait to see Thee, Lord,
Yet now within our hearts
Thou dwellest in love that doth afford
The joy that love imparts.

Yet still we wait for Thee,
To see Thee as Thou art,
Be with Thee, like Thee, Lord, and free
To love with all our heart.

I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love diving;
And with unfaltering lip and heart
I call the Saviour mine.

His cross dispels each doubt;
I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear,
Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;
I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine-
My God, my joy, my light.

‘Tis He who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives!
I love because He loveth me,
I live because He lives.

My life with Him is hid;
My death has passed away;
My clouds have melted into light,
My midnight into day!

We hear the words of love,
We gaze upon the blood,
We see the mighty Sacrifice,
And we have peace with God.

‘Tis everlasting peace,
Sure as Jehovah’s name:
‘Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

Our love is ofttimes low,
Our joy still ebbs and flows,
But peace with Him remains the same,
No change Jehovah knows.

We change-He changes not;
Our Christ can never die:
His love, not ours, the resting-place,
We on His truth rely.

The cross still stands unchanged,
Though heaven is now His home;
The might stone is rolled away,
But yonder is His tomb!

And yonder is our peace,
The grace of all our woes:
We know the Son of God has come,
We know He died and rose.

We know He liveth now
At God’s right hand above;
We know the throne on which He sits,
We know His truth and love!

I praise, I bless the Lamb,
Now seated on the throne-
Eternal Son, the great I AM,
Who stood for me alone!

Beneath the crushing weight
Of all my guilt and sin
He went, to reach my desperate state,
My rebel heart to win!

With Him I now am blest
Before His God and mine;
In Him I find eternal rest,
And like Him soon shall shine!

My soul, adore the Lamb,
Now seated on the throne-
Eternal Son, the Great I AM,
Who stood for me alone!

Thou very-present Aid
In suffering and distress!
The soul that still on Thee is stayed
Is kept in perfect peace.

The soul, by faith reclined
On the Redeemer’s breast,
‘Mid raging storms, exults to find
And everlasting rest.

Sorrow and fear are gone
Whene’er Thy face appears;
It stills the sighing orphan’s moan,
And dries the widow’s tears.

It hallows every cross;
It sweetly comforts me;
Makes me forget all pain, all loss,
To lose myself in Thee.

Jesus, to Thee I fly-
Thou dost my wishes fill:
What though created streams are dry?
I have the Fountain still!

Through waves, through clouds and storms,
God gently clears the way;
We wait His time-so shall the night
Soon end in blissful day.

He every where hath sway,
And all things serve His might;
His every act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light.

When He makes bare His arm,
Who shall His work withstand?
When He His people’s cause defends,
Who then shall stay His hand?

We leave it to Himself
To choose and to command:
With wonder filled, we soon shall see
How wise, how strong His hand.

We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven tell
God sits as sovereign on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.

“All things are ready,” Come!
Come to the supper spread!
Come, rich and poor! come, old and young!
Come, and be richly fed!

“All things are ready,” Come!
O make no vain excuse,
No yoke of oxen, wife, or field
Instead of Jesus choose!

“All things are ready,” Come!
The invitation’s giv’n,
Through Him who now in glory sits
At God’s right hand in heav’n.

“All things are ready,” Come!
The door is open wide:
O feast upon the love of God,
For Christ His Son has died!

“All things are ready,” Come!
All hindrance is removed,
And God, in Christ, His precious love
To fallen man has proved.

“All things are ready,” Come!
Tomorrow may not be:
O sinner, come! the Saviour waits
This hour to welcome thee!

How gentle God’s commands!
How kind His precepts are!
We’ll cast our burdens on the Lord,
And trust His constant care.

Beneath His watchful eye
His saints securely dwell:
The hand that bears all nature up,
Will guard His children well.

Why should an anxious load
Press down our weary mind?
We haste, O Father, to Thy throne,
And sweet refreshment find.

Thy goodness stands approved-
Unchanged from day to day:
We drop our burdens at Thy feet,
To bear a song away!

God’s holy law, transgressed,
Speaks nothing but despair:
O sinner! thou, with guilt oppressed,
Canst find no comfort there!

Not all thy groans and tears,
Nor works which thou hast done,
Nor vows, nor promises, nor prayers,
Can for one sin atone!

Relief alone is found
In Jesu’s precious blood:
‘Tis this that heals sin’s mortal wound,
And reconciles to God!

My times are in Thy hand;
Father, I wish them there:
My life, my soul, my all, 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:

My times are in Thy hand:
Why should I doubt or fear,
My Father’s hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.

My times are in Thy hand;
Jesus the Crucified!
The hand my many sins once pierced
Is now my Guard and Guide.

Vain is the thought of man
To merit heav’n by pray’r;
‘Tis only Jesu’s precious blood
Can give admission there.

Could ceaseless prayers ascend,
Could tears forever flow,
The soul were still unblest, unsaved,
And peace could never know.

But faith’s one look at Christ,
Expiring on the tree
One heart-believing glance at Him
Can set the sinner free.

Arise, ye saints, arise!
The Lord our Leader is:
The foe before His banner flies,
And victory is His!

We follow Thee, our Guide,
Our Saviour, Lord, and King!
We follow Thee, Through grace supplied
From heaven’s eternal spring!

We soon shall see the day
When all our toils shall cease-
When we shall cast our arms away,
And dwell in endless peace.

This hope supports us here;
It makes our burdens light:
‘Twill serve our drooping hearts to cheer,
Till faith shall end in sight-

Till, of the prize possessed,
We hear of war no more,
And ever with our Leader rest,
On yonder peaceful shore!

Ah, how shall fallen man
Be just before his God?
If He contend in righteousness,
We fall beneath His rod.

If He our ways should mark
With strict inquiring eyes,
Could we, for one of countless faults,
A just excuse devise?

All-seeing, powerful God,
Who can with Thee contend?
Or who that tries th’unequal strife
Shall prosper in the end?

The mountains, in Thy wrath,
Their ancient seats forsake;
The trembling earth deserts her place,
Her rotted pillars shake.

Ah, how shall guilty man
Contend with such a God?
None-none can meet Him and escape,
But through the Saviour’s blood.

It is Thy hand, my God!
My sorrow comes from Thee!
I bow beneath Thy chastening rod:
‘Tis love that bruises me!
I would not murmur, Lord;
Before Thee I am dumb:
Lest I should breathe one murmuring word,
To Thee for help I come.

My God, Thy name is love-
A Father’s hand is thine:
With tearful eyes I look above,
And cry, "Thy will be mine!"

Jesus for me hath died-
Thy Son Thou didst not spare:
His pierced hands, His bleeding side,
Thy love for me declare!

Here my poor heart can rest;
My God, it cleaves to Thee:
Thy will is love, Thine end is blest-
All works for good to me!

Down to the depths of woe
Christ came to set me free:
He bared His breast, receiv’d the blow,
Which Justice aim’d at me!

There Justice met my sin,
On the accursed tree:
To prove His love, my heart to win,
Christ “gave Himself for me!”

As Advocate on high,
My soul, He pleads for thee!
And when I wander, draws me nigh,
He ever lives for me!

Through all this desert place.
My Guide and Strength is He,
Till I shall see Him face to face,
When He Shall come for me!

Yes! soon this waiting hour
On time’s swift wing shall flee:
Soon He will come in glorious pow’r,
Jesus Himself for me!

And will the Judge descend?
And must the dead arise?
And not a guilty soul escape
His all-discerning eyes?

And from His righteous lips
Shall dreadful sentence sound,
And through the numerous guilty throng
Speak black despair around?

How will thy heart endure
The terrors of that day,
When heaven and earth, before His face,
Astonished, shrink away?

O sinner, seek His grace,
Whose wrath you can not bear!
Fly to the shelter of his cross,
And find salvation there!

O perfect life of love!
All, all is finished now,
All that He left His throne above
To do for us below.

No work is left undone
Of all the Father willed;
His toils, His sorrows, one by one,
All Scripture have fulfilled.

No pain that we can share,
But He has felt the smart;
All forms of human grief and care
Have pierced that tender heart.

And on His thorn-crowned head,
And on His sinless soul,
Our sins in all their guilt were laid,
That He might make us whole.

In perfect love He dies:
For me He dies, for me!
O all-atoning Sacrifice,
I cling by faith to Thee!

What, sinner, canst thou do?
Where, sinner, canst thou fly?
Eternal wrath hangs o’er thy head,
And judgement lingers nigh.

For God must visit sin
With His displeasure sore;
Since He is holy, just, and true,
And righteous evermore.

But Jesus died for sin-
Upon the cross He died;
God’s righteousness was there displayed,
And Justice satisfied.

Faith is the way of life;
Believe in Christ and live;
Fly to the shelter of His blood,
And peace with God receive.

His be the Victor’s name,
Who fought the fight alone!
Triumphant saints no honor claim,
His conquest was their own.

By weakness and defeat
He won the meed and crown,
Trod all our foes beneath His feet
By being trodden down.

Bless, bless the Conqueror slain,
Slain in His victory,
Who lived, who died, who lives again,
For Thee, His Church, for thee!

Not all the blood of beasts,
On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away its stain.

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
Took all my guilt away:
A sacrifice of nobler name,
And richer blood than they.

My soul looks back to see
The burden Thou didst bear,
When hanging on the accursed tree,
For all my guilt was there.

Believing, I rejoice
To see the curse remove;
And bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing redeeming love.

Sing with out ceasing, sing
The Saviour’s present grace,
How all things shine in light divine
For those who’ve seen His face.

He’s gone within the vail,
For us that place has won;
In Him we stand, a heavenly band,
Where He Himself is gone.

There all’s unsullied light;
Our hearts let in its ray bright,
And heavenly light makes all things
Seen in that blissful gaze.

Though here on earth we are,
Though here in weakness roam,
Our place on high, God’s self so nigh
His presence is our home.

That way is upward still,
Where life and glory are;
Our rest is above; in perfect love,
The glory we shall share.

Oh, bright and blessed scenes,
Where sin can never come,
Whose sight our longing spirit weans
From earth where yet we roam!

And can we call our home
Our Father’s house on high-
The rest of God our rest to come,
Our place of liberty?

Yes! in that light unstained,
Our stainless souls shall live,
Our heart’s deep longings more than gained,
When God His rest shall give.

His presence there my soul
Its rest, its joy untold
Shall find, when endless ages roll,
And time shall ne’er grow old.

Our God the center is,
His presence fills that land,
And countless myriads owned as His,
Round Him adoring stand.