2 [Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought,
All the long years and worlds to come
Stood present to his thought.]
5 [There's not a sparrow or a worm
But's found in his decrees;
He raises monarchs to their thrones,
And sinks them as he please.]
4 If light attends the course I run,
'Tis he provides those rays;
And 'tis his hand that hides my sun,
If darkness cloud my days.
5 Yet I would not be much concern'd,
Nor vainly long to see
The volume of his deep decrees,
What months are writ for me.
6 When he reveals the book of life,
O, may I read my name
Amongst the chosen of his love,
The followers of the Lamb!
Hymn 2:100.
The presence of Christ is the life of my soul.
1 [How full of anguish is the thought,
How it distracts and tears my heart
If God, at last, my sovereign Judge,
Should frown, and bid my soul, "Depart!">[
2 Lord, when I quit this earthly stage,
Where shall I fly but to thy breast?
For I have sought no other home
For I have learn'd no other rest.
3 I cannot live contented here,
Without some glimpses of thy face;
And heaven without thy presence there
Would be a dark and tiresome place.
4 When earthly cares engross the day
And hold my thoughts aside from thee,
The shining hours of cheerful light
Are long and tedious years to me.