Chapter 27

5 Lord! upward to thy throne Th' imploring voice we raise; The might, the strength, are thine alone! Thine be our loftiest praise.

791. L. M. Anonymous.

Temperance Hymn.

1 God of our fathers, 'tis thy hand Hath turned the tide of death away, That rolled in madness o'er the land, And filled thy people with dismay.

2 Thy voice awaked us from our dream: Thy spirit taught our hearts to feel; 'Twas thy own light, whose radiant beam Came down our duty to reveal.

3 Almighty Parent, still in thee Our spirits trust for strength divine; Gird us with heaven's own energy, And o'er our paths let wisdom shine.

4 The work of man's destruction stay; The tide of fire still backward press; Drive each delusive mist away, And every humble effort bless.

792. 7s. M. P. H. Sweetser.

The Same.

1 Hark! the voice of choral song Floats upon the breeze along, Chanting clear, in solemn lays,-- "Man redeemed--to God the praise!"

2 Angels, strike the golden lyre! Mortals, catch the heavenly fire! Thousands ransomed from the grave, Millions yet our pledge shall save!

3 Save from sin's destructive breath, Save from sorrow, shame and death-- From intemperance and strife, Save the husband, children, wife!

4 Courage! let no heart despair-- Mighty is the truth we bear! Forward then, baptized in love, Led by wisdom from above!

793. L. M. Sargent.

The Same.

1 Slavery and death the cup contains; Dash to the earth the poisoned bowl! Softer than silk are iron chains Compared with those that chafe the soul.

2 Hosannas, Lord, to thee we sing, Whose power the giant fiend obeys. What countless thousands tribute bring, For happier homes and brighter days!

3 Thou wilt not break the bruised reed, Nor leave the broken heart unbound: The wife regains a husband freed! The orphan clasps a father found!

4 Spare, Lord, the thoughtless; guide the blind, Till man no more shall deem it just To live, by forging chains to bind His weaker brother in the dust.

794. 8s. & 7s. M. Pierpont.

Morning Hymn for Family Worship.

1 Pillows, wet with tears of anguish, Couches, pressed in sleepless woe, Where the sons of Belial languish, Father, may we never know!

2 For, the maddening cup shall never To our thirsting lips be pressed, But, our draft shall be, forever, The cold water thou hast blessed.

3 This shall give us strength to labor, This, make all our stores increase; This, with thee and with our neighbor, Bind us in the bonds of peace.

4 For the lake, the well, the river, Water-brook and crystal spring, Do we now, to thee, the Giver, Thanks, our daily tribute, bring.

795. L. M. Logan.

God's Blessing Implored on the Temperance Cause.

1 For all who love thee and thy cause, O Lord, thy blessing we implore; Who fear thy name, obey thy laws, From this to earth's remotest shore.

2 O grant, that, freed from low desire, And filled with joy, and love, and fear, Each breast may glow with holy fire, While seeking heaven, to serve thee here.

3 Pity, O God, the heedless wretch, Who staggers to a dreadful grave; Thy arm of love around him stretch, And show that thou art strong to save.

4 Breathe upon those who scorn our cause, Thy cause, O Lord, for thou hast blest; Show them he honors most thy laws Who loves his God and neighbor best.

796. L. M. Mrs. Sigourney.

The Upas Tree.

1 There sprang a tree of deadly name: Its poisonous breath, its baleful dew Scorched the green earth like lava-flame, And every plant of mercy slew.

2 From clime to clime its branches spread Their fearful fruits of sin and woe; The prince of darkness loved its shade, And toiled its fiery seeds to sow.

3 Faith poured her prayer at midnight hour; The hand of zeal at noon-day wrought; An armor of celestial power The children of the cross besought.

4 Behold the axe its pride doth wound; Through its cleft boughs the sun doth shine; Its blasted blossoms strew the ground: Give glory to the arm divine.

5 And still Jehovah's aid implore, From isle to isle, from sea to sea, From peopled earth's remotest shore, To root that deadly Upas Tree.

797. 7s. & 6s. M. J. G. Adams.

Dedication of a Temperance Hall.

1 'Mid homes and shrines forsaken Of joy and peace divine, Faint hearts new strength have taken, A light is seen to shine! Its beaming revelations Are shed in mercy far; A guide to all the nations-- The glorious Temperance star!

2 Hushed be that wail of sadness, Life, life has come again; Awake the song of gladness, Swell high the choral strain! The lost returns from straying In sin's destructive way; That curse is turned to praying, That night to blissful day!

3 God of this day! Our Father! In humble praise to thee, Within these walls we gather-- The spared, the blest, the free; To hail thy grace far-sounding-- Our Temple dedicate To hope and life abounding In Man regenerate!

4 Rest thou within it ever, As o'er the ark of old; And here, O may we never In our great strife wax cold. Nerve every arm and spirit For each successful blow, Till Temperance shall inherit All temples here below!

798. 6s. & 4s. M. Pierpont.

Prayer for the Abolition of Slavery.

1 With thy pure dews and rains, Wash out, O God! the stains From Afric's shore; And while her palm trees bud, Let not her children's blood, With her broad Niger's flood, Be mingled more.

2 Quench, righteous God! the thirst, That Congo's sons hath cursed-- The thirst for gold; Shall not thy thunders speak, Where Mammon's altars reek, Where maids and matrons shriek, Bound, bleeding, sold?

3 Hear'st thou, O God! those chains, That clank on Freedom's plains, By Christians wrought? Those who these chains have worn, Christians from home have torn, Christians have hither borne, Christians have bought!

4 Lord! wilt thou not, at last, From thine own image cast Away all cords, Save those of love, which brings Man, from his long wand'rings, Back--to the King of kings,-- The Lord of lords?

799. L. M. Mrs. Chapman.

For Faithfulness in the Cause of Human Freedom.

1 O God of freedom! hear us pray For steadfast hearts to toil as one; Till thy pure law hath boundless sway-- Thy will in heaven and earth be done.

2 A piercing voice of grief and wrong Goes upward from the groaning earth; Most true and holy Lord! how long?-- In majesty and might come forth.

3 Yet, Lord! remembering mercy too, Behold th' oppressor in his sin; Make all his actions just and true, Renew his wayward heart within.

800. L. M. Anonymous.

Prayer for Zeal and Love.

1 O Lord! whose forming hand one blood To all the tribes and nations gave, And giv'st to all their daily food, Look down in pity on the slave!

2 Fetters and chains and stripes remove, Deliv'rance to the captives give; And pour the tide of light and love Upon their souls, and bid them live.

3 Oh! kindle in our hearts a flame Of zeal, thy holy will to do; And bid each one, who loves thy name, Love all his bleeding brethren too.

4 Through all thy temples, let the stain Of prejudice each bosom flee; And, hand in hand, let Afric's train, With Europe's children, worship thee.

801. 8s. & 7s. M. Mrs. Livermore.

Prayer for the Slave.

1 Father, who of old descended From thy throne above the sky, And thine Israel's rights defended, Hear the bondman's anguished cry!

2 Hear how Ethiopia crieth, Kneeling on the blood-stained sod; And how sable Afric' sigheth, Lifting up her hands to God!

3 From the grasp of strong oppression, From the tyrant's rusting chain, And from slavery's deep depression, With its life-long hours of pain;

4 From our country's wide savannas, Let the cry come up to thee, Let the prayers become hosannas-- Father, set thy children free!

802. 7s. M. Mrs. Follen.

That God Would hear the Cries of the Slave.

1 Lord! deliver; thou canst save; Save from evil, Mighty God! Hear--oh! hear the kneeling slave, Break--oh! break th' oppressor's rod.

2 May the captive's pleading fill All the earth, and all the sky; Every other voice be still, While he pleads with God on high.

3 He, whose ear is everywhere, Who doth silent sorrow see, Will regard the captive's prayer, Will from bondage set him free.

4 From the tyranny within, Save thy children, Lord! we pray; Chains of iron, chains of sin, Cast forever, cast away.

5 Love to man, and love to God, Are the weapons of our war; These can break the oppressor's rod-- Burst the bonds that we abhor.

803. L. M. J. G. Whittier.

For a Liberty Meeting on the Fourth of July.

1 O Thou! whose presence went before Our fathers in their weary way, As with thy chosen moved of yore The fire by night--the cloud by day!

2 When, from each temple of the free, A nation's song ascends to heaven, Most Holy Father! unto thee, May not our humble prayer be given,--

3 For those to whom this day can bring, Not, as to us, the joyful thrill;-- For those, who, under freedom's wing, Are bound in slavery's fetters still:--

4 And grant, O Father! that the time Of Earth's deliverance may be near, When every land, and tongue, and clime, The message of thy love shall hear.

5 When smitten, as with fire from heaven, The captive's chain shall sink in dust, And to his fettered soul be given The glorious freedom of the just.

804. L. M. Miss Weston.

"'Tis good to be merciful."

1 'Tis good to weep and mourn for those, Crushed down by Slavery's iron hand, And feel, while numbering o'er their woes, Strength for the just and true to stand.

2 'Tis good and true to say to those, Who claim a right in human kind, "Mercy and Justice are your foes, And they shall certain triumph find."

3 'Tis good--'tis blessed, to say to all, "Arise, to help the wretched slave, Upon your God for courage call, And in his strength go forth and save."

4 Lord! this is what we seek to do; Grant us thy grace to do it well; Help us thy glory to pursue, And of thy promises to tell.

805. P. M. H. Ware, Jr.

The Progress of Freedom.

1 Oppression shall not always reign; There comes a brighter day; When freedom, burst from every chain, Shall have triumphant way. Then right shall over might prevail, And truth, like hero armed in mail, The hosts of tyrant wrong assail, And hold eternal sway.

2 What voice shall bid the progress stay Of truth's victorious car? What arm arrest the growing day, Or quench the solar star? What reckless soul, though stout and strong, Shall dare bring back the ancient wrong, Oppression's guilty night prolong, And freedom's morning bar?

3 The hour of triumph comes apace, The fated, promised hour, When earth upon a ransomed race Her bounteous gifts shall shower. Ring, Liberty, thy glorious bell! Bid high thy sacred banner swell! Let trump on trump the triumph tell Of Heaven's redeeming power.

806. 6s. & 10s. M. Milton, Gardner, and Dwight.

Peace.

1 No war nor battle's sound Was heard the earth around,-- No hostile chiefs to furious combat ran; But peaceful was the night In which the Prince of Light His reign of peace upon the earth began.

2 No conqueror's sword he bore, Nor warlike armor wore, Nor haughty passions roused to contest wild; In peace and love he came, And gentle was the reign, Which o'er the earth he spread by influence mild.

3 Unwilling kings obeyed, And sheathed the battle blade, And called their bloody legions from the field; In silent awe they wait, And close the warrior's gate, Nor know to whom their homage thus they yield.

4 The peaceful conqueror goes, And triumphs o'er his foes, His weapons drawn from armories above; Behold the vanquished sit Submissive at his feet, And strife and hate are changed to peace and love.

807. 6s. & 4s. M. E. Davis.

For an Anniversary Meeting of the Friends of Peace.

1 Not with the flashing steel-- Not with the cannon's peal, Or stir of drum, But in the bonds of love; Our white flag floats above, Her emblem is the dove, 'Tis thus we come.

2 The laws of Christian light, These are our weapons bright, Our mighty shield; Christ is our leader high, And the broad plains which lie Beneath the blesséd sky, Our battle field.

3 On, then, in God's great name, Let each pure spirit's flame Burn bright and clear: Stand firmly in your lot, Cry ye aloud, "Doubt not," Be every fear forgot, Christ leads us here.

4 So shall Earth's distant lands In happy, holy bands, One brotherhood, Together rise and sing, And joyful offerings bring, And Heaven's Eternal King Pronounce it _good_.

808. C. M. Gibbons.

Prayer for Universal Peace.

1 Lord, send thy word, and let it run, Armed with thy Spirit's power; Ten thousand shall confess its sway, And bless the saving hour.

2 Beneath the influence of thy grace The barren wastes shall rise, With sudden greens and fruits arrayed, A blooming paradise.

3 True holiness shall strike its root In each regenerate heart, Shall in a growth divine arise, And heavenly fruits impart.

4 Peace, with her olives crowned, shall stretch Her wings from shore to shore; No trump shall rouse the rage of war, Nor murderous cannon roar.

5 Lord, for those days we wait;--those days Are in thy word foretold; Fly swifter, sun and stars, and bring This promised age of gold!

809. C. M. Anonymous.

The Gospel of Peace.

1 Joy to the earth! the Prince of Peace His banner has unfurled; Let strife, and sin, and error cease, And joy pervade the world!

2 Praise ye the Lord! for truth and grace His word and life display; Let every soul his love embrace, And own its gentle sway.

3 Peace on the earth, good will to men, Embraced the Gospel plan; Let that sweet strain be heard again, Which angel-tones began.

4 Joy to the isles and lands afar, Messiah reigns above; Let every eye behold the star, The star of light and love.

810. C. M. Mrs. Livermore.

Peace.

1 No warlike sounds awoke the night, Announcing Jesus' birth, But angels borne on wings of light, Who chanted "Peace to earth!"

2 Not in the warrior's armor mailed Was Christ the Saviour found; Not striving, when by wrath assailed Not with the laurel crowned.

3 But meek and lowly was his life, The gentle Prince of Peace, Whose law condemns the hostile strife, And bids dissensions cease.

4 Then let the war-cry ne'er be rung Beneath the smiling sky, Nor to the clouds the banner flung That tells of victory.

5 But let the blissful period haste, When, hushed the cannon's roar, The sword shall cease mankind to waste, And war shall be no more.

811. C. M. Anonymous.

Prospect of Universal Peace.

1 O'er mountain tops, the mount of God, In latter days, shall rise Above the summits of the hills, And draw the wondering eyes.

2 The beams that shine from Zion's hill Shall lighten every land; The King who reigns in Salem's towers Shall the whole world command.

3 Nor war shall rage, nor hostile strife Disturb those happy years; To ploughshares men shall beat their swords, To pruning-hooks their spears.

4 No longer host, encountering host, Shall crowds of slain deplore; They'll lay the martial trumpet by, And study war no more.

812. 7s. M. Lewins Mead Coll.

The Blessings of Peace.

1 Peace! the welcome sound proclaim, Dwell with rapture on the theme; Loud, still louder, swell the strain: Peace on earth, good will to men.

2 Breezes! whispering soft and low, Gently murmur as ye blow, Breathe the sweet celestial strain, Peace on earth, good will to men.

3 Ocean's billows! far and wide Rolling in majestic pride: Loud still louder, swell the strain, Peace on earth, good will to men.

4 Christians! who these blessings feel, And in adoration kneel; Loud, still louder, swell the strain, Praise to God, good will to men.

813. 8s. 7s. & 6s. M. Miss Fletcher.

Compassion for the Sinning.

1 Think gently of the erring! Lord, let us not forget, However darkly stained by sin, He is our brother yet. Heir of the same inheritance! Child of the self-same God! He hath but stumbled in the path, We have in weakness trod.

2 Speak gently to him, brother; Thou yet mayst lead him back, With holy words, and tones of love, From misery's thorny track. Forget not thou hast often sinned, And sinful yet must be: Deal gently with the erring one, As God hath dealt with thee.

814. 10s. M. Anonymous.

The Same.

1 Breathe thoughts of pity o'er a brother's fall, But dwell not with stern anger on his fault; The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all; Were that withdrawn, thou, too, wouldst swerve and halt.

2 Send back the wand'rer to the Saviour's fold; That were an action worthy of a saint; But not in malice let the crime be told, Nor publish to the world the evil taint.

3 The Saviour suffers when his children slide; Then is his holy name by men blasphemed And he afresh is mocked and crucified, Even by those his bitter death redeemed.

4 Rebuke the sin, and yet in love rebuke; Feel as one member in another's pain; Win back the soul that his fair path forsook, And mighty and rejoicing is thy gain!

815. L. M. Mrs. Livermore.

Reclaiming Power of Love.

1 Jesus, what precept is like thine, "Forgive, as ye would be forgiven!" If heeded, O what power divine Would then transform our earth to heaven.

2 Not by the harsh or scornful word, Should we our brother seek to gain, Not by the prison or the sword, The shackle, or the clanking chain.

3 But from our spirits there must flow A love that will his wrong outweigh; Our lips must only blessings know, And wrath and sin shall die away.

4 'Twas heaven that formed the holy plan To bring the wanderer back by love; Thus let us win our brother, man, And imitate thee, God above!

816. L. M. Miss Fletcher.

For the Prisoner.

1 Father! we pray for those who dwell Within the prison's gloomy cell! For those whose souls are bending low Beneath the weight of guilt and woe.

2 Thy love hath kept our thorny way And saved us from sin's iron sway; Our brethren in a weaker hour Have yielded to temptation's power.

3 Teach us with humble hearts to feel, How darkly on our brows the seal Of guilt might now perchance be set, Had we the same temptation met.

4 Then while the error we would shun, We still would aid the erring one To turn from sin's unpitying sway, To virtue's fair and pleasant way.

817. L. M. Miss Edgarton.

The Same.

1 Oh shut not out sweet Pity's ray From souls now clouded o'er by sin; Touch their deep springs, and let the day Of Christian love flow freely in.

2 Send them kind missions, though their feet No more again the world may tread; Some pulse of better life may beat In hearts that seem unmoved and dead.

3 'Tis just that they should bear the pain Of keen remorse and guilty shame; But scorn may drive to crime again-- 'Tis only love that can reclaim.

818. S. M. Miss Fletcher.

The Same.

1 We come to thee, O God, With hushed and solemn strain; We come to plead for those who lie Bound with the prisoner's chain.

2 O, give them contrite hearts, To feel their fearful sin, And give to us a patient faith Those erring ones to win.

3 Give us to love thy law, The paths of vice to shun, But never harshly dare to spurn The suffering sinful one.

819. S. M. Miss Martineau, alt.

The Coming of Christ in Power.

1 Lord Jesus, come; for here Our path through wilds is laid! We watch as for the day-spring near, Amid the breaking shade.

2 Lord Jesus, come; for hosts Meet on the battle plain: The patriot mourns, the tyrant boasts, And tears are shed like rain.

3 Lord Jesus, come; for chains Are still upon the slave; Bind up his wounds, relieve his pains, The pining bondman save.

4 Hark! herald voices near, Lead on thy happier day: Come, Lord, and our hosannas hear; We wait to strew thy way.

5 Come, as in days of old, With words of grace and power; Gather us all within thy fold, And let us stray no more.

820. C. M. R. Nicoll.

Honor all Men.

1 I may not scorn the meanest thing That on the earth doth crawl; The slave who would not burst his chain, The tyrant in his hall.

2 The vile oppressor who hath made The widowed mother mourn, Though worthless, soulless he may stand, I cannot, dare not scorn.

3 The darkest night that shrouds the sky, Of beauty hath a share: The blackest heart hath sighs to tell That God still lingers there.

821. C. M. Whittier.

The Call of Truth.

1 Oh! not alone with outward sign, Of fear, or voice from heaven, The message of a truth divine, The call of God, is given; Awakening in the human heart, Love for the true and right, Zeal for the Christian's better part, Strength for the Christian's fight.

2 Though heralded by nought of fear, Or outward sign or show; Though only to the inward ear It whisper soft and low; Though dropping as the manna fell, Unseen, yet from above, Holy and gentle, heed it well: The call to truth and love.

822. C. M. Lond. Inquirer.

Encouragement to Christian Effort.