3 The Lord can clear the darkest skies,
Can give us day for night,
Make drops of sacred sorrow rise
To rivers of delight.

4 Let those who sow in sadness wait
Till the rich harvest come

They shall confess their sheaves are great,
And shout the blessings home.

HYMN 306. H. M. [#]
Grace Triumphant.

1 BEFORE the world was made,
Or sun or planets shone,
Salvation's base was laid

In God's anointed Son,

Who came to spread the truth abroad,
And reconcile a world to God.

2 By mercy's hand upheld,

Firmly his purpose stands :
What love his bosom filled!

What kindness moved his hands!
What pity warmed his pleading breath,
Who meekly blest his foes in death!

3 Now, raised to realms above,
Where boundless mercies shine,
Will Christ forget his love?

Forget this heart of mine?

O, no; his favours never end;

He's there, as here, the sinner's Friend.

4 Hail, all-triumphant hour

In which my Saviour rose !

The grave has lost its power;
My soul, forget thy woes.
Widely he'll spread his grace abroad,
And safely guide a world to God.

FAITH AND HOPE.

HYMN 307. 81. L. M. [#]

Faith in God.

1 GOD is our Refuge and Defence, In trouble our unfailing Aid; Secure in his omnipotence,

What foe can make our soul afraid? Yea, though the earth's foundations rock, And mountains down the gulf be hurled, His people smile amid the shock;

They look beyond this transient world.

2 Thither let fervent faith aspire ;

Our treasure and our heart be there; O for a seraph's wing of fire

No, on the mightier wings of prayer, We reach at once that last retreat,

And, ranged among the ransomed throng, Fall with the elders at his feet

Whose name alone inspires their song. 3 Ah, soon, how soon, our spirits droop, Unwont the air of heaven to breathe ; Yet God, in very deed, will stoop,

And dwell himself with men beneath.

Come to thy living temples, then,
As in the ancient times appear;
Let earth be paradise again,

And man, O God, thine image here.

HYMN 308. L. M. [#]

We walk by Faith, not by Sight.

1 'Tis by the faith of joys to come

We walk through deserts dark as night; Till we arrive at heaven, our home,

Faith is our guide and truth our light. 2 The want of sight she well supplies; She makes the pearly gates appear; Far into distant worlds she pries, And brings eternal glories near. 3 Cheerful we tread the desert through, While faith receives a heavenly ray, Though lions roar, and tempests blow, And rocks and dangers fill the way.

4 So Abram, by divine command,

Left his own house to walk with God:
His faith beheld the promised land,
And fired his zeal along the road.

1 HIGH on the mountain's towering head,

While darkness veils the sky,

Faith stands, and, through the stormy cloud, Directs her anxious eye.

2 Amidst the gloom, the welcome rays
With cheering lustre shine,
And open to her ardent gaze
A world of bliss divine.

3 The yawning gulf, that howled beneath, Has ceased its angry roar,

The surging waves have spent their force,
And died upon the shore.

4 Far in the distance faith beholds
A flood of heavenly light,
Now spreads her pinions, and directs
To heaven her ardent flight.

5 Far, far beyond this nether world,
Where sin and sorrow grow,
She seeks and finds that endless rest,
Where joys unceasing flow.

HYMN 310. S. M. [#]
Living by Faith.

1 By faith may Jesus dwell

In our believing hearts;

While he that love which none can tell,
In streams of grace, imparts.

2 Then may we comprehend,
With all the saints in light,
And see his boundless grace extend,
And know its depth and height.

3 Then, filled with every grace,
From strength to strength we'll go,
While Jesus shows his smiling face
In every scene of wo.

4 Soon we shall victors be,
And crowns of glory wear;
In endless peace our Captain see,
And dwell forever there.

HYMN 311. C. M. [#]
Living Faith.

1 MISTAKEN Souls, that dream of heaven,
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys, and sins forgiven,
While they are slaves to lust!

2 Vain are our fancies, airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead;
None but a living power unites
To Christ, the living Head.

3 'Tis faith that purifies the heart ;
'Tis faith that works by love ;
That bids all sinful joys depart,
And lifts the thoughts above.

4 This faith shall every fear control,
By its celestial power;
With holy triumph fill the soul,
In death's approaching hour.

HYMN 312. L. M. [#]

Victorious Faith.

1 AWAKE, our souls; away, our fears;
Let every trembling thought be gone;
Awake, and run the heavenly race,
And put a cheerful courage on,