LORD, I am happy when I look above;
There 's not a cloud between my soul and Thee:
I rest contented in Thy perfect love,
From all my guilt and condemnation free.
Within the veil, before the throne of grace,
Boldly I enter-by Thy precious blood;
I see God's glory in Thy unveiled face,
And drink of life the pure and crystal flood.
But when I look around me, oh, how dark
Is the wide ocean of man's stormy life!
I see with horror many a found'ring bark,
Sharp rocks, deep quicksands, with strewed fragments rife;
Beacons there are, and many a lighthouse blaze
To warn of dangers in the murky gloom:
But on they drive, all reckless of their ways,
And sink by thousands in th' insatiate tomb.
Lord, I would lift my feeble voice on high,
And bid the giddy multitudes attend;
Warn them the hour of judgment draweth nigh,
And show the gulf to which their footsteps tend:
Fain would I tell them there 's no arm to save
But thine, O Lord, the Lamb once slain for sin;
Point to Thy birth and death, Thy cross and grace;
Thy love's self-sacrifice their hearts to win.
Lord, I would tell them Thou art seated now
At God's right hand, victorious over all;
Honor and glory crown Thy sacred brow,
While at Thy feet exulting myriads fall:
Highly exalted,-but a Savior's name,
The name of JESUS, is Thy highest boast;
That name Thou bid'st us through the earth proclaim,
Thy greatest glory is to save the lost.
Oh, let Thy Spirit all my powers inspire
To preach salvation, present, full, and free:
Open my lips-bestow a tongue of fire,
A heart of love, in fellowship with Thee.
Give me to see with faith's clear, eagle eye,
The unseen worlds, with all their weal and woe:
With Thee-eternity of bliss on high;
Without Thee-night, eternal night, below.
I want to learn the value of one soul:
One soul that 's saved,-one soul forever lost,
By pondering well its everlasting goal,
And more than all, what Thee its ransom cost.
Oh, let Thy Cross be e'er before my sight;
Teach me its endless wonders more to know:
Sin's righteous wage, Love's all-surpassing might,
That I may far and wide Thy praises show.