Confession

Verse 1

Arm these Thy soldiers, mighty Lord,
With shield of faith and Spirit’s sword;
Forth to the battle may they go,
And boldly fight against the foe,
With banner of the cross unfurled,
And by it overcome the world;
And so at last receive from Thee
The palm and crown of victory.

Verse 2

Come, ever-blessed Spirit, come,
And make Thy servants’ hearts Thy home;
Thus consecrated, Lord, to Thee,
May each a living temple be:
Enrich that temple’s holy shrine
With sevenfold gifts of grace Divine;
With wisdom, light, and knowledge bless,
Strength, counsel, fear, and godliness.

Verse 3

O Trinity in Unity,
One only God, and Persons Three,
In whom, through whom, by whom we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give;
O grant us so to use Thy grace
That we may see Thy glorious face,
And ever with the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Verse 1

Come, let us to the Lord our God
With contrite hearts return;
Our God is gracious, nor will leave
The desolate to mourn.

Verse 2

His voice commands the tempest forth,
And stills the stormy wave;
And, though His arm be strong to smite,
’Tis also strong to save.

Verse 3

Long hath the night of sorrow reigned;
The dawn shall bring us light:
God shall appear, and we shall rise
With gladness in His sight.

Verse 4

Our hearts, if God we seek to know,
Shall know Him, and rejoice;
His coming like the morn shall be,
Like morning songs His voice.

Verse 5

As dew upon the tender herb,
Diffusing fragrance round,
As showers that usher in the spring,
And cheer the thirsty ground;

Verse 6

So shall His presence bless our souls,
And shed a joyful light;
That hallowed morn shall chase away
The sorrows of the night.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Kindled His relentings are;
Me He now delights to spare;
Cries, “How shall I give Thee up?”
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Verse 4

There for me the Saviour stands,
Shows His wounds, and spreads His hands;
God is Love: I know, I feel,
Jesus weeps, but loves me still.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Depth of mercy! can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

Verse 2

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Verse 3

Now, incline me to repent;
Let me now my sins lament;
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

Verse 1

Father, hear Thy children’s call;
Humbly at Thy feet we fall,
Prodigals, confessing all:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 2

Christ, beneath Thy cross we blame
All our life of sin and shame,
Penitent, we breathe Thy Name:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 3

Holy Spirit, grieved and tried,
Oft forgotten and defied,
Now we mourn our stubborn pride:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 4

Love that caused us first to be,
Love that bled upon the tree,
Love that draws us lovingly:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 5

We Thy call have disobeyed,
Into paths of sin have strayed,
And repentance have delayed:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 6

Sick, we come to Thee for cure,
Guilty, seek Thy mercy sure,
Evil, long to be made pure:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 7

Blind, we pray that we may see,
Bound, we pray to be made free,
Stained, we pray for sanctity:
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 8

Thou who hearest each contrite sigh,
Bidding sinful souls draw nigh,
Willing not that one should die,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 9

By the love that bids Thee spare,
By the heaven Thou dost prepare,
By Thy promises to prayer,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Verse 1

Have mercy, Lord, on me,
As Thou wert ever kind;
Let me, oppressed with loads of guilt,
Thy wonted mercy find.

Verse 2

Against Thee, Lord, alone,
And only in Thy sight,
Have I transgressed; and though condemned
Must own Thy judgments right.

Verse 3

Blot out my crying sins,
Nor me in anger view;
Create in me a heart that’s clean,
An upright mind renew.

Verse 4

Withdraw not Thou Thy help,
Nor cast me from Thy sight;
Nor let Thy Holy Spirit take
His everlasting flight.

Verse 5

The joy Thy favors give
Let me again obtain,
And Thy free Spirit’s firm support
My fainting soul sustain.

Verse 1

How oft, alas! this wretched heart
Has wandered from the Lord,
How oft my roving thoughts depart,
Forgetful of His word.

Verse 2

Yet sovereign mercy calls, “Return;”
Dear Lord, and may I come?
My vile ingratitude I mourn;
O take the wanderer home.

Verse 3

And canst Thou, wilt Thou yet forgive,
And bid my crimes remove?
And shall a pardoned rebel live
To speak Thy wondrous love?

Verse 4

Almighty grace, thy healing power,
How glorious, how Divine!
That can to bliss and life restore
So vile a heart as mine.

Verse 5

Thy pardoning love, so free, so sweet,
Dear Saviour, I adore;
O keep me at Thy sacred feet,
And let me rove no more.

Verse 1

I’m not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend His cause,
Maintain the honor of His word,
The glory of His cross.

Verse 2

Jesus, my God! I know His Name,
His Name is all my trust;
Nor will He put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.

Verse 3

Firm as His throne His promise stands,
And He can well secure
What I’ve committed to His hands
Till the decisive hour.

Verse 4

Then will He own my worthless name
Before His Father’s face,
And in the New Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.

Verse 1

I was a wandering sheep,
I did not love the fold;
I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,
I would not be controlled.
I was a wayward child,
I did not love my home;
I did not love my Father’s voice,
I loved afar to roam.

Verse 2

The Shepherd sought His sheep,
The Father sought His child;
They followed me o’er vale and hill,
O’er deserts waste and wild:
They found me nigh to death,
Famished and faint and lone;
They bound me with the bands of love,
They saved the wandering one.

Verse 3

Jesus my Shepherd is;
’Twas He that loved my soul,
’Twas He that washed me in His blood,
’Twas He that made me whole;
’Twas He that sought the lost,
That found the wandering sheep,
’Twas He that brought me to the fold,
’Tis He that still doth keep.

Verse 4

I was a wandering sheep,
I would not be controlled;
But now I love my Shepherd’s voice,
I love, I love the fold.
I was a wayward child,
I once preferred to roam;
But now I love my Father’s voice,
I love, I love His home.

Verse 1

Jesus, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Thee whom angels praise,
Whose glories shine through endless days!

Verse 2

Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star:
He sheds the beams of light Divine
O’er this benighted soul of mine.

Verse 3

Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon
Let midnight be ashamed of noon:
’Tis midnight with my soul till He,
Bright Morning Star, bid darkness flee.

Verse 4

Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend
On whom my hopes of heaven depend!
No; when I blush, be this my shame,
That I no more revere His Name.

Verse 5

Ashamed of Jesus! yes, I may
When I’ve no guilt to wash away,
No tear to wipe, no good to crave,
No fears to quell, no soul to save.

Verse 6

Till then—nor is my boasting vain—
Till then I boast a Saviour slain;
And O may this my glory be,
That Christ is not ashamed of me.

Verse 1

Lord, I am Thine, entirely Thine,
Purchased and saved by blood Divine;
With full consent Thine I would be,
And own Thy sovereign right in me.

Verse 2

Grant one poor sinner more a place
Among the children of Thy grace;
A wretched sinner lost to God,
But ransomed by Emmanuel’s blood.

Verse 3

Thine would I live, Thine would I die,
Be Thine through all eternity;
The vow is past beyond repeal;
Now will I set the solemn seal.

Verse 4

Here, at that cross where flows the blood
That bought my guilty soul for God,
Thee my new Master now I call,
And consecrate to Thee my all.

Verse 1

Lord, in this Thy mercy’s day,
Ere it pass for aye away,
On our knees we fall and pray.

Verse 2

Holy Jesus, grant us tears,
Fill us with heart-searching fears
Ere that awful doom appears.

Verse 3

Lord, on us Thy Spirit pour,
Kneeling lowly at the door,
Ere it close for evermore.

Verse 4

By Thy night of agony,
By Thy supplicating cry,
By Thy willingness to die,

Verse 5

By Thy tears of bitter woe
For Jerusalem below,
Let us not Thy love forego.

Verse 6

’Neath Thy wings let us have place,
Lest we lose this day of grace
Ere we shall behold Thy face.

Verse 1

My God, accept my heart this day,
And make it always Thine,
That I from Thee no more may stray,
No more from Thee decline.

Verse 2

Before the cross of Him who died,
Behold, I prostrate fall;
Let every sin be crucified,
Let Christ be all in all.

Verse 3

Anoint me with Thy heavenly grace,
Adopt me for Thine own,
That I may see Thy glorious face,
And worship at Thy throne.

Verse 4

Let every thought, and work, and word,
To Thee be ever given;
Then life shall be Thy service, Lord,
And death the gate of heaven.

Verse 1

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
They take such hold on me,
I am not able to look up,
Save only, Christ, to Thee;
In Thee is all forgiveness,
In Thee abundant grace,
My shadow and my sunshine
The brightness of Thy face.

Verse 2

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
How sad on Thee they fall;
Seen through Thy gentle patience,
I tenfold feel them all;
I know they are forgiven,
But still, their pain to me
Is all the grief and anguish
They laid, my Lord, on Thee.

Verse 3

My sins, my sins, my Saviour!
Their guilt I never knew
Till with Thee in the desert
I near Thy passion drew;
Till with Thee in the garden
I heard Thy pleading prayer,
And saw the sweat-drops bloody
That told Thy sorrow there.

Verse 4

Therefore my songs, my Saviour,
E’en in this time of woe,
Shall tell of all Thy goodness
To suffering man below;
Thy goodness and Thy favor,
Whose presence from above
Rejoice those hearts, my Saviour,
That live in Thee and love.

Verse 1

No, not despairingly
Come I to Thee;
No, not distrustingly
Bend I the knee:
Sin hath gone over me,
Yet is this still my plea,
Jesus hath died.

Verse 2

Ah! mine iniquity
Crimson has been,
Infinite, infinite
Sin upon sin;
Sin of not loving Thee,
Sin of not trusting Thee,
Infinite sin.

Verse 3

Lord, I confess to Thee
Sadly my sin;
All I am tell I Thee,
All I have been:
Purge Thou my sin away,
Wash Thou my soul this day;
Lord, make me clean.

Verse 4

Faithful and just art Thou,
Forgiving all;
Loving and kind art Thou
When poor ones call:
Lord, let the cleansing blood,
Blood of the Lamb of God,
Pass o’er my soul.

Verse 5

Then all is peace and light
This soul within;
Thus shall I walk with Thee,
The loved Unseen;
Leaning on Thee, my God,
Guided along the road,
Nothing between.

Verse 1

Now I resolve with all my heart,
With all my powers, to serve the Lord;
Nor from His precepts e’er depart,
Whose service is a rich reward.

Verse 2

O be His service all my joy;
Around let my example shine,
Till others love the blest employ,
And join in labors so Divine.

Verse 3

Be this the purpose of my soul,
My solemn, my determined choice,
To yield to His supreme control,
And in His kind commands rejoice.

Verse 4

O may I never faint nor tire,
Nor wandering leave His sacred ways:
Great God, accept my soul’s desire,
And give me strength to live Thy praise.

Verse 1

O Lord, turn not Thy face away
From them that lowly lie,
Lamenting sore their sinful life
With tears and bitter cry.

Verse 2

Thy mercy-gates are open wide
To them that mourn their sin;
O shut them not against us, Lord,
But let us enter in.

Verse 3

We need not to confess our fault,
For surely Thou canst tell;
What we have done, and what we are,
Thou knowest very well.

Verse 4

Wherefore, to beg and to entreat,
With tears we come to Thee,
As children that have done amiss
Fall at their father’s knee.

Verse 5

And need we, then, O Lord, repeat
The blessing which we crave,
When Thou dost know, before we speak,
The thing that we would have?

Verse 6

Mercy, O Lord, mercy we seek,
This is the total sum;
For mercy, Lord, is all our prayer;
O let Thy mercy come.

Verse 1

O Thou that hear’st when sinners cry,
Though all my crimes before Thee lie,
Behold them not with angry look,
But blot their memory from Thy book.

Verse 2

Create my nature pure within,
And form my soul averse to sin;
Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart,
Nor hide Thy presence from my heart.

Verse 3

I cannot live without Thy light,
Cast out and banished from Thy sight;
Thy holy joys, my God, restore,
And guard me, that I fall no more.

Verse 4

A broken heart, my God, my King,
Is all the sacrifice I bring;
The God of grace will ne’er despise
A broken heart for sacrifice.

Verse 5

My soul lies humbled in the dust,
And owns Thy dreadful sentence just;
Look down, O Lord, with pitying eye,
And save the soul condemned to die.

Verse 6

Then will I teach the world Thy ways;
Sinners shall learn Thy sovereign grace;
I’ll lead them to my Saviour’s blood,
And they shall praise a pardoning God.

Verse 7

O may Thy love inspire my tongue;
Salvation shall be all my song,
And all my powers shall join to bless
The Lord, my Strength and Righteousness.

Verse 1

Out of the deep I call
To Thee, O Lord, to Thee;
Before Thy throne of grace I fall;
Be merciful to me.

Verse 2

Out of the deep I cry,
The woeful deep of sin,
Of evil done in days gone by,
Of evil now within.

Verse 3

Out of the deep of fear
And dread of coming shame,
From morning watch till night is near
I plead the precious Name.

Verse 4

Lord, there is mercy now,
As ever was, with Thee;
Before Thy throne of grace I bow,
Be merciful to me.

Verse 1

People of the living God,
I have sought the world around,
Paths of sin and sorrow trod,
Peace and comfort no-where found.

Verse 2

Now to you my spirit turns,
Turns, a fugitive unblest;
Brethren, where your altar burns,
O receive me into rest.

Verse 3

Lonely I no longer roam,
Like the cloud, the wind, the wave;
Where you dwell shall be my home,
Where you die shall be my grave.

Verse 4

Mine the God whom you adore,
Your Redeemer shall be mine;
Earth can fill my soul no more,
Every idol I resign.

Verse 1

Saviour, when in dust to Thee
Low we bow the adoring knee;
When, repentant, to the skies
Scarce we lift our weeping eyes,
O by all the pains and woe
Suffered once for man below,
Bending from Thy throne on high,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 2

By Thy helpless infant years,
By Thy life of want and tears,
By Thy days of sore distress
In the savage wilderness,
By the dread mysterious hour
Of the insulting tempter’s power,—
Turn, O turn a favoring eye,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 3

By the sacred griefs that wept
O’er the grave where Lazarus slept,
By the boding tears that flowed
Over Salem’s loved abode,
By the anguished sigh that told
Treachery lurked within Thy fold,—
From Thy seat above the sky
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 4

By Thine hour of dire despair,
By Thine agony of prayer,
By the cross, the nail, the thorn,
Piercing spear, and torturing scorn,
By the gloom that veiled the skies
O’er the dreadful sacrifice,—
Listen to our humble cry,
Hear our solemn litany.

Verse 5

By Thy deep expiring groan,
By the sad sepulchral stone,
By the vault whose dark abode
Held in vain the rising God,—
O from earth to heaven restored,
Mighty, re-ascended Lord,
Listen to the cry
Of our solemn litany.

Verse 1

Sinful, sighing to be blest;
Bound, and longing to be free;
Weary, waiting for my rest:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 2

Goodness I have none to plead,
Sinfulness in all I see,
I can only bring my need:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 3

Broken heart and downcast eyes
Dare not lift themselves to Thee;
Yet Thou canst interpret sighs:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 4

From this sinful heart of mine
To Thy bosom I would flee;
I am not my own, but Thine:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 5

There is One beside the throne,
And my only hope and plea
Are in Him, and Him alone:
God be merciful to me.

Verse 6

He my cause will undertake,
My Interpreter will be;
He’s my all; and for His sake
God be merciful to me.

Verse 1

Thine for ever! God of love,
Hear us from Thy throne above;
Thine for ever may we be
Here and in eternity.

Verse 2

Thine for ever! Lord of life,
Shield us through our earthly strife;
Thou, the Life, the Truth, the Way,
Guide us to the realms of day.

Verse 3

Thine for ever! O how blest
They who find in Thee their rest!
Saviour, Guardian, heavenly Friend,
O defend us to the end.

Verse 4

Thine for ever! Saviour, keep
These Thy frail and trembling sheep;
Safe alone beneath Thy care,
Let us all Thy goodness share.

Verse 5

Thine for ever! Thou our Guide,
All our wants by Thee supplied,
All our sins by Thee forgiven,
Lead us, Lord, from earth to heaven.

Verse 1

Weary of earth, and laden with my sin,
I look at heaven and long to enter in;
But there no evil thing may find a home;
And yet I hear a voice that bids me “Come.”

Verse 2

So vile I am, how dare I hope to stand
In the pure glory of that holy land?
Before the whiteness of that throne appear?
Yet there are hands stretched out to draw me near.

Verse 3

The while I fain would tread the heavenly way,
Evil is ever with me day by day;
Yet on mine ears the gracious tidings fall,
“Repent, confess, thou shalt be loosed from all.”

Verse 4

It is the voice of Jesus that I hear;
His are the hands stretched out to draw me near,
And His the blood that can for all atone,
And set me faultless there before the throne.

Verse 5

O great Absolver, grant my soul may wear
The lowliest garb of penitence and prayer,
That in the Father’s courts my glorious dress
May be the garment of Thy righteousness.

Verse 6

Yea, Thou wilt answer for me, righteous Lord;
Thine all the merits, mine the great reward;
Thine the sharp thorns, and mine the golden crown;
Mine the life won, and Thine the life laid down.

Verse 1

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace, and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.

Verse 2

We have not feared Thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath Thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed, and word, and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know Thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

Verse 3

We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by Thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and own the love Thou art.

Verse 4

We have not served Thee as we ought;
Alas! the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost, or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For Thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

Verse 5

When shall we know Thee as we ought,
And fear, and love, and serve aright!
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light!
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see Thy face, and serve Thee there.

Verse 1

With broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 2

I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed,
Christ and His cross my only plea:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 3

Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 4

Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone;
To Calvary alone I flee:
O God, be merciful to me.

Verse 5

And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be,
“God has been merciful to me.”