The Sanctuary A Companion in Verse for the English Prayer Book. By Robert Montgomery |
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General Confession.
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 | The Sanctuary |  |
290
General Confession.
“Make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.”
—Prayer Book.
Father of grace! almighty King,
O'er us Thy kneeling suppliants now
Let Mercy wave her softest wing,
While we recall that broken vow
Which, since baptismal life began,
Hath stain'd the child and sullied man.
O'er us Thy kneeling suppliants now
Let Mercy wave her softest wing,
While we recall that broken vow
Which, since baptismal life began,
Hath stain'd the child and sullied man.
Confession is Thy pardon-law
By which our guilt may be reversed;
And never saint forgiveness saw
Who did not by bewailment first
His conscience through confession ease,
And seek for Christ, the sole release.
By which our guilt may be reversed;
And never saint forgiveness saw
Who did not by bewailment first
His conscience through confession ease,
And seek for Christ, the sole release.
With deepest prayer and downcast eye
And litany of soul-drawn tears,
Lamb of the Church! to Thee we cry
And in Thy merit hide our fears:—
Unnumber'd though our sins be found,
Thy mercies have no bar, nor bound.
And litany of soul-drawn tears,
Lamb of the Church! to Thee we cry
And in Thy merit hide our fears:—
Unnumber'd though our sins be found,
Thy mercies have no bar, nor bound.
Yes, child of guilt! when Jesus died
The awful death of bleeding love,
While darkness o'er The Crucified
Fell from Almighty frowns above,—
Jehovah did Himself proclaim
The sanctions which enshrine His Name.
The awful death of bleeding love,
While darkness o'er The Crucified
Fell from Almighty frowns above,—
Jehovah did Himself proclaim
The sanctions which enshrine His Name.
Thus, Healer of the contrite heart,
In Thine atoning Blood we find
The perfect Antitype Thou art
Of all that soothes and saves Mankind,
When underneath the Cross we groan
And cast our guilt on Christ alone.
In Thine atoning Blood we find
The perfect Antitype Thou art
Of all that soothes and saves Mankind,
When underneath the Cross we groan
And cast our guilt on Christ alone.
291
Justice and Mercy, both in Thee
By miracle of union meet;
And not a ray of Deity
But shines around that mercy-seat,
Where on His Throne of priesthood reigns
A Paraclete for all our pains.
By miracle of union meet;
And not a ray of Deity
But shines around that mercy-seat,
Where on His Throne of priesthood reigns
A Paraclete for all our pains.
Repentance and renewal, Lord,
Together grant, and thus bestow
The balm which Thy benignant word
Hath promised for that hour of woe
When conscience echoes back the cry,—
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die!”
Together grant, and thus bestow
The balm which Thy benignant word
Hath promised for that hour of woe
When conscience echoes back the cry,—
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die!”
| The Sanctuary | |