“Rejoice evermore.” 1 Thess. 5. 16; Luke 10. 20

1 Rejoice, ye saints, rejoice,
In Christ, your glorious Head;
With heart, and soul, and voice,
His matchless honours spread;
Exalt his love, proclaim his name,
And sweetly sing the Lamb once slain.

2 The blood and righteousness
Of the incarnate Word;
The wisdom, truth, and grace,
Of your exalted Lord,
Unite, with one immortal voice,
To bid the saints of God rejoice.

3 God’s promise and his oath,
And covenant of grace,
Abide secure enough,
To all the chosen race;
And with a solemn, heavenly voice
Invite believers to rejoice.

4 The whole of Deity,
With all his grace contains,
In sweetest harmony
A solemn joy proclaims;
The Father, Word, and Spirit’s voice
Unite to bid the saints rejoice.

— W. Gadsby

Panting for Christ, the Friend of Sinners.
Ps. 42. 1

1 Precious Jesus! Friend of sinners;
We, as such, to thee draw near;
Let thy Spirit now dwell in us,
And with love our souls inspire;
Fill, O fill us
With that love which casts out fear.

2 Matchless Saviour! let us view thee
As the Lord our Righteousness;
Cause each soul to cleave unto thee,
Come, and with thy presence bless.
Dear Immanuel,
Feast us with thy sovereign grace.

3 Open now thy precious treasure:
Let the blessings freely flow;
Give to each a gracious measure
Of thy glory here below;
Loving Bridegroom,
’Tis thyself we want to know.

4 [Come, and claim us as thy portion,
And let us lay claim to thee;
Leave us not to empty notion,
But from bondage set us free;
King of glory!
We would live and reign with thee.]

— W. Gadsby

“The Lord trieth the righteous.” Ps. 11. 5

1 The Lord the righteous tries;
Yet we’ll adore his name;
He never will their cause despise,
Nor put their hope to shame.

2 He brings them to the test,
And tries them by his law;
Then leads them to the promised rest,
From whence they comfort draw.

3 Then he his face conceals,
And lets them grope within;
And by his Spirit’s power reveals
The dreadful plague of sin.

4 We straightway cry, “Unclean!
A monstrous mass of woe!
What can such hosts of evil mean?
And whither can we go?”

5 “Look here,” the Lord replies;
“Thy beauty’s all in me;
’Tis thine to flee from self, and prize
Salvation full and free.

6 “Whate’er my wisdom does,
Or lets the tempter do,
Thy guilt and ruin to disclose,
One thing I keep in view –

7 “To teach thee how to live
By faith in Jesus’ name;
For guilt and sin to mourn and grieve,
And sing the Lamb once slain.”

— W. Gadsby