In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen, in his blindness,
Bows down to wood and stone.
Can we, whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Can we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! O salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learnt Messiah's Name.
Waft, waft, ye winds, the story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till, o'er our ransom'd nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.
FROM all that dwell below the skies,
Let the Creator's praise arise;
Let the Redeemer's Name be sung
Through every land, by every tongue.
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends thy word;
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
WITH songs of grateful praise
Surround Jehovah's seat;
The goodness of his ways
Through all the earth repeat:
His mercy rose
Ere time was known,
And from his throne
Eternal flows.
He bids his light arise,
And sends his Gospel forth;
From east to west it flies,
And fills the south and north:
His mighty grace
Its power imparts,
And willing hearts
His truth embrace.
Then far as isles extend,
To the vast ocean's bound,
Let kings to Jesus bend,
And pour their off'rings round:
Arabia raise
The song divine,
And Afric join
To sound his praise.
Let India's fertile shore
Its gifts and honours bring,
To hail the Saviour's power,
To crown Immanuel King:
Remotest lands
Their homage pay,
Till all obey
His high commands.
O'ER the realms of pagan darkness
Let the eye of pity gaze;
See the kindreds of the people,
Lost in sin's bewild'ring maze :
Darkness brooding
On the face of all the earth.
Light of them that sit in darkness,
Rise and shine, thy blessings bring!
Light, to lighten all the Gentiles,
Rise with healing in thy wing!
To thy brightness
Let all kings and nations come.
May the heathen, now adoring
Idol-gods of wood and stone,
Come, and worshipping before Him,
Serve the living God alone:
Let thy glory
Fill the earth, as floods the sea.
Thou, to whom all power is given,
Speak the word! at thy command
Let the company of preachers
Spread thy Name from land to land:
Lord, be with them
Alway to the end of time!
SALVATION! O the joyful sound!
What tidings to our ears!
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.
Salvation! let the echo fly
The spacious earth around;
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound.
Salvation! O Thou bleeding Lamb!
To Thee the praise belongs;
Salvation shall inspire our hearts,
And dwell upon our tongues.
Cho. Glory, honour, praise and power,
Be unto the Lamb for ever!
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer;
Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
O SPIRIT of the living God,
In all thy plenitude of grace,
Where'er the foot of man hath trod,
Descend on our apostate race.
Give tongues of fire and hearts of love,
To preach the reconciling word;
Give power and unction from above,
Whene'er the joyful sound is heard.
Be darkness, at thy coming, light,
Confusion, order in thy path;
Souls without strength inspire with might,
Bid mercy triumph over wrath.
Baptize the nations far and nigh,
The triumphs of the Cross record;
The Name of Jesus glorify,
Till all the world shall call Him Lord.
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