Lay hold on the hope set before you,
And let not a moment be lost,
The Savior has purchased your ransom,
But think what a price it hath cost!

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Lay hold on eternal salvation,
Lay hold on the gift of God’s only Son;
Lay hold on His infinite mercy,
Lay hold on the Mighty One!

Lay hold on the hope set before you,
Of life that you now may receive,
If, gladly His mercy accepting,
You truly repent and believe.

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Lay hold on the hope set before you,
Of joy that no mortal can speak;
It telleth of rest for the weary,
Through Jesus, the lowly and meek.

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Lay hold on the hope set before you,
A hope that is steadfast and sure;
O haste to the blessèd Redeemer,
The loving, the perfect and pure.

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I now have found for hope of Heaven,
An anchor-ground that firm will hold;
’Twas through the cross of Jesus given,
By God appointed from of old;
A ground that shall enduring stay,
When earth and skies have passed away,
When earth and skies have passed away.

’Tis God’s own mercy never ending;
Its measure all our thoughts exceeds;
While Jesus, too, His arms extending,
Whose heart for guilty sinners bleeds,
Now with compassion calls His foes
To flee from sin and endless woes,
To flee from sin and endless woes.

This love’s a deep, our follies hiding;
The death of Christ, a matchless grace,
To life and peace our spirits guiding,
Where wrath no more shall find a place;
His blood for us is pleading still,
“Let mercy all its work fulfill,
Let mercy all its work fulfill!”

Upon this ground I rest most firmly,
Long as the earth my dwelling prove;
And wish to serve my God and Savior,
Till, dying, I shall rise above,
And there, rejoicing, shall adore
Unbounded mercy evermore,
Unbounded mercy evermore.

Upon life’s boundless ocean where mighty billows roll,
I’ve fixed my hope in Jesus, blest anchor of my soul;
When trials fierce assail me as storms are gathering o’er,
I rest upon His mercy and trust Him more.

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I’ve anchored in Jesus, the storms of life I’ll brave,
I’ve anchored in Jesus, I fear no wind or wave.
I’ve anchored in Jesus, for He hath power to save,
I’ve anchored to the Rock of Ages.

He keeps my soul from evil and gives me blessèd peace,
His voice hath stilled the waters and bid their tumult cease;
My Pilot and Deliverer, to Him I all confide,
For always when I need Him, He’s at my side.

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He is my Friend and Savior, in Him my anchor’s cast,
He drives away my sorrows and shields me from the blast;
By faith I’m looking upward beyond life’s troubled sea,
There I behold a haven prepared for me.

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Though the angry surges roll
On my tempest driven soul,
I am peaceful, for I know,
Wildly though the winds may blow,
I’ve an anchor safe and sure,
That can evermore endure.

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And it holds, my anchor holds:
Blow your wildest, then, O gale,
On my bark so small and frail;
By His grace I shall not fail,
For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.

Mighty tides about me sweep,
Perils lurk within the deep,
Angry clouds o’ershade the sky,
And the tempest rises high;
Still I stand the tempest’s shock,
For my anchor grips the rock.

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I can feel the anchor fast
As I meet each sudden blast,
And the cable, though unseen,
Bears the heavy strain between;
Through the storm I safely ride,
Till the turning of the tide.

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Troubles almost ’whelm the soul;
Griefs like billows o’er me roll;
Tempters seek to lure astray;
Storms obscure the light of day:
But in Christ I can be bold,
I’ve an anchor that shall hold.

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Now I have found the firm foundation
Which holds mine anchor ever sure;
’Twas laid before the world’s creation
In Christ my Savior’s wounds secure;
Foundation which unmoved shall stay
When Heav’n and earth will pass away.

It is that mercy never ending
Which human wisdom far transcends,
Of Him Who, loving arms extending,
To wretched sinners condescends;
Whose heart with pity still doth break
Whether we seek Him or forsake.

Our ruin God hath not intended,
For our salvation He hath yearned;
For this His Son to earth descended
And then to Heav’n again returned;
For this so patient evermore
He knocketh at our heart’s closed door.

O depth of love, to me revealing
The sea where my sins disappear!
In Christ my wounds find perfect healing,
There is no condemnation here;
For Jesus’ blood through earth and skies
Forever “Mercy! Mercy!” cries.

I never will forget this crying;
In faith I’ll trust it all my days,
And when o’er all my sins I’m sighing,
Into the Father’s heart I’ll gaze;
For there is always to be found
Free mercy without end and bound.

Though I be robbed of every pleasure
That makes my soul and body glad
And be deprived of earthly treasure
And be forsaken, lone, and sad,
Though my desire for help seem vain,
His mercy shall with me remain.

Though earthly trials should oppress me
And cares from day to day increase;
Though earth’s vain things should sore distress me
And rob me of my Savior’s peace;
Though I be brought down to the dust,
Still in His mercy I will trust.

When all my deeds I am reviewing,
The deeds that I admire the most,
I find in all my thought and doing
That there is naught whereof to boast.
Yet this sweet comfort shall abide—
In mercy I can still confide.

Let mercy cause me to be willing
To bear my lot and not to fret.
While He my restless heart is stilling,
May I His mercy not forget!
Come weal, come woe, my heart to test,
His mercy is my only rest.

I’ll stand upon this firm foundation
As long as I on earth remain;
This shall engage my meditation
While I the breath of life retain;
And then, when face to face with Thee,
I’ll sing of mercy, great and free.

Now I have found the ground wherein
Sure my soul’s anchor may remain,
The wounds of Jesus, for my sin
Before the world’s foundation slain;
Whose mercy shall unshaken stay,
When Heaven and earth are fled away.

Father, Thine everlasting grace
Our scanty thought surpasses far;
Thy heart still melts with tenderness,
Thy arms of love still open are,
Returning sinners to receive,
That mercy they may taste and live.

O Love, Thou bottomless abyss,
My sins are swallowed up in Thee!
Covered is my unrighteousness,
Nor spot of guilt remains on me,
While Jesus’ blood, through earth and skies,
Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries.

By faith I plunge me in this sea,
Here is my hope, my joy, my rest;
Hither, when hell assails, I flee,
I look into my Savior’s breast;
Away, sad doubt, and anxious fear!
Mercy is all that’s written there.

Though waves and storms go o’er my head,
Though strength, and health, and friends be gone,
Though joys be withered all and dead,
Though every comfort be withdrawn,
On this my steadfast soul relies,
Father, Thy mercy never dies.

Fixed on this ground will I remain,
Though my heart fail, and flesh decay;
This anchor shall my soul sustain,
When earth’s foundations melt away;
Mercy’s full power I then shall prove,
Loved with an everlasting love.

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

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We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
And the cables, passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy that blast, thro’ strength divine.

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It will surely hold in the Straits of Fear—
When the breakers have told that the reef is near;
Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow.

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It will firmly hold in the Floods of Death—-
When the waters cold chill our latest breath,
On the rising tide it can never fail,
While our hopes abide within the Veil.

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When our eyes behold through the gath’ring night
The city of gold, our harbor bright,
We shall anchor fast by the heav’nly shore,
With the storms all past forevermore.

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Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word:
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done,
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.

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Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.

If, in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar,
Will not the deepening darkness
Brighten the glimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.

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Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul,
Whither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of its goal.
Come then, O come, glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart;
Come, O Thou blest hope of glory,
Never, O never depart.

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