Zeal for Christ

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Blest men, who stretch their willing hands

Author: Philip Doddridge
Published in 14 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Blest men who stretch their willing hands
Submissive to their Lord's commands,
And yield their liberty and breath,
To him that lov'd their souls in death.

2 Led me to suffer, and to die,
If thou, my gracious Lord, art nigh:
One smile from thee my heart shall fire,
And teach me smiling to expire.

3 If nature at the trial shake,
And from the cross or flames draw back,
Grace can its feeble courage raise
And turn its tremblings into praise.

4 While scarce I dare with Peter say,
"I'll boldly tread the bleeding way;"
Yet in thy steps, like John, I'd move
With humble hope, and silent love.

Source: A Selection of Hymns: from the best authors, intended to be an appendix to Dr. Watt's psalms and hymns. (1st Am. ed.) #CCXCII

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Author: Philip Doddridge

Philip Doddridge (b. London, England, 1702; d. Lisbon, Portugal, 1751) belonged to the Non-conformist Church (not associated with the Church of England). Its members were frequently the focus of discrimination. Offered an education by a rich patron to prepare him for ordination in the Church of England, Doddridge chose instead to remain in the Non-conformist Church. For twenty years he pastored a poor parish in Northampton, where he opened an academy for training Non-conformist ministers and taught most of the subjects himself. Doddridge suffered from tuberculosis, and when Lady Huntington, one of his patrons, offered to finance a trip to Lisbon for his health, he is reputed to have said, "I can as well go to heaven from Lisbon as from Nort… Go to person page >

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