The man who once has found abode
Within the secret place of God,
Shall with Almighty God abide,
And in His shadow safely hide.

I of the Lord my God will say,
“He is my Refuge and my Stay;
To Him for safety I will flee;
My God, in Him my trust will be.”

He shall with all protecting care
Preserve thee from the fowler’s snare;
When fearful plagues around prevail,
No fatal stroke shall thee assail.

His outspread pinions shall thee hide;
Beneath His wings shalt thou confide;
His faithfulness shall ever be
A shield and buckler unto thee.

No nightly terrors shall alarm;
No deadly shaft by day shall harm;
Nor pestilence that walks by night,
Nor plagues that waste in noonday light.

Because thy trust is God alone,
Thy dwelling place the Highest One,
No evil shall upon thee come,
Nor plague approach thy guarded home.

At thy right hand, though thousands die,
No harm shall unto thee come nigh;
But thou, secure, unharmed, shalt see
What wicked men’s reward shall be.

If you dwell beneath the shelter
Of the Lord your God Most High,
You will rest within the shadow of Almighty El Shaddai.
He’ll deliver you from all your foes
As you let loose the cry, “My God, in Whom I trust!”

Refrain

He’s my Refuge and my Fortress,
My Salvation and my Stronghold,
He’s my Rock and my Deliverer,
My God, in Whom I trust!

He will cover you with feathers,
Give you refuge ’neath his wings.
You will have no fear of darkest night
Or what the daylight brings.
His own faithfulness will be your shield because your spirit sings,
“My God, in Whom I trust!”

Refrain

Though a thousand at your left may fall,
Ten thousand at your right,
The disaster won’t come near your tent,
But only pass your sight.
If you make the Lord your dwelling place,
He’ll save you from your plight, this God, in Whom you trust!

Refrain

He’ll command his angel hosts on high
To guard you in your way.
They will lift you up in mighty hands,
So you’ll not trip or stray.
You will trample down the lion and the serpent while you say,
“My God, in Whom I trust!”

Refrain

It’s because you love the Lord your God
That he protects your frame.
He has promised to deliver all who call upon his name.
He will show you his salvation,
For your word is e’er the same,
“My God, in Whom I trust!”

Refrain

Now let us come before Him,
With song and prayer adore Him,
Who to our life hath given
All needed strength from Heaven.

The stream of years is flowing,
And we are onward going,
From old to new surviving
And by His mercy thriving.

In woe we often languish
And pass through times of anguish
Of wars and trepidation
Alarming every nation.

As mothers watch are keeping
O’er children who are sleeping,
Their fear and grief assuaging
When angry storms are waging.

So God His own is shielding
And help to them is yielding.
When need and woe distress them,
His loving arms caress them.

O Thou Who dost not slumber,
Remove what would encumber
Our work, which prospers never
Unless Thou bless it ever.

O God of mercy, hear us;
Our Father, be Thou near us;
Mid crosses and in sadness
Be Thou our Fount of gladness.

To all who bow before Thee
And for Thy grace implore Thee,
Oh, grant Thy benediction
And patience in affliction.

Be Thou a Helper speedy
To all the poor and needy,
To all forlorn a Father;
Thine erring children gather.

Be with the sick and ailing,
Their Comforter unfailing;
Dispelling grief and sadness,
Oh, give them joy and gladness!

Above all else, Lord, send us
Thy Spirit to attend us,
Within our hearts abiding,
To Heav’n our footsteps guiding.

All this Thy hand bestoweth,
Thou Life, whence our life floweth.
To all Thy Name confessing
Grant, Lord, Thy New Year’s blessing!

O that I knew the secret place
Where I might find my God!
I’d spread my wants before His face,
And pour my woes abroad.

I’d tell Him how my sins arise;
What sorrows I sustain;
How grace decays, and comfort dies,
And leaves my heart in pain.

He knows what arguments I’d take
To wrestle with my God;
I’d plead for His own mercy’s sake
And for my Savior’s blood.

Arise, my soul, from deep distress,
And banish every fear;
He calls Thee to His throne of grace,
To spread Thy sorrows there.

Still will we trust, though earth seem dark and dreary,
And the heart faint beneath His chastening rod;
Though rough and steep our pathway, worn and weary,
Still will we trust in God!

Our eyes see dimly till by faith anointed,
And our blind choosing brings us grief and pain;
Through Him alone Who hath our way appointed,
We find our peace again.

Choose for us, God! Nor let our weak preferring
Cheat our poor souls of good Thou has designed;
Choose for us, God! Thy wisdom is unerring,
And we are fools and blind.

So from our sky the night shall furl her shadows,
And day pour gladness through his golden gates,
Our rough path lead to flower-enameled meadows,
Where joy our coming waits.

Let us press on, in patient self denial,
Accept the hardship, shrink not from the loss;
Our portion lies beyond the hour of trial,
Our crown beyond the cross.

In grief and fear, to Thee, O Lord,
We now for succor fly,
Thine awful judgments are abroad,
O shield us, lest we die!

The fell disease on every side
Walks forth with tainted breath;
And pestilence, with rapid stride,
Bestrews the land with death.

O look with pity on the scene
Of sadness and of dread,
And let Thine angel stand between
The living and the dead!

With contrite hearts to Thee, our King
We turn, who oft have strayed;
Accept the sacrifice we bring,
And let the plague be stayed.

They have gone to the land where the patriarchs rest,
Where the bones of the prophets are laid,
Where the chosen of Israel the promise possessed,
And Jehovah His mandate displayed.
To the land where the Savior of sinners once trod,
Where He labored and languished and died;
Where He triumphed o’er death and ascended to God,
As He captive captivity led.

They have gone to the land where the Gospel’s glad sound
Sweetly tuned by the angels above
Was re-echoed on earth thro’ the regions around,
In the accents of heavenly love.
Where the Spirit descended in tokens of flame,
The rich gifts of His grace to reveal;
Where apostles wrought signs in Immanuel’s name,
For the truth of their mission to seal.

They have gone—the glad heralds of mercy—have gone,
To the land where the martyrs once bled;
Where the beasts and false prophet have since trodden down,
The fair fabric that Zion had reared.
Where the churches once planted, and watered, and blessed,
With the dews of the Spirit distilled,
Have been smitten, despoiled! and by heathen possessed,
And the places that knew them defiled.

They have gone, O Thou Shepherd of Israel! have gone,
The glad mission in love to restore;
Thou wilt never forsake them or leave them alone,
Thy rich blessings we humbly implore.
Let Thy blessing go with them—O be Thou their Shield
From the shafts of the fowler that fly;
O Thou Savior of sinners! Thine arm be revealed
In Thy mercy and might from on high.