5 It makes me deaf, and dumb, and blind,
And impotent and lame;
- And overclouds, and fills my mind
With folly, fear and shame.
6 A thousand evil thoughts intrude
Tumultuous in my breast;
Which indispose me for my food,
And rob me of my rest.
7 Lord, I am sick, regard my cry,
And set my spirit free:
Say, canst thou let a sinner die,
Who longs to live to thee?
LXXXIV. Satan returning. Chap. xii. 43-45.
1 WHEN Jesus claims the sinner's heart,
Where Satan rul'd before;
The evil spirit must depart,
And dares return no more.
2 But when he goes without constraint,
And wanders from his home,
Although withdrawn, 'tis but a feint,
He means again to come.
3 Some outward change perhaps is seen,
If Satan quit the place;
But though the house seem swept and clean, 'Tis destitute of grace.
4 Except the Saviour dwell and reign
Within the sinner's mind,
Satan, when he returns again,
Will easy entrance find.
5 With rage and malice sevenfold,
He then resumes his sway;
No more by checks to be controll❜d,
No more to go away.
6 The sinner's former state was bad,
But worse the latter far;
He lives possessed, blind, and mad,
And dies in dark despair.
7 Lord, save me from this dreadful end! And from this heart of mine,
O drive and keep away the fiend
Who fears no voice but thine.
LXXXV. C. The Sower. Chap. xiii. 3,
1 YE sons of earth, prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground!
The sower is gone forth to sow,
And scatter blessings round.
2 The seed that finds a stony soil
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower's toil,
Soon wither'd, scorch'd, and dead.
3 The thorny ground is sure to balk
All hopes of harvest there :
We find a tall and sickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.
4 The beaten path and highway side
Receive the trust in vain;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
And pick up all the grain.
5 But where the Lord of grace and pow r
Has bless'd the happy field;
How plenteous is the golden store
The deep-wrought furrows yield!
6 Father of mercies, we have need
Of thy preparing grace;
Let the same hand that gives the seed
Provide a fruitful place.
LXXXVI. The Wheat and Tares. Ch. xiii. 37-42.
1 THOUGH in the outward church below
The wheat and tares together grow,
Jesus ere long will weed the crop,
And pluck the tares, in anger, up.
2 Will it relieve their horrors there,
To recollect their stations here?
How much they heard, how much they knew,
How long amongst the wheat they grew?
3 Oh! this will aggravate their case!
They perish'd under means of grace;
To them the word of life and faith
Became an instrument of death.
4 We seem alike when thus we meet,
Strangers might think we all are wheat;
But to the Lord's all-searching eyes,
Each heart appears without disguise,
5 The tares are spar'd for various ends;
Some for the sake of praying friends;
Others, the Lord, against their will,
Employs his counsels to fulfil.
6 But though they grow so tall and strong,
His plan will not require them long;
In harvest, when he saves his own,
The tares shall into hell be thrown.
LXXXVII. Peter walking upon the Water.
Chap. xiv. 28-31.
1 A WORD from Jesus calms the sea,
The stormy wind controls,
And gives repose and liberty
To tempest-tossed souls.
2 To Peter on the waves he came,
And gave him instant peace;
Thus he to me reveal'd his name,
And bid my sorrows cease.
3 Then fill'd with wonder, joy, and love,
Peter's request was mine;
"Lord, call me down, I long to prove "That I am wholly thine.
4" Unmov'd at all I have to meet
"On life's tempestuous sea,
"Hard shall be easy, bitter sweet,
"So I may follow thee."
5 He heard and smil'd, and bid me try;
I eagerly obey'd;
But when from him I turn'd my eye,
How was my soul dismay'd!
6 The storm increas'd on ev'ry side,
I felt my spirit shrink :
And soon, with Peter, loud I cry'd,
"Lord, save me, or I sink."
3 F
7 Kindly he caught me by the hand,
And said, "Why dost thou fear,
"Since thou art come at my command,
"And I am always near?
8" Upon my promise rest thy hope,
"And keep my love in view;
"I stand engag'd to hold thee up,
"And guide thee safely through."
LXXXVIII. Woman of Canaan. Chap. xv. 22-28.
1 PRAY'R an answer will obtain,
Though the Lord a while delay;
None shall seek his face in vain,
None be empty sent away.
2 When the woman came from Tyre,
And for help to Jesus sought;
Though he granted her desire,
Yet at first he answer'd not.
3 Could she guess at his intent,
When he to his foll'wers said,
"I to Israel's sheep am sent,
Dogs must not have children's bread."
4 She was not of Israel's seed,
But of Canaan's wretched race;
Thought herself a dog indeed:
Was not this a hopeless case?
5 Yet although from Canaan sprung,
Though a dog herself she styl'd,
She had Israel's faith and tongue,
And was own'd for Abr'ham's child.
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