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XI. [BK. I. lxvii.]

JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Jer. xxiii. 6

MY GOD, how perfect are thy ways!
But mine polluted are;

Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my pray'r.

When I would speak what thou hast done
To save me from my sin,

I cannot make thy mercies known
But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to thee..

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts,
How does it overflow?

While self upon the surface floats

Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress

Of fancied merit shine;

The LORD shall be my righteousness;
The LORD for ever mine.

XII. [BK. I. lxviii.]

EPHRAIM REPENTING.

Jer. xxxi. 18-20

MY GOD! till I receiv'd thy stroke,

How like a beast was I!

So unaccustom'd to the yoke,
So backward to comply.

With grief my just reproach I bear,
Shame fills me at the thought;

How frequent my rebellions were!
What wickedness I wrought!

Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd,
And left the pleasant road;

Yet turn me, and I shall be turn'd,
Thou art the LORD my GOD.

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No, saith the LORD, with all his faults,
I still remember him.

Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts,
Or vile in my esteem?

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Is he a dear and pleasant child?
Yes, dear and pleasant still ;
Tho' sin his foolish heart beguil'd,
And he withstood my will.

My sharp rebuke has laid him low,
He seeks my face again;

My pity kindles at his woe,

He shall not seek in vain.

XIII. [BK. I. lxxi.]

THE COVENANT. Ezek. xxxvi. 25-28
THE LORD proclaims his grace abroad!
Behold, I change your hearts of stone;
Each shall renounce his idol god,
And serve, henceforth, the LORD alone.
My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
Ye shall abhor your former deeds,
And learn my statutes to obey.
My truth the great design insures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your GOD unalterably true.

Yet not unsought, or unimplor'd,
The plenteous grace shall I confer1

No-your whole hearts shall seek the LORD, I'll put a praying spirit there.

From the first breath of life divine,

Down to the last expiring hour;

The gracious work shall all be mine,

Begun and ended in my pow'r.

XIV. [BK. I. lxxii.]

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. Ezek. xlviii. 35

As birds their infant brood protect 2,
And spread their wings to shelter them;
Thus saith the LORD to his elect,

"So will I guard Jerusalem."

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And what then is Jerusalem,

This darling object of his care?

Where is its worth in GOD's esteem?
Who built it? who inhabits there?

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JEHOVAH founded it in blood,

The blood of his incarnate Son;

There dwell the saints, once foes to GOD,
The sinners, whom he calls his own.
There, tho' besieg`d on ev'ry side,
Yet much belov'd and guarded well;
From age to age they have defy'd
The utmost force of earth and hell.
Let earth repent, and hell despair,
This city has a sure defence ;

Her name is call'd, The LORD is there,
And who has pow'r to drive him thence?

XV. [BK. I. lxxix.]

PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED
Zech, xiii. 1

THERE is a fountain fill'd with blood
Drawn from EMMANUEL'S veins';
And sinners, plung'd beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoic'd to see

That fountain in his day;

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And there have I, as vile as he,
Wash'd all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow'r;

Till all the ransom'd church of Gop
Be sav'd, to sin no more.

E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply;

Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler sweeter song

I'll sing thy power to save;

When this poor lisping stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave.

LORD, I believe thou hast prepar'd

(Unworthy tho' I be)

For me a blood-bought free reward,

A golden harp for me!

'Tis strung, and tun'd, for endless years,

And form'd by pow'r divine;

To sound in GOD the Father's ears,
No other name but thine.

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XVI. [BK. 1. lxxxv.]

THE SOWER. Matt. xiii. 3

YE sons of earth prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground!
The Sower is gone forth to sow,
And scatter blessings round.
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.

The thorny ground is sure to baulk
All hopes of harvest there;

We find a tall and sickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.

The beaten path and high-way side
Receive the 'trust in vain ;

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The watchful birds the spoil divide,

And pick up all the grain.

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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!

Father of mercies, we have need

Of thy preparing grace;

Let the same hand that gives the seed,
Provide a fruitful place!

XVII. [BK. I. xcvi.]

THE HOUSE OF PRAYER.

Mark xi. 17

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THY mansion is the Christian's heart,

O LORD, thy dwelling-place secure !
Bid the unruly throng depart,
And leave the consecrated door.

Devoted as it is to thee,

A thievish swarm frequents the place;
They steal away my joys from me,
And rob my Saviour of his praise.

There too a sharp designing trade
Sin, Satan, and the world maintain ;
Nor cease to press me, and persuade,
To part with ease and purchase pain.

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I know them, and I hate their din,
Am weary of the bustling crowd;
But while their voice is heard within,
I cannot serve thee as I would.

Oh! for the joy thy presence gives,
What peace shall reign when thou art here!
Thy presence makes this den of thieves,
A calm delightful house of pray'r.

And if thou make thy temple shine,
Yet, self-abas'd, will I adore;
The gold and silver are not mine,
I give thee what was thine before.

XVIII. [BK. I. cxviii.]

LOVEST THOU ME?

John xxi. 16

HARK, my soul! it is the LORD;
'Tis thy Saviour, hear his word;
JESUS Speaks, and speaks to thee;
"Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me?

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I deliver'd thee when bound,

And, when wounded, heal'd thy wound;

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Sought thee wand'ring, set thee right,
Turn'd thy darkness into light.

Can a woman's tender care

Cease, towards the child she bare?

Yes, she may forgetful be,

Yet will I remember thee.

Mine is an unchanging love,
Higher than the heights above;
Deeper than the depths beneath,
Free and faithful, strong as death.

Thou shalt see my glory soon,
When the work of grace is done;
Partner of my throne shalt be;
Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me ?

LORD, it is my chief complaint,
That my love is weak and faint;
Yet I love thee and adore,
Oh for grace to love thee more!

6 wounded] bleeding first in 1797.

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