Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

Yet GOD the same abiding,

His praise shall tune my voice;

For while in him confiding,

I cannot but rejoice.

L. [BK. III. xlix.]

TRUE PLEASURES

LORD, my soul with pleasure springs,

When JESUS' name I hear; And when GOD the Spirit brings

The word of promise near: Beauties too, in holiness,

Still delighted I perceive;

Nor have words that can express

The joys thy precepts give.

32

8

Cloth'd in sanctity and grace,

How sweet it is to see

Those who love thee as they pass,
Or when they wait on thee:
Pleasant too, to sit and tell
What we owe to love divine;
Till our grateful bosoms swell,
And eyes begin to shine.

Those the comforts I possess,
Which GOD shall still increase ';
All his ways are pleasantness,
And all his paths are peace:
Nothing JESUS did or spoke,
Henceforth let me ever slight;
For I love his easy yoke,
And find his burden light.

LI. [BK. III. 1.]

THE CHRISTIAN

HONOUR and happiness unite

To make the Christian's name a praise;
How fair the scene, how clear the light,
That fills the remnant of his days!

A kingly character he bears,

No change his priestly office knows;
Unfading is the crown he wears,
His joys can never reach a close.

[blocks in formation]

16

24

8

Adorn'd with glory from on high,
Salvation shines upon his face;
His robe is of th' etherial dye,
His steps are dignity and grace.

Inferior honours he disdains,

Nor stoops to take applause from earth;
The King of kings himself, maintains
Th' expenses of his heav'nly birth.

The noblest creature seen below,
Ordain'd to fill a throne above;
GOD gives him all he can bestow,
His kingdom of eternal love!

My soul is ravish'd at the thought!
Methinks from earth I see him rise;
Angels congratulate his lot,

And shout him welcome to the skies!

LII. [BK. III. li.]

LIVELY HOPE, AND GRACIOUS FEAR

I WAS a groveling creature once,
And basely cleav'd to earth ;

I wanted spirit to renounce
The clod that gave me birth.

But God has breath'd upon a worm,

And sent me, from above,

Wings, such as clothe an angel's form,

The wings of joy and love.

With these to Pisgah's top I fly,

And there delighted stand;
To view, beneath a shining sky,
The spacious promis'd land.

16

24

8

The LORD of all the vast domain,

Has promis'd it to me;

The length and breadth of all the plain,

16

As far as faith can see.

How glorious is my privilege!
To thee for help I call;

I stand upon a mountain's edge,
Oh save me, lest I fall!

Tho' much exalted in the LORD,
My strength is not my own;
Then let me tremble at his word,

And none shall cast me down.

24

LIII. [BK. III. lvii.]

FOR THE POOR

WHEN Hagar found the bottle spent',
And wept o'er Ishmael;

A message from the LORD was sent
To guide her to a well.

Should not Elijah's cake and cruse2
Convince us at this day,

A gracious GOD will not refuse
Provisions by the way?

His saints and servants shall be fed,
The promise is secure;

"Bread shall be giv'n them," he has said,
"Their water shall be sure 3.'

[ocr errors]

Repasts far richer they shall prove,
Than all earth's dainties are;
"Tis sweet to taste a Saviour's love,
Tho' in the meanest fare.

TO JESUS then your trouble bring,
Nor murmur at your lot;

While you are poor, and he is King,
You shall not be forgot.

LIV. [BK. III. lxi.]

MY SOUL THIRSTETH FOR GOD

I THIRST, but not as once I did,

The vain delights of earth to share;
Thy wounds, EMMANUEL, all forbid,
That I should seek my pleasures there.

It was the sight of thy dear cross,
First wean'd my soul from earthly things;
And taught me to esteem as dross,
The mirth of fools and pomp of kings.

I want that grace that springs from thee,
That quickens all things where it flows;
And makes a wretched thorn, like me,
Bloom as the myrtle, or the rose.

2 1 Kings xvii. 14.

1 Gen. xxi. 19.
LIII-3 A message from] An angel of A.

3 Isa. xxxiii. 16.

8

16

8 provision A. 11 he has 1779, 1781, A.: as he later edd. 13 Repasts] Delights 17 troubles A. 19 While... and] Supply is sure while A.

[ocr errors]

Dear fountain of delight unknown!
No longer sink below the brim;
But overflow, and pour me down
A living, and life-giving stream!
For sure, of all the plants that share
The notice of thy Father's eye;
None proves less grateful to his care,
Or yields him meaner fruit than I.

LV. [BK. III. lxii.]

LOVE CONSTRAINING TO OBEDIENCE
No strength of Nature can suffice
To serve the LORD aright:
And what she has, she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay
In bondage and distress!

I toil'd the precept to obey,
But toil'd without success.

Was more than I could do;

16

8

Then to abstain from outward sin

[blocks in formation]

Then all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise ;

Now, freely chosen in the Son,

I freely choose his ways.

16

What shall I do, was then the word,

That I may worthier grow?

What shall I render to the LORD?
Is my enquiry now.

To see the Law by Christ fulfill'd,
And hear his pard'ning voice ;
Changes a slave into a child',

And duty into choice.

LVI. [BK. III. lxiii.]

THE HEART HEALED AND
CHANGED BY MERCY

SIN enslav'd me many years,
And led me bound and blind;
Till at length a thousand fears
Came swarming o'er my mind.'
1 Rom. iii. 31.

LV-2 the om. 1779.

24

Where, I said in deep distress,
Will these sinful pleasures end?
How shall I secure my peace,
And make the LORD my friend?

Friends and ministers said much
The gospel to enforce ;
But my blindness still was such,
I chose a legal course :
Much I fasted, watch'd and strove,
Scarce would shew my face abroad,
Fear'd, almost, to speak or move,
A stranger still to GOD.

Thus afraid to trust his grace,
Long time did I rebel;

Till, despairing of my case,

Down at his feet I fell :

Then my stubborn heart he broke,
And subdu'd me to his sway;

By a simple word he spoke,
"Thy sins are done away.'

[ocr errors]

LVII. [BK. III. lxiv.]

HATRED OF SIN

HOLY LORD GOD! I love thy truth,
Nor dare thy least commandment slight;
Yet pierc'd by sin, the serpent's tooth,
I mourn the anguish of the bite.

But tho' the poison lurks within,
Hope bids me still with patience wait;
Till death shall set me free from sin,
Free from the only thing I hate.

Had I a throne above the rest,
Where angels and archangels dwell;
One sin, unslain, within my breast,

Would make that heav'n as dark as hell.

The pris'ner, sent to breathe fresh air,
And bless'd with liberty again,

Would mourn, were he condemn'd to wear
One link of all his former chain.

But oh no foe invades the bliss,

When glory crowns the Christian's head;
One view of JESUS as he is,

Will strike all sin for ever dead.

8

16

24

8

16

« AnteriorContinuar »