The Perfections of God. Ps. cxi.
GREAT is the Lord: his works of might
Demand our noblest songs;
Let his assembled saints unite
Their harmony of tongues.
2 Great is the mercy of the Lord,
He gives his children food;
And, ever mindful of his word,
He makes his promise good.
3 His Son, the great Redeemer, came
To seal his covenant sure;
Holy and reverend is his name,
His ways are just and pure.
4 They that would grow divinely wise
Must with his fear begin,
Our fairest proof of knowledge lies
In hating every sin.
HYMN 385.
Ps. 136. Abridged.
IVE to our God immortal praise!
Wonders of grace to God belong.
Repeat his mercies in your song.
2 Give to the Lord of lords renown,
The King of kings with glory crown;
His mercies ever shall endure,
When lords and kings are known no more.
3 He built the earth, he spread the sky,
And fix'd the starry lights on high:
Wonders of grace to God belong,
Repeat his mercies in your song.
4 He fills the sun with morning light,
He bids the moon direct the night:
His mercies ever shall endure,
When suns and moons shall shine no more.
5 The Jews he freed from Pharaoh's hand,
And brought them to the promis'd land;
Wonders of grace to God belong,
Repeat his mercies in your song.
6 He saw the Gentiles dead in sin,
And felt his pity work within;
His mercies ever shall endure,
When death and sin shall reign no more.
7 He sent his son with power to save
From guilt, and darkness and the grave;
Wonders of grace to God belong,
Repeat his mercies in your song.
8 Through this vain world he guides our feet, And leads us to his heavenly seat;
His mercies ever shall endure,
When this vain world shall be no more. WATTS.
HYMN 386. C. M.
Free Grace in revealing Christ. Luke x 21.
JESUS, the man of constant grief,
A mourner all his days;
His spirit once rejoic'd aloud,
And turn'd his joy to praise:
2 "Father, I thank thy wond'rous love,
"That hath reveal'd thy son
“To men unlearned; and unto babes
"Hast made thy gospel known.
3 "The mysteries of redeeming grace
"Are hidden from the wise:
"While pride and carnal reasonings join To swell and blind their eyes."
4 Thus doth the Lord of heaven and earth
His great decrees fulfil,
And orders all his works of grace
By his own sovereign will.
Our own Weakness; or, Christ our Strength. Cor. xii. 7, 9, 10.
ET me but hear my Saviour say,
"Strength shall be equal to the day," Then I'll rejoice in deep distress,
Leaning on all-sufficient grace.
2 I glory in infirmity,
That Christ's own power may rest on me;
When I am weak, then I am strong,
Grace is my shield, and Christ my song.
3 I can do all things, or can bear
All sufferings, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While his left hand my head sustains.
4 But if the Lord be once withdrawn
And we attempt the work alone,
When new temptations spring and rise,
We find how great our weakness is.
5 So Samson, when his hair was lost,
Met the Philistines to his cost;
Shook his vain limbs with sad surprise,
Made feeble fight and lost his
Charity and Uncharitableness. Rom. xiv. 17, 19. 1 Cor. x. 32.
TOT different food, nor differcnt dress,
Compose the kingdom of our Lord;
But peace, and joy, and righteousness,
Faith, and obedience to his word.
2 When weaker christians we despise,
We do the gospel mighty wrong;
For God, the gracious and the wise,
Receives the feeble with the strong.
3 Let pride and wrath be banish'd hence,
Meekness and love our souls pursue,
Nor shall our practice give offence,
To saints, the Gentile or the Jew.
Dead to Sin by the Cross of Christ. Rom. vi. 1, 2,6.
HALL we go on to sin,
Because thy grace abounds;
Or crucify the Lord again,
And open all his wounds!..
Forbid it, mighty God!
Nor let it e'er be said,
That we, whose sins are crucify'd
Should raise them from the dead.
We will be slaves no more,
Since Christ has made us free,
Has nail'd our tyrants to his cross,
And bought our liberty.
HYMN 390. C. M.
Sufficiency of Pardon.
WHY does your face, ye humble souls,
Those mournful colours wear?
What doubts are these that waste your faith, And nourish your despair?
2 What though your numerous sins exceed
The stars that fill the skies,
And, aiming at the eternal throne,
Like pointed mountains rise?
3 What though your mighty guilt beyond
The wide creation swell,
And hath its curs'd foundations laid
Low as the deeps of hell?
4 See here an endless ocean flows
Of never-failing grace!
Behold a dying Saviour's veins
The sacred flood increase!
5 It rises high, and drowns the hills,
Has neither shore nor bound;
Now, if we search to find our sins,
Our sins can ne'er be found.
6 Awake, our hearts, adore the grace
That buries all our faults,
And pardoning blood, that swells above
Our follies and our thoughts.
HYMN 391. L. M.
Christ, the King, at his table. Solomon's Song, i. 2—5, 12, 13, 17.
ET him embrace my soul, and prove
My interest in his heav'nly love;
The voice that tells me, "Thou art mine,"
Exceeds the blessings of the vine.
2 On thee th' anointing Spirit came
And spread the savour of thy name;
That oil of gladness and of grace
Draws virgin souls to meet thy face.
3 Jesus, allure me by thy charms;
My soul shall fly into thine arms:
Our wandering feet thy favours bring
To the fair chambers of the King.
4 Wonders and pleasure tune our voice
To speak thy praises and our joys;
Our memory keeps this love of thine
Beyond the taste of richest wine.
5 Though in ourselves deform'd we are,
And black as Kedar's tents appear,
Yet when we put thy beauties on,
Fair as the courts of Solomon.
6 While at his table sits the King,
He loves to see us smile and sing;
Our graces are our best perfume,
And breathes like spikenard round the room
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