1

6 Men have not pow'r nor skill
With troubled souls to bear;
Though they express good-will,
Poor comforters they are:
But swelling sorrows sink apace,
When we approach the throne of grace.

7 Numbers before have try'd,

And found the promise true;
Nor yet one been deny'd,

Then why should I or you?

Let us, by faith, their footsteps trace,
And hasten to the throne

grace.

8. As fogs obscure the light,
And taint the morning air,
But soon are put to flight,

If the bright sun appear;

Thus Jesus will our troubles chase,

By shining from the throne of grace".

XXVI. Dagon before the Ark. Chap. v. 4, 5.

1 WHEN first to make

my

heart his own,

The Lord reveal'd his mighty grace
Self reign'd, like Dagon, on the throne,
But could not long maintain its place.

2 It fell, and own'd the pow'r divine
(Grace can, with ease, the vict'ry gain),
But soon this wretched heart of mine,
Contriv'd to set it up again.

3 Again the Lord his name proclaim'd,
And brought the hateful idol low;
Then self, like Dagon, broken, maim'd,
Seem'd to receive a mortal blow.

P Book ii. Hymn 61.

4 Yet self is not of life bereft,
Nor ceases to oppose his will;
Though but a maimed stump be left,
'Tis Dagon, 'tis an idol still.

5 Lord! must I always guilty prove,
And idols in my heart have room?
Oh! let the fire of heav'nly love
The very stump of self consume.

XXVII. The Milch Kine drawing the Ark: Faith's sur render of all. Chap. vi. 12.

1 THE kine unguided went
By the directest road;

When the Philistines homeward sent
The ark of Israel's God.

2 Lowing they pass'd along,

And left their calves shut up;
They felt an instinct for their

But would not turn or stop.

young,

3 Shall brutes, devoid of thought,
Their Maker's will obey;

And we, who by his grace are taught,
More stubborn prove than they.

4 He shed his precious blood,

To make us his alone;

If wash'd in that atoning flood,

We are no more our own.

5 If he his will reveal,

Let us obey his call;

3

And think, whate'er the flesh may feel,

His love deserves our all.

4 Hosea, xiv. 8.

6 We should maintain in view

His glory, as our end;

Too much we cannot bear, or do,
For such a matchless friend.

7 His saints should stand prepar'd
In duty's path to run;

Nor count their greatest trials hard,
So that his will be done.

8 With Jesus for our guide,

The path is safe, though rough;

The promise says,

"I will provide,"

And faith replies, "Enough!"

XXVIII. Saul's Armour. Chap. xvii. 38-40.

1 WHEN first my soul enlisted.

My Saviour's foes to fight,
Mistaken friends insisted

I was not arm'd aright:
So Saul advised David

He certainly would fail,
Nor could his life be saved
Without a coat of mail.

2 But David, though he yielded
To put the armour on,
Soon found he could not wield it,

And ventur'd forth with none.

With only sling and pebble,

He fought the fight of faith;

The weapons seem'd but feeble,
Yet prov'd Goliath's death.

3 Had I by him been guided,
And quickly thrown away
The armour men provided,

I might have gain'd the day;
But arm'd as they advis'd me,
My expectations fail'd;
My enemy surpris'd me,
And had almost prevail'd.

4 Furnish'd with books and notions,
And arguments and pride,
I practis'd all my motions,
And Satan's pow'r defy'd :
But soon perceiv'd,, with trouble,
That these would do no good;

Iron to him is stubble,

And brass like rotten wood".

5 I triumph'd at a distance,
While he was out of sight,
But faint was my resistance,
When forc'd to join in fight:
He broke my sword in shivers,

And pierc'd my boasted shield,
Laugh'd at my vain endeavours,

And drove me from the field.

6 Satan will not be braved

By such a worm as I;

Then let me learn with David
To trust in the Most High;

To plead the name of Jesus,
And use the sling of pray'r:
Thus arm'd, when Satan sees us,
He'll tremble and despair.

II. SAMUEL.

XXIX. David's Fall. Chap. xi. 27.

1 How David, when by sin deceiv'd,
From bad to worse went on!
For when the Holy Spirit's griev'd,

Our strength and guard are gone.
2 His eye, on Bathsheba once fix'd,
With poison fill'd his soul;
He ventur❜d on adult'ry next,

And murder crown'd the whole.

3 So from a spark of fire at first,
That has not been descry'd,
A dreadful flame has often burst,
And ravag'd far and wide.

4 When sin deceives, it hardens too;
For, though he vainly sought

To hide his crimes from public view,
Of God he little thought.

5 He neither would, nor could, repent,
No true compunction felt,

'Till God, in mercy, Nathan sent, His stubborn heart to melt.

6 The parable held forth a fact,
Design'd his case to show;

But, though the picture was exact,
Himself he did not know.

7 "Thou art the man," the prophet said; That word his slumber broke:

And when he own'd his sin, and pray'd,
The Lord forgiveness spoke.