Still in undisturb'd possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign ;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again.
3 "Ye no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see ;
But, your griefs for ever ending,
Find eternal noon in me:
God shall rise, and shining o'er you,
Change to day the gloom of night;
He, the Lord, shall be your glory,
God your everlasting light."
XI. JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.JER. Xxiii. 6.
1 My God, how perfect are thy ways! But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.
2 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.
3 Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to thee.
4 This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts,
How does it overflow !
While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.
5 Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord for ever mine.
XII. EPHRAIM REPENTING.-JER. xxxi. 18-20.
1 My God, till I received thy stroke,
How like a beast was I!
So unaccustom'd to the yoke,
So backward to comply.
2 With grief my just reproach I bear,
Shame fills me at the thought;
How frequent my rebellions were !
What wickedness I wrought!
3 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.
4 "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts,
Or vile in my esteem?
No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults,
I still remember him.
5 "Is he a dear and pleasant child?
Yes, dear and pleasant still;
Though sin his foolish heart beguiled,
And he withstood my will.
6 "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. THE COVENANT.-EZEK. Xxxvi. 25-28.
1 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.
2 My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
Ye shall abhor your former deeds,
And learn my statutes to obey.
3 My truth the great design ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.
4 Yet not unsought, or unimplored,
The plenteous grace shall I confer ;1
No-your whole hearts shall seek the Lord,
I'll put a praying spirit there.
5 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 power.
XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH.-EZEK. xlviii. 35.
1 As birds their infant brood protect,1
And spread their wings to shelter them,
Thus saith the Lord to his elect,
"So will I guard Jerusalem."
2 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?
3 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.
4 There, though besieged on every side,
Yet much beloved and guarded well,
From age to age they have defied
The utmost force of earth and hell:
5 Let earth repent, and hell despair,
This city has a sure defence;
Her name is call'd The Lord is there,
And who has power to drive him thence?
XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED.ZECH. xiii. 1.
1 THERE is a fountain fill'd with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
2 The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Wash'd all my sins away.
3 Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransom'd Church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
4 E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been
And shall be till I die.
5 Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save;
When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
6 Lord, I believe thou hast prepared
(Unworthy though I be)
For me a blood-bought free reward,
A golden harp for me!
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