God knows the thousands who go down
From pleasure into endless woe,
And with a long despairing groan
Blaspheme their Maker as they go.
O fearful thought! be timely wise;
Delight but in a Saviour's charms,
And God shall take you to the skies,
Embraced in everlasting arms.
VIII. O LORD, I WILL PRAISE THEE
Isaiah xii. I
I WILL praise thee every day
Now thine anger's turned away;
Comfortable thoughts arise
From the bleeding sacrifice.
Here, in the fair Gospel-field,
Wells of free salvation yield
Streams of life, a plenteous store,
And my soul shall thirst no more.
Jesus is become at length
My salvation and my strength;
And his praises shall prolong,
While I live, my pleasant song.
Praise ye, then, his glorious name,
Publish his exalted fame!
Still his worth your praise exceeds;
Excellent are all his deeds.
Raise again the joyful sound,
Let the nations roll it round!
Zion, shout! for this is he;
God the Saviour dwells in thee!
IX. THE CONTRITE HEART
Isaiah lvii. 15
THE Lord will happiness divine
On contrite hearts bestow;
Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
A contrite heart, or no?
I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
Insensible as steel;
If aught is felt, 'tis only pain
To find I cannot feel.
I sometimes think myself inclined
To love thee, if I could;
But often feel another mind
Averse to all that's good.
My best desires are faint and few,
I fain would strive for more;
But when I cry, "My strength renew
Seem weaker than before.
Thy saints are comforted, I know,
And love thy house of prayer;
I therefore go where others go,
But find no comfort there.
Oh make this heart rejoice or ache;
Decide this doubt for me;
And, if it be not broken, break,-
And heal it, if it be.
X. THE FUTURE PEACE AND GLORY OF THE CHURCH
HEAR What God the Lord hath spoken:
"O my people, faint and few,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you.
Thorns of heartfelt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways:
You shall name your walls Salvation,
And your gates shall all be Praise.
"There, like streams that feed the garden,
Pleasures without end shall flow;
For the Lord, your faith rewarding,
All his bounty shall bestow;
Still in undisturbed possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again.
"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 ye,
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
My God, how perfect are thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.
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. EPHRAIM REPENTING
Jer. xxxi. 18-20
My God, till I received thy stroke,
How like a beast was I!
So unaccustomed 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 scorned,
And left the pleasant road;
Yet turn me, and I shall be turned !
Thou art the Lord my God.
"Is Ephraim banished from my thoughts,
Or vile in my esteem?
No," saith the Lord, “with all his faults,
I still remember him."
"Is he a dear and pleasant child?
Yes, dear and pleasant still;
Though sin his foolish heart beguiled,
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. 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 ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.
"Yet not unsought, or unimplored,
The plenteous grace shall I confer;
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 power."
XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH
Ezek. xlviii. 35
"As birds their infant brood protect, And spread their wings to shelter them, (Thus saith the Lord to his elect,) So will I guard Jerusalem."
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?
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, 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.
Let earth repent, and hell despair,
This city has a sure defence;
Her name is called "The Lord is there,"
And who has power to drive him thence ?
XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED
THERE is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, as vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
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