3 It shows to man his wandering ways,
And where his feet have trod,

And brings to view the matchless grace
Of a forgiving God.

4 It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears;
Life, light, and joy it still imparts,
And quells our rising fears.

5 This lamp through all the tedious night Of life shall guide our way,

Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.

407.

John Fawcett, 1782.

PSALM 19.

8. M.

1 BEHOLD, the morning sun
Begins his glorious way;

His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey. ·

2 But where the gospel comes,
It spreads diviner light;

It calls dead sinners from their tombs,
And gives the blind their sight.

3 How perfect is thy word!

And all thy judgments just;
Forever sure thy promise, Lord,
And men securely trust.

4 My gracious God, how plain
Are thy directions given!
I never read in vain,
But find the path to heaven!

Oh, may

408.

Isaac Watts, 1719.

1 LET everlasting glories crown

L. M.

Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord; Thy hands have brought salvation down, And writ the blessings in thy word.

2 In vain the trembling conscience seeks Some solid ground to rest upon; With long despair the spirit breaks, Till we apply to Christ alone.

3 How well thy blessed truths agree! How wise and holy thy commands ! Thy promises, how firm they be!

How firm our hope and comfort stands! 4 Should all the forms that men devise Assault my faith with treacherous art, I'd call them vanity and lies,

And bind the gospel to my heart.

409.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

1 GOD, in the gospel of his Son,

L. M.

Makes his eternal counsels known, 'Tis here his richest mercy shines, And truth is drawn in fairest lines.

2 Here sinners of a humble frame May taste his grace and learn his name; May read, in characters of blood,

The wisdom, power, and grace of God.

3 The prisoner here may break his chains;
The weary rest from all his pains;
The captive feel his bondage cease;
The mourner find the way of peace.

4 Here faith reveals to mortal eyes

A brighter world beyond the skies; [way
Here shines the light which guides our
From earth to realms of endless day.

5 Oh, grant us grace, almighty Lord,
To read and mark thy holy word,
Its truths with meekness to receive,
And by its holy precepts live..

Benj. Beddome, 1787; alt. by Robert Hall, 1816.

SALVATION,-MAN'S NEED.

410.

PSALM 51.

1 LORD, I am vile, conceived in sin, And born unholy and unclean:

L. M.

Sprung from the man whose guilty fall
Corrupts the race, and taints us all.

2 Soon as we draw our infant breath,
The seeds of sin grow up for death;
Thy law demands a perfect heart;
But we're defiled in every part.

3 Behold, I fall before thy face;
My only refuge is thy grace;

No outward forms can make me clean; The leprosy lies deep within.

4 No bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast, Nor hyssop branch, nor sprinkling priest, Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea, Can wash the dismal stain away.

5 Jesus, my God, thy blood alone Hath power sufficient to atone;

Thy blood can make me white as snow; No Jewish types could cleanse me so.

Isaac Watts, 1719.

411.

8. M.

1 Ан, how shall fallen man
Be just before his God?
If he contend in righteousness,
We fall beneath his rod.

2 If he our ways should mark
With strict, inquiring eyes,

Could we for one of thousand faults
A just excuse devise?

3 All-seeing, powerful God,

Who can with thee contend?
Or who that tries th' unequal strife
Shall prosper in the end?

4 The mountains in thy wrath,
Their ancient seats forsake;
The trembling earth deserts her place;
Her rooted pillars shake.

5 Ah, how shall guilty man

Contend with such a God?

None, none can meet him, and escape,
But through the Saviour's blood.

412.

Isaac Watts, 1709, a.

1 How heavy is the night

That hangs upon our eyes,

Till Christ with his reviving light
Over our souls arise!

2 Our guilty spirits dread

To meet the wrath of Heaven;
But in his righteousness arrayed,
We see our sins forgiven.

3 Unholy and impure

Are all our thoughts and ways;
His hands infected nature cure
With sanctifying grace.

4 The powers of hell agree

To hold our souls, in vain ;
He sets the sons of bondage free,
And breaks the curséd chain.

5 Lord, we adore thy ways

To bring us near to God;

S. M.

Thy sovereign power, thy healing grace,
And thine atoning blood.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

413.

1 Nor all the blood of beasts On Jewish altars slain,

S. M.

Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.

2 But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name,
And richer blood than they.

3 My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin.

4 My soul looks back to see

The burdens thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree,
And hopes her guilt was there.

5 Believing, we rejoice

To see the curse remove;

We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing his bleeding love.

414.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

C. M.

1 THERE is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel'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,
Washed all my sins away.

3 Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more.