Hymns and Spiritual Songs
by
Isaac Watts
Part 2 out of 7
What dreadful darkness veils our mind!
How obstinate our will!
3 [Conceiv'd in sin (O wretched state!)
Before we draw our breath,
The first young pulse begins to beat
Iniquity and death.
4 How strong in our degenerate blood
The old corruption reigns,
And, mingling with the crooked flood,
Wanders thro' all our veins!]
5 Wild and unwholesome as the root
Will all the branches be;
How can we hope for living fruit
From such a deadly tree?
6 What mortal power from things unclean
Can pure productions bring?
Who can command a vital stream
From an infected spring?]
7 Yet, mighty God, thy wondrous love
Can make our nature clean,
While Christ and grace prevail above
The tempter, death, and sin.
8 The second Adam shall restore
The ruins of the first,
Hosanna to that sovereign power
That new creates our dust.
Hymn 1:58.
The devil vanquished; or, Michael's war with the
dragon, Rev. 12. 7.
1 Let mortal tongues attempt to sing
The wars of heaven, when Michael stood
Chief general of th' Eternal King,
And fought the battles of our God.
2 Against the dragon and his host
The armies of the Lord prevail:
In vain they rage, in vain they boast,
Their courage sinks, their weapons fail.
3 Down to the earth was Satan thrown,
Down to the earth his legions fell;
Then was the trump of triumph blown,
And shook the dreadful deeps of hell.
4 Now is the hour of darkness past,
Christ hath assum'd his reigning power;
Behold the great accuser cast
Down from the skies, to rise no more.
5 'Twas by thy blood immortal Lamb,
Thine armies trod the tempter down;
'Twas by thy word and powerful Name,
They gain'd the battle and renown.
6 Rejoice, ye heavens; let every star
Shine with new glories round the sky;
Saints, while ye sing the heavenly war,
Raise your Deliverer's name on high.
Hymn 1:59.
Babylon fallen, Rev. 18. 20 21.
1 In Gabriel's hand a mighty stone
Lies, a fair type of Babylon
''Prophets, rejoice, and, all ye saints,
"God shall avenge your long complaints."
2 He said, and dreadful as he stood,
He sunk the milstone in the flood:
"Thus terribly shall Babel fall;
"Thus, and no more be found at all."
Hymn 1:60.
The virgin Mary's song; or, The promised Messiah
born, Luke 1. 46 &c.
1 Our souls shall magnify the Lord,
In God the Saviour we rejoice;
While we repeat the Virgin's song,
May the same spirit tune our voice.
2 [The Highest saw her low estate,
And mighty things his hand hath done:
His overshadowing power and grace
Makes her the mother of his Son.
3 Let every nation call her bless'd,
And endless years prolong her fame;
But God alone must be ador'd;
Holy and reverend is his Name.]
4 To those that fear and trust the Lord
His mercy stands for ever sure:
From age to age his promise lives,
And the performance is secure.
5 He spake to Abr'am and his seed,
"In thee shall all the earth be bless'd;"
The memory of that ancient word
Lay long in his eternal breast.
6 But now no more shall Israel wait,
No more the Gentiles lie forlorn:
Lo the desire of nations comes,
Behold the promis'd seed is born.
Hymn 1:61.
Christ our high Priest and King, and Christ coming
to judgment, Rev. 1. 5 6 7.
1 Now to the Lord that makes us know
The wonders of his dying love,
Be humble honours paid below,
And strains of nobler praise above.
2 'Twas he that cleans'd our foulest sins,
And wash'd us in his richest blood;
'Tis he that makes us priests and kings,
And brings us rebels near to God.
3 To Jesus our atoning priest,
To Jesus our superior king,
Be everlasting power confess'd,
And every tongue his glory sing.
4 Behold, on flying clouds he comes,
And every eye shall see him move;
Tho' with our sins we pierc'd him once,
Then he displays his pardoning love.
5 The unbelieving world shall wail
While we rejoice to see the day:
Come, Lord; nor let thy promise fail,
Nor let thy chariots long delay.
Hymn 1:62.
Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, worshipped by all
the creation, Rev. 5. 11 12 13.
1 Come let us join our cheerful songs
With angels round the throne;
Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,
But all their joys are one.
2 "Worthy the Lamb that dy'd," they cry,
"To be exalted thus:"
"Worthy the Lamb," our lips reply,
"For he was slain for us."
3 Jesus is worthy to receive
Honour and power divine;
And blessings more than we can give,
Be, Lord, for ever thine.
4 Let all that dwell above the sky,
And air, and earth, and seas,
Conspire to lift thy glories high,
And speak thine endless praise.
5 The whole creation join in one
To bless the sacred Name
Of him that sits upon the throne,
And to adore the Lamb.
Hymn 1:63.
Christ's humiliation and exaltation, Rev. 5. 12.
1 What equal honours shall we bring
To thee, O Lord our God, the Lamb,
When all the notes that angels sing
Are far inferior to thy Name?
2 Worthy is he that once was slain,
The Prince of Peace that groan'd and dy'd,
Worthy to rise, and live, and reign
At his Almighty Father's side.
3 Power and dominion are his due,
Who stood condemn'd at Pilate's bar:
Wisdom belongs to Jesus too,
Tho' he was charg'd with madness here.
4 All riches are his native right,
Yet he sustain'd amazing loss:
To him ascribe eternal might,
Who left his weakness on the cross.
5 Honour immortal must be paid,
Instead of scandal and of scorn:
While glory shines around his head,
And a bright crown without a thorn.
6 Blessings for ever on the Lamb,
Who bore the curse for wretched men:
Let angels sound his sacred Name,
And every creature say, Amen.
Hymn 1:64.
Adoption, 1 John 3. 1 &c. Gal. 4. 6.
1 Behold what wondrous grace
The Father hath bestow'd
On sinners of a mortal race,
To call them sons of God!
2 'Tis no surprising thing
That we should be unknown;
The Jewish world knew not their King,
God's everlasting Son.
3 Nor doth it yet appear
How great we must be made;
But when we see our Saviour here,
We shall be like our head.
4 A hope so much divine
May trials well endure,
May purge our souls from sense and sin,
As Christ the Lord is pure.
5 If in my Father's love
I share a filial part,
Send down thy Spirit like a dove
To rest upon my heart.
6 We would no longer lie
Like slaves beneath the throne;
My faith shall Abba, Father, cry,
And thou the kindred own.
Hymn 1:65.
The kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms
of our Lord; or, The day of judgment, Rev. 11. 15-18.
1 Let the seventh angel sound on high,
Let shouts be heard thro' all the sky;
Kings of the earth, with glad accord
Give up your kingdoms to the Lord.
2 Almighty God, thy power assume,
Who wast, and art, and art to come:
Jesus, the Lamb, who once was slain,
For ever live, for ever reign.
3 The angry nations fret and roar,
That they can slay the saints no more;
On wings of vengeance flies our God
To pay the long arrears of blood.
4 Now must the rising dead appear,
Now the decisive sentence hear;
Now the dear martyrs of the Lord
Receive an infinite reward.
Hymn 1:66.
Christ the King at his table, Cant. (Transcriber's Note:
Song of Solomon) 1. 2-5 12 13 17.
1 Let him embrace my soul, and prove
Mine interest in his heavenly love:
The voice that tells me, "Thou art mine,"
Exceeds the blessings of the vine.
2 On thee th' anointing Spirit came,
And spreads 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 [Wonder 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 Tho' in ourselves deform'd we are,
And black as Kedar tent 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 breathe like spikenard round the room.]
7 As myrrh new bleeding from the tree,
Such is a dying Christ to me;
And while he makes my soul his guest,
My bosom, Lord, shall be thy rest.
8 [No beams of cedar or of fir
Can with thy courts on earth compare;
And here we wait until thy love
Raise us to nobler seats above.]
Hymn 1:67.
Seeking the pastures of Christ the Shepherd, Cant. 1.7.
1 Thou whom my soul admires above
All earthly joy, and earthly love,
Tell me, dear shepherd, let me know,
Where doth thy sweetest pasture grow?
2 Where is the shadow of that rock
That from the son defends thy flock?
Fain would I feed among thy sheep,
Among them rest, among them sleep.
3 Why should thy bride appear like one
That turns aside to paths unknown?
My constant feet would never rove,
Would never seek another love.
4 [The footsteps of thy flock I see;
Thy sweetest pastures here they be;
A wondrous feast thy love prepares,
Bought with thy wounds, and groans, and tears.
5 His dearest flesh he makes my food,
And bids me drink his richest blood;
Here to these hills my soul will come,
To my beloved lead me home.]
Hymn 1:68.
The banquet of love, Cant. 2. 1 2 3 4 6 7.
1 Behold the Rose of Sharon here,
The Lily which the vallies bear;
Behold the Tree of Life, that gives
Refreshing fruit and healing leaves.
2 Amongst the thorns so lilies shine,
Amongst wild gourds the noble vine;
So in mine eyes my Saviour proves
Amidst a thousand meaner loves.
3 Beneath his cooling shade I sat
To shield me from the burning heat;
Of heavenly fruit he spreads a feast
To feed my eyes and please my taste.
4 [Kindly he brought me to the place
Where stands the banquet of his grace,
He saw me faint, and o'er my head
The banner of his love he spread.
5 With living bread and generous wine
He cheers this sinking heart of mine;
And opening his own heart to me,
He shews his thoughts how kind they be.]
6 O never let my Lord depart,
Lie down and rest upon my heart;
I charge my sins not once to move
Nor stir, nor wake, nor grieve my Love.
Hymn 1:69.
Christ appearing to his church, and seeking her
company, Cant. 2. 1-13.
1 The voice of my beloved sounds
Over the rocks and rising grounds,
O'er hills of guilt, and seas of grief,
He leaps, he flies to my relief.
2 Now thro' the veil of flesh I see
With eyes of love he looks at me;
Now in the gospel's clearest glass
He shews the beauties of his face.
3 Gently he draws my heart along
Both with his beauties and his tongue;
"Rise," saith my Lord, "make haste away;
"No mortal joys are worth thy stay.
4 "The Jewish wintery state is gone,
"The mists are fled, the spring comes on,
"The sacred turtle-dove we hear
"Proclaim the new, the joyful year.
5 "Th' immortal vine of heavenly root
"Blossoms and buds, and gives her fruit:"
Lo, we are come to taste the wine;
Our souls rejoice and bless the vine.
6 And when we hear our Jesus say,
"Rise up, my love, make haste away!"
Our hearts would fain out-fly the wind,
And leave all earthly loves behind.
Hymn 1:70.
Christ inviting, and the church answering the
invitation, Cant. 2. 14 16 17.
1 [Hark, the Redeemer from on high
Sweetly invites his favourites nigh;
From caves of darkness and of doubt,
He gently speaks, and calls us out:
2 "My dove, who hidest in the rock,
"Thine heart almost with sorrow broke,
"Lift up thy face, forget thy fear,
"And let thy voice delight mine ear.
3 "Thy voice to me sounds ever sweet;
"My graces in thy countenance meet;
"Tho' the vain world thy face despise,
"'Tis bright and comely in mine eyes."
4 Dear Lord, our thankful heart receives
The hope thine invitation gives:
'To thee our joyful lips shall raise
The voice of prayer, and of praise.]
5 [I am my Love's, and he is mine;
Our hearts, our hopes, our passions join:
Nor let a motion, nor a word,
Nor thought arise to grieve my Lord.
6 My soul to pastures fair he leads,
Amongst the lilies where he feeds;
Amongst the saints (whose robes are white,
Wash'd in his blood) is his delight.
7 Till the day break, and shadows flee,
Till the sweet dawning light I see,
Thine eyes to me-ward often turn,
Nor let my soul in darkness mourn.
8 Be like a hart on mountains green,
Leap o'er the hills of fear and sin;
Nor guilt, nor unbelief divide
My Love, my Saviour from my side.]
Hymn 1:71.
Christ found in the street, and brought to the church,
Cant. 3. 1-5.
1 Often I seek my Lord by night,
Jesus, my love, my soul's delight;
With warm desire and restless thought
I seek him oft, but find him not.
2 Then I arise, and search the street
Till I my Lord, my Saviour meet;
I ask the watchmen of the night,
"Where did you see my soul's delight?"
3 Sometimes I find him in the way,
Directed by a heavenly ray;
I leap for joy to see his face,
And hold him fast in mine embrace.
4 [I bring him to my mother's home,
Nor does my Lord refuse to come,
To Sion's sacred chambers, where
My soul first drew the vital air.
5 He gives me there his bleeding heart,
Pierc'd for my sake with deadly smart;
I give my soul to him, and there
Our loves their mutual tokens share.]
6 I charge you all, ye earthly toys,
Approach not to disturb my joys;
Nor sin, nor hell come near my heart,
Nor cause my Saviour to depart.
Hymn 1:72.
The coronation of Christ, and espousals of the church,
Cant. 3. 2.
1 Daughters of Sion, come, behold
The crown of honour and of gold,
Which the glad church with joys unknown
Plac'd on the head of Solomon.
2 Jesus, thou everlasting King,
Accept the tribute which we bring,
Accept the well-deserv'd renown,
And wear our praises as thy crown.
3 Let every act of worship be
Like our espousals, Lord, to thee;
Like the dear hour, when from above
We first receiv'd thy pledge of love.
4 The gladness of that happy day,
Our hearts would wish it long to stay,
Nor let our faith forsake its hold,
Nor comfort sink, nor love grow cold.
5 Each following minute as it flies,
Increase thy praise, improve our joys,
Till we are rais'd to sing thy Name
At the great supper of the Lamb.
6 O that the months would roll away,
And bring that coronation-day!
The King of Grace shall fill the throne
With all his Father's glories on.
Hymn 1:73.
The church's beauty in the eyes of Christ,
Cant. 4. 1 10 11 7 9 8.
1 Kind is the speech of Christ our Lord,
Affection sounds in every word,
"Lo, thou art fair, my love, he cries,
"Not the young doves have sweeter eyes.
2 ["Sweet are thy lips, thy pleasing voice
"Salutes mine ear with secret joys,
"No spice so much delights the smell,
"Nor milk nor honey taste so well.]
3 "Thou art all fair, my bride, to me,
"I will behold no spot in thee."
What mighty wonders love performs,
And puts a comeliness on worms!
4 Defil'd and loathsome as we are,
He makes us white, and calls us fair;
Adorns us with that heavenly dress,
His graces and his righteousness.
5 "My sister, and my spouse," he cries,
"Bound to my heart by various ties,
"Thy powerful love my heart detains
"In strong delight and pleasing chains."
6 He calls me from the leopard's den,
From this wild world of beasts and men,
To Sion where his glories are;
Not Lebanon is half so fair.
7 Nor dens of prey, nor flowery plains
Nor earthly joys, nor earthly pains
Shall hold my feet, or force my stay,
When Christ invites my soul away.
Hymn 1:74.
The church the garden of Christ, Cant. 4. 12 14 15,
and 5. 1.
1 We are a garden wall'd around,
Chosen and made peculiar ground;
A little spot inclos'd by grace,
Out of the world's wide wilderness.
2 Like trees of myrrh and spice we stand,
Planted by God the Father's hand;
And all his springs in Sion flow
To make the young plantation grow.
3 Awake, O heavenly wind, and come,
Blow on this garden of perfume;
Spirit divine, descend and breathe
A gracious gale on plants beneath.
4 Make our best spices flow abroad
To entertain our Saviour God:
And faith, and love, and joy appear,
And every grace be active here.
5 [Let my beloved come, and taste
His pleasant fruits at his own feast:
"I come, my spouse, I come," he cries,
With love and pleasure in his eyes.
6 Our Lord into his garden comes,
Well pleas'd to smell our poor perfumes;
And calls us to a feast divine,
Sweeter than honey, milk, or wine.
7 "Eat of the tree of life, my friends,
"The blessings that my Father sends;
"Your taste shall all my dainties prove,
"And drink abundance of my love."
8 Jesus, we will frequent thy board,
And sing the bounties of our Lord:
But the rich food on which we live
Demands more praise than tongues can give.]
Hymn 1:75.
The description of Christ the beloved,
Cant. 5. 9-12 14 15 16.
1 The wondering world enquires to know
Why I should love my Jesus so:
"What are his charms," say they, "above
"The objects of a mortal love!"
2 Yes, my beloved, to my sight,
Shews a sweet mixture red and white:
All human beauties, all divine,
In my beloved meet and shine,
3 White is his soul, from blemish free;
Red with the blood he shed for me;
The fairest of ten thousand fairs:
A sun amongst ten thousand stars.
4 [His head the finest gold excels,
There wisdom in perfection dwells;
And glory like a crown adorns
Those temples once beset with thorns.
5 Compassions in his heart are found,
Hard by the signals of his wound;
His sacred side no more shall bear
The cruel scourge, the piercing spear.]
6 [His hands are fairer to behold
Than diamonds set in rings of gold;
Those heavenly hands that on the tree
Were nail'd, and torn, and bled for me.
7 Tho' once he bow'd his feeble knees,
Loaded with sins and agonies,
Now on the throne of his command
His legs like marble pillars stand.]
8 [His eyes are majesty and love,
The eagle temper'd with the dove:
No more shall trickling sorrows roll
Thro' those dear windows of his soul.
9 His mouth, that pour'd out long complaints,
Now smiles, and cheers his fainting saints;
His countenance more graceful is
Than Lebanon with all its trees.]
10 All over glorious is my Lord,
Must be belov'd, and yet ador'd:
His worth if all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love him too.
Hymn 1:76.
Christ dwells in heaven, but visits on earth,
Cant. 6. 1 2 3 12.
1 When strangers stand and hear me tell
What beauties in my Saviour dwell;
Where he is gone, they fain would know,
That they may seek and love him too.
2 My best beloved keeps his throne
On hills of light in worlds unknown
But he descends, and shews his face
In the young gardens of his grace.
3 [In vineyards planted by his hand,
Where fruitful trees in order stand;
He feeds among the spicy beds,
Where lilies shew their spotless heads.
4 He has engross'd my warmest love,
No earthly charms my soul can move:
I have a mansion in his heart,
Nor death nor hell shall make us part.]
5 [He takes my soul ere I'm aware,
And shews me where his glories are;
No chariot of Amminadib
The heavenly rapture can describe.
6 O may my spirit daily rise
On wings of faith above the skies,
Till death shall make my last remove
To dwell for ever with my love.]
Hymn 1:77.
The love of Christ to the church, in his language to
her, and provisions for her, Cant. 7. 5 6 9 12 13.
1 Now in the galleries of his grace
Appears the King, and thus he says,
"How fair my saints are in my sight;
"My love how pleasant for delight!"
2 Kind is thy language, sovereign Lord,
There's heavenly grace in every word:
From that dear mouth a stream divine
Flows sweeter than the choicest wine.
3 Such wondrous love awakes the lip
Of saints that were almost asleep,
To speak the praises of thy name,
And makes our cold affections flame.
4 These are the joys he lets us know
In fields and villages below,
Gives us a relish of his love,
But keeps his noblest feast above.
5 In Paradise within the gates
An higher entertainment waits;
Fruits new and old laid up in store,
Where we shall feed, but thirst no more.
Hymn 1:78.
The strength of Christ's love, and the soul's jealousy
of her own, Cant. 8. 5 6 7 13 14.
1 [Who is this fair one in distress,
That travels from the wilderness?
And press'd with sorrows and with sins,
On her beloved Lord she leans.
2 This is the spouse of Christ our God,
Bought with the treasure of his blood;
And her request and her complaint
Is but the voice of every saint.]
3 "O let my name engraven stand,
"Both on thy heart and on thy hand:
"Seal me upon thine arm; and wear
"That pledge of love for ever there.
4 "Stronger than death thy love is known,
"Which floods of wrath could never drown;
"And hell and earth in vain combine
"To quench a fire so much divine.
5 "But I am jealous of my heart,
Lest it should once from thee depart;
"Then let thy name be well impress'd
As a fair signet on my breast.
6 "Till thou hast brought me to thy home,
"Where fears and doubts can never come,
"Thy count'nance let me often see,
"And often thou shalt hear from me.
7 "Come, my beloved, haste away,
"Cut short the hours of thy delay,
"Fly like a youthful hart or roe
"Over the hills where spices grow."
Hymn 1:79.
A morning hymn, Psalm 19. 5 8 and 73. 24 25.
1 God of the morning, at whose voice
The cheerful sun makes haste to rise,
And, like a giant doth rejoice
To run his journey thro' the skies;
2 From the fair chambers of the east
The circuit of his race begins,
And without weariness or rest,
Round the whole earth he flies and shines.
3 O like the sun may I fulfil
Th' appointed duties of the day,
With ready mind and active will
March on and keep my heavenly way.
4 [But I shall rove and lose the race,
If God my sun should disappear,
And leave me in this world's wild maze,
To follow every wandering star.
5 Lord, thy commands are clean and pure,
Enlightening our beclouded eyes,
Thy threatenings just, thy promise sure,
Thy gospel makes the simple wise.]
6 Give me thy counsels for my guide,
And then receive me to thy bliss;
All my desires and hopes beside
Are faint and cold compar'd to this.
Hymn 1:80.
An evening hymn, Psalm 4. 8. and 3. 5 6. and 143. 8.
1 Thus far the Lord has led me on,
Thus far his power prolongs my days,
And every evening shall make known
Some fresh memorial of his grace.
2 Much of my time has run to waste,
And I perhaps am near my home;
But he forgives my follies past,
He gives me strength for days to come.
3 I lay my body down to sleep,
Peace is the pillow for my head,
While well-appointed angels keep
Their watchful stations round my bed.
4 In vain the sons of earth or hell
Tell me a thousand frightful things,
My God in safety makes me dwell
Beneath the shadow of his wings.
5 [Faith in his name forbids my fear:
O may thy presence ne'er depart!
And in the morning make me hear
The love and kindness of thy heart.
6 Thus when the night of death shall come,
My flesh shall rest beneath the ground,
And wait thy voice to rouse my tomb,
With sweet salvation in the sound.
Hymn 1:81.
A song for morning or evening, Lam. 3. 23. Isa. 45. 7.
1 My God, how endless is thy love!
Thy gifts are every evening new;
And morning mercies from above
Gently distil like early dew.
2 Thou spreadst the curtains of the night,
Great guardian of my sleeping hours;
Thy sovereign word restores the light,
And quickens all my drowsy powers.
3 I yield my powers to thy command,
To thee I consecrate my days;
Perpetual blessings from thine hand
Demand perpetual songs of praise.
Hymn 1:82.
God far above creatures; or, Man vain and
mortal, Job 4. 77-21.
1 Shall the vile race of flesh and blood
Contend with their creator, God?
Shall mortal worms presume to be
More holy, wise, or just than he?
2 Behold he puts his trust in none
Of all the spirits round his throne;
Their natures, when compar'd with his
Are neither holy, just nor wise.
3 But how much meaner things are they
Who spring from dust and dwell in clay!
Touch'd by the finger of thy wrath,
We faint and vanish like the moth.
4 From night to day, from day to night,
We die by thousands in thy sight;
Bury'd in dust whole nations lie
Like a forgotten vanity.
5 Almighty power, to thee we bow;
How frail are we, how glorious thou!
No more the sons of earth shall dare
With an eternal God compare.
Hymn 1:83.
Afflictions and death under providence, Job 5. 6 7 8.
1 Not from the dust affliction grows,
Nor troubles rise by chance;
Yet we are born to care and woes,
A sad inheritance.
2 As sparks break out from burning coals,
And still are upwards borne;
So grief is rooted in our souls,
And man grows up to mourn.
3 Yet with my God I leave my cause,
And trust his promis'd grace;
He rules me by his well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.
4 Not all the pains that e'er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace,
For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.
Hymn 1:84.
Salvation, righteousness, and strength in Christ,
Isa. 45. 21 25.
1 Jehovah speaks, let Israel hear,
Let all the earth rejoice and fear,
While God's eternal Son proclaims
His sovereign honours and his names:
2 "I am the last, and I the first,
"The Saviour God, and God the just;
"There's none beside pretends to shew
"Such justice and salvation too.
3 "[Ye that in shades of darkness dwell,
"Just on the verge of death and hell,
"Look up to me from distant lands,
"Light, life and heaven are in my hands.
4 "I by my holy Name have sworn,
"Nor shall the word in vain return,
"To me shall all things bend the knee,
"And every tongue shall swear to me.]
5 "In me alone shall men confess
"Lies all their strength and righteousness;
"But such as dare despise my Name,
"I'll clothe them with eternal shame.
6 "In me the Lord, shall all the seed
"Of Israel from their sins be freed,
"And by their shining graces prove
"Their interest in my pardoning love."
Hymn 1:85.
The same.
1 The Lord on high proclaims
His Godhead from his throne;
"Mercy and justice are the names
"By which I will be known.
2 "Ye dying souls that sit
"In darkness and distress,
"Look from the borders of the pit
"To my recovering grace."
3 Sinners shall hear the sound;
Their thankful tongues shall own,
"Our righteousness and strength is found
"In thee, the Lord, alone."
4 In thee shall Israel trust,
And see their guilt forgiven;
God will pronounce the sinners just,
And take the saints to heaven.
Hymn 1:86.
God holy, just, and sovereign. Job 9. 2-10.
1 How should the sons of Adam's race
Be pure before their God?
If he contend in righteousness
We fall beneath his rod.
2 To vindicate my words and thoughts
I'll make no more pretence;
Not one of all my thousand faults
Can bear a just defence.
3 Strong is his arm, his heart is wise;
What vain presumers dare
Against their Maker's hand to rise,
Or tempt th' unequal war?
4 [Mountains by his almighty wrath
From their old seats are torn;
He shakes the earth from south to north,
And all her pillars mourn.
5 He bids the sun forbear to rise,
Th' obedient sun forbears:
His hand with sackcloth spreads the skies,
And seals up all the stars.
6 He walks upon the stormy sea
Flies on the stormy wind;
There's none can trace his wondrous way,
Or his dark footsteps find.]
Hymn 1:87.
God dwells with the humble and penitent, Isa. 57. 15 16.
1 Thus saith the High and Lofty One,
"I sit upon my holy throne,
"My name is God, I dwell on high,
"Dwell in my own eternity.
2 "But I descend to worlds below,
"On earth I have a mansion too,
"The humble spirit and contrite
"Is an abode of my delight.
3 "The humble soul my words revive,
"I bid the mourning sinner live,
"Heal all the broken hearts I find,
"And ease the sorrows of the mind.
4 "When I contend against their sin
"I make them know how vile they've been;
"But should my wrath for ever smoke,
"Their souls would sink beneath my stroke."]
5 O may thy pardoning grace be nigh,
Lest we should faint, despair, and die!
Thus shall our better thoughts approve
The methods of thy chastening love.
Hymn 1:88.
Life the day of grace and hope. Eccles. 9. 4 3 6 10.
1 Life is the time to serve the Lord,
The time t' insure the great reward;
And while the lamp holds out to burn
The vilest sinner may return.
2 [Life is the hour that God has given
To 'scape from hell, and fly to heaven,
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.]
3 The living know that they must die,
But all the dead forgotten lie,
Their memory and their sense is gone,
Alike unknowing and unknown.
4 [Their hatred and their love is lost,
Their envy bury'd in the dust;
They have no share in all that's done
Beneath the circuit of the sun.]
5 Then what my thoughts design to do,
My hands, with all your might pursue,
Since no device, nor work is found,
Nor faith, nor hope beneath the ground.
6 There are no acts of pardon past
In the cold grave to which we haste,
But darkness, death, and long despair
Reign in eternal silence there.
Hymn 1:89.
Youth and judgment, Eccles. 11. 9.
1 Ye sons of Adam, vain and young,
Indulge your eyes, indulge your tongue,
Taste the delight your souls desire,
And give a loose to all your fire.
2 Pursue the pleasures ye design,
And cheer your hearts with songs and wine,
Enjoy the day of mirth; but know
There is a day of judgment too.
3 God from on high beholds your thoughts,
His book records your secret faults;
The works of darkness you have done
Must all appear before the sun.
4 The vengeance to your follies due
Should strike your hearts with terror thro':
How will ye stand before his face,
Or answer for his injur'd grace?
5 Almighty God, turn off their eyes
From these alluring vanities;
And let the thunder of thy word
Awake their souls to fear the Lord.
Hymn 1:90.
The same.
1 Lo the young tribes of Adam rise,
And thro' all nature rove,
Fulfil the wishes of their eyes,
And taste the joys they love.
2 They give a loose to wild desires,
But let the sinners know,
The strict account that God requires
Of all the works they do.
3 The Judge prepares his throne on high,
The frighted earth and seas
Avoid the fury of his eye,
And flee before his face.
4 How shall I bear that dreadful day,
And stand the fiery test?
I give all mortal joys away
To be for ever blest.
Hymn 1:91.
Advice to youth; or, Old age and death in an
unconverted state, Eccles. 12. 1 7. Isa. 65. 20.
1 Now in the heat of youthful blood
Remember your Creator God,
Behold the months come hastening on
When you shall say, "My joys are gone."
2 Behold, the aged sinner goes,
Laden with guilt and heavy woes
Down to the regions of the dead,
With endless curses on his head.
3 The dust returns to dust again,
The soul in agonies of pain
Ascends to God, not there to dwell,
But hears her doom, and sinks to hell.
4 Eternal King! I fear thy Name,
Teach me to know how frail I am;
And when my soul must hence remove,
Give me a mansion in thy love.
Hymn 1:92.
Christ the wisdom of God, Prov. 8. 1 22-32.
1 Shall wisdom cry aloud
And not her speech be heard?
The voice of God's eternal word,
Deserves it no regard?
2 "I was his chief delight,
"His everlasting Son,
"Before the first of all his works,
"Creation, was begun.
3 ["Before the flying clouds,
"Before the solid land,
"Before the fields, before the floods,
"I dwelt at his right hand.
4 "When he adorn'd the skies,
"And built them I was there
"To order where the sun should rise,
"And marshal every star.
5 "When he pour'd out the sea,
"And spread the flowing deep,
"I gave the flood a firm decree,
"In its own bounds to keep.]
6 "Upon the empty air
The earth was balanc'd well;
"With joy I saw the mansion where
"The sons of men should dwell.
7 "My busy thoughts at first
"On their salvation ran,
"Ere sin was born, or Adam's dust
"Was fashioned to a man.
8 "Then come, receive my grace,
"Ye children, and be wise;
"Happy the man that keeps my ways;
"The man that shuns them dies."
Hymn 1:93.
Christ, or wisdom, obeyed or resisted, Prov. 8. 31 35 36.
1 Thus saith the wisdom of the Lord,
"Bless'd is the man that hears my word,
"Keeps daily watch before my gates,
"And at my feet for mercy waits.
2 "The soul that seeks me shall obtain
"Immortal wealth and heavenly gain;
"Immortal life is his reward,
"Life, and the favour of the Lord.
3 "But the vile wretch that flies from me
"Doth his own soul an injury;
Fools that against my grace rebel
"Seek death, and love the road to hell."
Hymn 1:94.
Justification by faith, not by works; or, The law
condemns, grace justifies, Rom. 3. 19-22.
1 Vain are the hopes the sons of men
On their own works have built;
Their hearts by nature all unclean,
And all their actions guilt.
2 Let Jew and Gentile stop their mouths
Without a murmuring word,
And the whole race of Adam stand
Guilty before the Lord.
3 In vain we ask God's righteous law
To justify us now,
Since to convince and to condemn
Is all the law can do.
4 Jesus, how glorious is thy grace,
When in thy name we trust,
Our faith receives a righteousness
That makes the sinner just.
Hymn 1:95.
Regeneration, John 1. 13. and 3. 3 &c.
1 Not all the outward forms on earth,
Nor rites that God has given,
Nor will of man, nor blood, nor birth,
Can raise a soul to heaven.
2 The sovereign will of God alone
Creates us heirs of grace;
Born in the image of his Son,
A new peculiar race.
3 The Spirit like some heavenly wind
Blows on the sons of flesh,
New models all the carnal mind,
And forms the man afresh.
4 Our quicken'd souls awake, and rise
From the long sleep of death;
On heavenly things we fix our eyes,
And praise employs our breath.
Hymn 1:96.
Election excludes boasting, 1 Cor. 1. 26-31.
1 But few among the carnal wise,
But few of noble race,
Obtain the favour of thine eyes,
Almighty King of Grace.
2 He takes the men of meanest name
For sons and heirs of God;
And thus he pours abundant shame
On honourable blood.
3 He calls the fool, and makes him know
The mysteries of his grace,
To bring aspiring wisdom low,
And all its pride abase.
4 Nature has all its glories lost
When brought before his throne;
No flesh shall in his presence boast
But in the Lord alone.
Hymn 1:97.
Christ our wisdom, righteousness, &c. 1 Cor. 1. 30.
1 Bury'd in shadows of the night
We lie till Christ restores the light:
Wisdom descends to heal the blind,
And chase the darkness of the mind.
2 Our guilty souls are drown'd in tears
Till his atoning blood appears,
Then we awake from deep distress,
And sing, "The Lord our Righteousness."
3 Our very frame is mix'd with sin,
His Spirit makes our natures clean;
Such virtues from his sufferings flow,
At once to cleanse and pardon too.
4 Jesus beholds where Satan reigns,
Binding his slaves in heavy chains;
He sets the prisoners free, and breaks
The iron bondage from our necks.
5 Poor helpless worms in thee possess
Grace, wisdom, power, and righteousness;
Thou art our mighty All, and we
Give our whole selves, O Lord, to thee.
Hymn 1:98.
The same.
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 array'd,
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 cursed chain.
5 Lord, we adore thy ways
To bring us near to God,
Thy sovereign power, thy healing grace,
And thine atoning blood.
Hymn 1:99.
Stones made children of Abraham; or, Grace not
conveyed by religious parents, Matt. 3. 9.
1 Vain are the hopes that rebels place
Upon their birth and blood,
Descended from a pious race;
(Their fathers now with God.)
2 He from the caves of earth and hell
Can take the hardest stones,
And fill the house of Abra'm well
With new-created sons.
3 Such wondrous power doth he possess
Who form'd our mortal frame,
Who call'd the world from emptiness,
The world obey'd and came.
Hymn 1:100.
Believe and be saved, John 3. 16 17 18.
1 Not to condemn the sons of men
Did Christ, the Son of God, appear;
No weapons in his hands are seen,
No flaming sword, nor thunder there.
2 Such was the pity of our God,
He lov'd the race of man so well,
He sent his Son to bear our load
Of sins, and save our souls from hell.
3 Sinners, believe the Saviour's word,
Trust in his mighty name and live;
A thousand joys his lips afford,
His hands a thousand blessings give.
4 But vengeance and damnation lies
On rebels who refuse the grace;
Who God's eternal Son despise
The hottest hell shall be their place.
Hymn 1:101.
Joy in heaven for a repenting sinner, Luke 15. 7-10.
1 Who can describe the joys that rise
Thro' all the courts of Paradise
To see a prodigal return,
To see an heir of glory born?
2 With joy the Father doth approve
The fruit of his eternal love;
The Son with joy looks down and sees
The purchase of his agonies.
3 The Spirit takes delight to view
The holy soul he form'd anew;
And saints and angels join to sing
The growing empire of their King.
Hymn 1:102.
The beatitudes, Matt. 5. 3-12.
1 [Bless'd are the humble souls that see
Their emptiness and poverty;
Treasures of grace to them are given,
And crowns of joy laid up in heaven.]
2 [Bless'd are the men of broken heart,
Who mourn for sin with inward smart;
The blood of Christ divinely flows,
A healing balm for all their woes.]
3 [Bless'd are the meek, who stand afar
From rage and passion, noise and war;
God will secure their happy state,
And plead their cause against the great.]
4 [Bless'd are the souls that thirst for grace,
Hunger and long for righteousness,
They shall be well supply'd and fed,
With living streams and living bread.]
5 [Bless'd are the men whose bowels move
And melt with sympathy and love;
From Christ the Lord shall they obtain
Like sympathy and love again.]
6 [Bless'd are the pure, whose hearts are clean
From the defiling powers of sin,
With endless pleasure they shall see
A God of spotless purity.]
7 [Bless'd are the men of peaceful life
Who quench the coals of growing strife,
They shall be call'd the heirs of bliss,
The sons of God, the God of peace.]
8 [Bless'd are the sufferers who partake
Of pain and shame for Jesus' sake;
Their souls shall triumph in the Lord,
Glory and joy are their reward.]
Hymn 1:103.
Not ashamed of the gospel, C Tim. 1. 12.
1 I'm not asham'd to own my Lord,
Or to defend his cause,
Maintain the honour of his word,
The glory of his cross.
2 Jesus, my God, I know his Name,
His Name is all my trust,
Nor will he put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.
3 Firm as his throne his promise stands,
And he can well secure
What I've committed to his hands
Till the decisive hour.
4 Then will he own my worthless name
Before his Father's face,
And in the new Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.
Hymn 1:104.
A state of nature and of grace, 1 Cor. 6. 10 11.
1 Not the malicious or profane,
The wanton or the proud,
Nor thieves, nor slanderers shall obtain
The kingdom of our God.
2 Surprising grace! and such were we
By nature and by sin,
Heirs of immortal misery,
Unholy and unclean.
3 But we are wash'd in Jesus' blood,
We're pardon'd thro' his Name;
And the good Spirit of our God
Has sanctify'd our frame.
4 O for a persevering power
To keep thy just commands!
We would defile our hearts no more,
No more pollute our hands.
Hymn 1:105.
Heaven invisible and holy, 1 Cor. 2. 9 10. Rev. 21. 27.
1 Nor eye has seen, nor ear has heard,
Nor sense nor reason known
What joys the Father hath prepar'd
For those that love the Son.
2 But the good Spirit of the Lord
Reveals a heaven to come:
The beams of glory in his word
Allure and guide us home.
3 Pure are the joys above the sky,
And all the region peace;
No wanton lips, nor envious eye
Can see or taste the bliss.
4 Those holy gates for ever bar
Pollution, sin, and shame;
None shall obtain admittance there
But followers of the Lamb.
5 He keeps the Father's book of life,
There all their names are found;
The hypocrite in vain shall strive
To tread the heavenly ground.
Hymn 1:106.
Dead to sin by the cross of Christ, Rom. 6. 1 2 6.
1 Shall we go on to sin
Because thy grace abounds,
Or crucify the Lord again,
And open all his wounds?
2 Forbid it, mighty God,
Nor let it e'er be said
That we whose sins are crucify'd
Should raise them from the dead.
3 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 1:107.
The fall and recovery of man; or, Christ and Satan
at enmity, Gen. 3 1 15 17 Gal. 4. 4. Col. 2. 15.
1 Deceiv'd by subtle snares of hell
Adam our head, our father fell,
When Satan in the serpent hid
Propos'd the fruit that God forbid.
2 Death was the threatening; death began
To take possession of the man;
His unborn race receiv'd the wound,
And heavy curses smote the ground.
3 But Satan found a worse reward;
Thus saith the vengeance of the Lord,
"Let everlasting hatred be
"Betwixt the woman's seed and thee.
4 "The woman's seed shall be my Son,
He shall destroy what thou hast done,
"Shall break thy head, and only feel
"Thy malice raging at his heel."
5 [He spake; and bid four thousand years
Roll on;--at length his Son appears;
Angels with joy descend to earth,
And sing the young Redeemer's birth.
6 Lo, by the sons of hell he dies;
But, as he hung 'twixt earth and skies,
He gave their prince a fatal blow,
And triumph'd o'er the powers below.]
Hymn 1:108.
Christ unseen and beloved, 1 Pet. 1. 8.
1 Not with our mortal eyes
Have we beheld the Lord,
Yet we rejoice to hear his Name,
And love him in his word.
2 On earth we want the sight
Of our Redeemer's face,
Yet, Lord, our inmost thoughts delight
To dwell upon thy grace.
3 And when we taste thy love,
Our joys divinely grow
Unspeakable, like those above,
And heaven begins below.
Hymn 1:109.
The value of Christ and his righteousness, Phil. 3. 7 8 9.
1 No more, my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done;
I quit the hopes I held before
To trust the merits of thy Son.
2 Now for the love I bear his Name,
What was my gain I count my loss,
My former pride I call my shame,
And nail my glory to his cross.
3 Yes, and I must and will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus' sake
O may my soul be found in him,
And of his righteousness partake.
4 The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before thy throne;
But faith can answer thy demands
By pleading what my Lord has done.
Hymn 1:110.
Death and immediate glory, 2 Cor. 5. 1 5-8.
1 There is a house not made with hands,
Eternal and on high:
And here my spirit waiting stands
Till God shall bid it fly.
2 Shortly this prison of my clay
Must be dissolv'd and fall,
Then, O my soul, with joy obey
Thy heavenly Father's call.
3 'Tis he by his almighty grace
That forms thee fit for heaven,
And as an earnest of the place,
Has his own Spirit given.
4 We walk by faith of joys to come,
Faith lives upon his word;
But while the body is our home
We're absent from the Lord.
5 'Tis pleasant to believe thy grace,
But we had rather see;
We would be absent from the flesh,
And present, Lord, with thee.
Hymn 1:111.
Salvation by grace, Titus 3. 3-7.
1 [Lord, we confess our numerous faults,
How great our guilt has been!
Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,
And all our lives were sin.
2 But O, my soul, for ever praise,
For ever love his Name,
Who turns thy feet from dangerous ways
Of folly, sin, and shame.]
3 ['Tis not by works of righteousness
Which our own hands have done;
But we are sav'd by sovereign grace
Abounding thro' his Son.]
4 'Tis from the mercy of our God
That all our hopes begin;
'Tis by the water and the blood
Our souls are wash'd from sin.
5 'Tis thro' the purchase of his death,
Who hung upon the tree,
The Spirit is sent down to breathe
On such dry bones as we.
6 Rais'd from the dead we live anew;
And justify'd by grace
We shall appear in glory too,
And see our Father's face.
Hymn 1:112.
The brazen serpent; or, Looking to Jesus,
John 3. 14 15 16.
1 So did the Hebrew prophet raise
The brazen serpent high,
The wounded felt immediate ease,
The camp forbore to die.
2 "Look upward in the dying hour,
And live," the prophet cries;
But Christ performs a nobler cure,
When Faith lifts up her eyes.
3 High on the cross the Saviour hung,
High in the heavens he reigns:
Here sinners by th' old serpent stung
Look, and forget their pains.
4 When God's own Son is lifted up,
A dying world revives,
The Jew beholds the glorious hope,
Th' expiring Gentile lives.
Hymn 1:113.
Abraham's blessings on the Gentiles, Gen. 17. 7.
Rom. 15. 8. Mark 10. 14.
1 How large the promise! how divine,
To Abra'am and his seed!
"I'll be a God to thee and thine,
"Supplying all their need."
2 The words of his extensive love
From age to age endure;
The angel of the covenant proves,
And seals the blessing sure.
3 Jesus the ancient faith confirms
To our great fathers given;
He takes young children to his arms,
And calls them heirs of heaven.
4 Our God, how faithful are his ways!
His love endures the same;
Nor from the promise of his grace
Blots out the children's name.
Hymn 1:114.
The same, Rom. 11. 16 17.
1 Gentiles by nature we belong
To the wild olive wood;
Grace took us from the barren tree,
And grafts us in the good.
2 With the same blessings grace endows
The Gentile and the Jew;
If pure and holy be the root,
Such are the branches too.
3 Then let the children of the saints
Be dedicate to God;
Pour out thy Spirit on them, Lord,
And wash them in thy blood.
4 Thus to the parents and their seed
Shall thy salvation come,
And numerous households meet at last
In one eternal home.
Hymn 1:115.
Conviction of sin by the law, Rom. 7. 8 9 14 24.
1 Lord, how secure my conscience was,
And felt no inward dread!
I was alive without the law,
And thought my sins were dead.
2 My hopes of heaven were firm and bright,
But since the precept came
With a convincing power and light,
I find how vile I am.
3 [My guilt appear'd but small before,
Till terribly I saw
How perfect, holy, just, and pure,
Was thine eternal law.
4 Then felt my soul the heavy load,
My sins reviv'd again,
I had provok'd a dreadful God,
And all my hopes were slain.]
5 I'm like a helpless captive sold
Under the power of sin;
I cannot do the good I would,
Nor keep my conscience clean.
6 My God, I cry with every breath
For some kind power to save,
To break the yoke of sin and death,
And thus redeem the slave.
Hymn 1:116.
Love to God and our neighbour, Matt. 22. 37-40.
1 Thus saith the first, the great command,
"Let all thy inward powers unite
"To love thy Maker and thy God,
"With utmost vigour and delight.
2 "Then shall thy neighbour next in place
"Share thine affections and esteem,
"And let thy kindness to thyself
"Measure and rule thy love to him."
3 This is the sense that Moses spoke,
This did the prophets preach and prove,
For want of this the law is broke,
And the whole law's fulfill'd by love.
4 But O! how base our passions are!
How cold our charity and zeal!
Lord, fill our souls with heavenly fire,
Or we shall ne'er perform thy will.
Hymn 1:117.
Election sovereign and free, Rom. 9. 21 22 23 20.
1 Behold the potter and the clay,
He forms his vessels as he please:
Such is our God, and such are we,
The subjects of his high decrees.
2 [Doth not the workman's power extend
O'er all the mass, which part to choose,
And mould it for a nobler end,
And which to leave for viler use?]
3 May not the sovereign Lord on high
Dispense his favours as he will,
Choose some to life while others die,
And yet be just and gracious still?
4 [What if to make his terror known
He lets his patience long endure,
Suffering vile rebels to go on
And seal their own destruction sure!
5 What if he means to shew his grace,
And his electing love employs
To mark out some of mortal race,
And form them fit for heavenly joys!]
6 Shall man reply against the Lord,
And call his Maker's ways unjust,
The thunder of whose dreadful word
Can crush a thousand worlds to dust?
7 But, O my soul, if truths so bright
Should dazzle and confound thy sight
Yet still his written will obey,
And wait the great decisive day.
8 Then shall he make his justice known,
And the whole world before his throne
With joy or terror shall confess
The glory of his righteousness.
Hymn 1:118.
Moses and Christ; or, Sins against the law and
gospel, John 1. 17. Heb. 3. 3 5 6 and 10. 28 29.
1 The law by Moses came,
But peace, and truth, and love,
Were brought by Christ, a nobler name,
Descending from above.
2 Amidst the house of God
Their different works were done;
Moses a faithful servant stood,
But Christ a faithful Son.
3 Then to his new commands
Be strict obedience paid;
O'er all his Father's house he stands
The sovereign and the head.
4 The man that durst despise
The law that Moses brought,
Behold! how terribly he dies
For his presumptuous fault.
5 But sorer vengeance falls
On that rebellious race,
Who hate to hear when Jesus calls,
And dare resist his grace.
Hymn 1:119.
'The different success of the gospel, 1 Cor. 1. 23 24.
2 Cor. 2. 16. 1 Cor. 3. 6 7.
1 Christ and his cross is all our theme;
The mysteries that we speak
Are scandal in the Jew's esteem,
And folly to the Greek.
2 But souls enlighten'd from above
With joy receive the word;
They see what wisdom, power, and love
Shines in their dying Lord.
3 The vital savour of his Name
Restores their fainting breath;
But unbelief perverts the same
To guilt, despair, and death.
4 Till God diffuse his graces down,
Like showers of heavenly rain,
In vain Apollos sows the ground,
And Paul may plant in vain.
Hymn 1:120.
Faith of things unseen, Heb. 11. 1 3 8 10.
1 Faith is the brightest evidence
Of things beyond our sight,
Breaks thro' the clouds of flesh and sense,
And dwells in heavenly light.
2 It sets times past in present view,
Brings distant prospects home,
Of things a thousand years ago,
Or thousand years to come.
3 By faith we know the worlds were made
By God's almighty word;
Abra'm to unknown countries led,
By faith obey'd the Lord.
4 He sought a city fair and high,
Built by th' eternal hands;
And faith assures us, tho' we die,
That heavenly building stands.
Hymn 1:121.
Children devoted to God, Gen. 17. 7 10. Acts 16.
14 15 33. (For those who practise infant Baptism.)
1 Thus saith the mercy of the Lord,
"I'll be a God to thee;
"I'll bless thy numerous race, and they
"Shall be a seed for me."
2 Abra'm believ'd the promis'd grace,
And gave his sons to God;
But water seals the blessing now,
That once was seal'd with blood.
3 Thus Lydia sanctify'd her house
When she receiv'd the word;
Thus the believing jailor gave
His household to the Lord.
4 Thus later saints, eternal King,
Thine ancient truth embrace;
To thee their infant-offspring bring,
And humbly claim the grace.
Hymn 1:122.
Believers buried with Christ in baptism, Rom. 6. 3 &c.
1 Do we not know that solemn word,
That we are bury'd with the Lord,
Baptis'd into his death, and then
Put off the body of our sin?
2 Our souls receive diviner breath,
Rais'd from corruption, guilt, and death;
So from the grave did Christ arise,
And lives to God above the skies.
3 No more let sin or Satan reign
Over our mortal flesh again;
The various lusts we serv'd before
Shall have dominion now no more.
Hymn 1:123.
The repenting prodigal, Luke 15. 13 &c.
1 Behold the wretch whose lust and wine
Had wasted his estate,
He begs a share among the swine,
To taste the husks they eat!
2 "I die with hunger here (he cries)
"I starve in foreign lands,
"My father's house has large supplies,
"And bounteous are his hands.
3 "I'll go, and with a mournful tongue
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