Hymns and Spiritual Songs
by
Isaac Watts

Part 3 out of 7



"Fall down before his face,
"Father, I've done thy justice wrong,
"Nor can deserve thy grace."

4 He said, and hasten'd to his home,
To seek his father's love;
The father saw the rebel come,
And all his bowels move.

5 He ran, and fell upon his neck,
Embrac'd and kiss'd his son;
The rebel's heart with sorrow brake
For follies he had done.

6 "Take off his clothes of shame and sin,"
(The father gives command)
"Dress him in garments white and clean,
"With rings adorn his hand.

7 "A day of feasting I ordain,
"Let mirth and joy abound;
"My son was dead, and lives again,
"Was lost, and now is found."


Hymn 1:124.
The first and second Adam, Rom. 5. 12 &c.

1 Deep in the dust before thy throne
Our guilt and our disgrace we own;
Great God, we own th' unhappy name
Whence sprang our nature and our shame.

2 Adam, the sinner: At his fall
Death like a conqueror seiz'd us all;
A thousand new-born babes are dead
By fatal union to their head.

3 But whilst our spirits fill'd with awe
Behold the terrors of thy law,
We sing the honours of thy grace,
That sent to save our ruin'd race.

4 We sing thine everlasting Son,
Who join'd our nature to his own;
Adam the second, from the dust
Raises the ruins of the first.

5 [By the rebellion of one man
Thro' all his seed the mischief ran;
And by one man's obedience now
Are all his seed made righteous too.]

6 Where sin did reign, and death abound,
There have the sons of Adam found
Abounding life; there glorious grace
Reigns thro' the Lord our righteousness.


Hymn 1:125.
Christ's compassion to the weak and tempted, Heb. 4.
15 16. and 5. 7. Matt. 12. 20.

1 With joy we meditate the grace
Of our High Priest above;
His heart is made of tenderness,
His bowels melt with love.

2 Touch'd with a sympathy within
He knows our feeble frame;
He knows what sore temptations mean,
For he has felt the same.

3 But spotless, innocent, and pure
The great Redeemer stood,
While Satan's fiery darts he bore,
And did resist to blood.

4 He in the days of feeble flesh
Pour'd out his cries and tears,
And in his measure feels afresh
What every member bears.

5 [He'll never quench the smoking flax,
But raise it to a flame;
The bruised reed he never breaks,
Nor scorns the meanest name.]

6 Then let our humble faith address
His mercy and his power,
We shall obtain delivering grace
In the distressing hour.


Hymn 1:126.
Charity and uncharitableness, Rom. 14. 17 19.
1 Cor. 10. 32.

1 Not different food, or different dress
Compose the kingdom of our Lord,
But peace and joy and righteousness,
Faith and obedience to his word.

2 When weaker Christians we despise
We do the gospel mighty wrong,
For God the gracious and the wise
Receives the feeble with the strong.

3 Let pride and wrath be banish'd hence,
Meekness and love our souls pursue;
Nor shall our practice give offence
To saints, the Gentile or the Jew.


Hymn 1:127.
Christ's invitation to sinners; or, Humility and
pride, Matt. 11. 28 29 30.

1 "Come hither, all ye weary souls,
"Ye heavy laden sinners, come,
"I'll give you rest from all your toils,
"And raise you to my heavenly home.

2 "They shall find rest that learn of me;
"I'm of a meek and lowly mind;
"But passion rages like the sea,
"And pride is restless as the wind.

3 "Blest is the man whose shoulders take
"My yoke, and bear it with delight;
"My yoke is easy to his neck,
"My grace shall make the burden light."

4 Jesus, we come at thy command,
With faith and hope and humble zeal
Resign our spirits to thy hand,
To mould and guide us at thy will.


Hymn 1:128.
The Apostles' commission; or, The gospel attested by
miracles, Mark 16. 15 &c. Matt. 28. 18 &c.

1 "Go preach my gospel, (saith the Lord,)
"Bid the whole earth my grace receive;
"He shall be sav'd that trusts my word,
"He shall be damn'd that won't believe.

2 "[I'll make your great commission known,
"And ye shall prove my gospel true
"By all the works that I have done,
"By all the wonders ye shall do.

3 "Go heal the sick, go raise the dead,
"Go cast out devils in my name;
"Nor let my prophets be afraid,
"Tho' Greeks reproach, and Jews blaspheme.]

4 "Teach all the nations my commands,
"I'm with you till the world shall end;
"All power is trusted to my hands,
"I can destroy, and I defend."

He spake, and light shone round his head,
On a bright cloud to heaven he rode;
They to the farthest nations spread
The grace of their ascended God.


Hymn 1:129.
Submission and deliverance; or, Abraham offering
his son, Gen. 22. 6 &c.

1 Saints, at your Father's heavenly word
Give up your comforts to the Lord;
He shall restore what you resign,
Or grant you blessings more divine.

2 So Abraham with obedient hand,
Led forth his son at God's command,
The wood, the fire, the knife he took,
His arm prepar'd the dreadful stroke.

3 "Abraham, forbear, (the angel cry'd)
"Thy faith is known, thy love is try'd,
"Thy son shall live, and in thy seed
"Shall the whole earth be bless'd indeed."

4 Just in the last distressing hour
The Lord displays delivering power;
The mount of danger is the place
Where we shall see surprising grace.


Hymn 1:130.
Love and hatred, Phil. 2. 2. Eph. 4. 30 &c.

1 Now by the bowels of my God,
His sharp distress, his sore complaints,
By his last groans, his dying blood,
I charge my soul to love the saints.

2 Clamour, and wrath, and war be gone,
Envy and spite for ever cease,
Let bitter words no more be known
Amongst the saints, the sons of peace.

3 The Spirit, like a peaceful dove,
Flies from the realms of noise and strife;
Why should we vex and grieve his love,
Who seals our souls to heavenly life?

4 Tender and kind be all our thoughts,
Thro' all our lives let mercy run;
So God forgives our numerous faults
For the clear sake of Christ his Son.


Hymn 1:131.
The Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18. 10 &c.

1 Behold how sinners disagree,
The Publican and Pharisee!
One doth his righteousness proclaim,
The other owns his guilt and shame.

2 This man at humble distance stands,
And cries for grace with lifted hands;
That boldly rises near the throne,
And talks of duties he has done.

3 The Lord their different language knows,
And different answers he bestows;
The humble soul with grace he crowns,
Whilst on the proud his anger frowns.

4 Dear Father, let me never be
Join'd with the boasting Pharisee;
I have no merits of my own,
But plead the sufferings of thy Son.


Hymn 1:132.
Holiness and grace, Titus 2. 10-13.

1 So let our lips and lives express
The holy gospel we profess,
So let our works and virtues shine
To prove the doctrine all divine.

2 Thus shall we best proclaim abroad
The honours of our saviour God;
When the salvation reigns within,
And grace subdues the power of sin.

3 Our flesh and sense must be deny'd,
Passion and envy, lust and pride;
While justice, temperance, truth and love
Our inward piety approve.

4 Religion bears our spirits up,
While we expect that blessed hope,
The bright appearance of the Lord,
And faith stands leaning on his word.


Hymn 1:133.
Love and charity, 1 Cor. 13. 2-7 13.

1 Let Pharisees of high esteem
Their faith and zeal declare,
All their religion is a dream
If love be wanting there.

2 Love suffers long with patient eye,
Nor is provok'd in haste;
She lets the present injury die,
And long forgets the past.

3 [Malice and rage, those fires of hell,
She quenches with her tongue;
Hopes, and believes, and thinks no ill,
Tho' she endure the wrong.]

4 [She nor desires nor seeks to know
The scandals of the time;
Nor looks with pride on those below,
Nor envies those that climb.]

5 She lays her own advantage by
To seek her neighbour's good;
So God's own Son came down to die,
And bought our lives with blood.

6 Love is the grace that keeps her power
In all the realms above;
There faith and hope are known no more,
But saints for ever love.


Hymn 1:134.
Religion vain without love, 1 Cor. 13. 1 2 3.

1 Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech that angels use,
If love be absent, I am found
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.

2 Were I inspir'd to preach and tell
All that is done in heaven and hell,
Or could my faith the world remove,
Still I am nothing without love.

3 Should I distribute all my store
To feed the bowels of the poor,
Or give my body to the flame
To gain a martyr's glorious name;

4 If love to God and love to men
Be absent, all my hopes are vain;
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal
The work of love can e'er fulfil.


Hymn 1:135.
The love of Christ shed abroad in the heart,
Eph. 3. 16 &c.

1 Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell
By faith and love in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel
The joys that cannot be exprest.

2 Come, fill our hearts with inward strength,
Make our enlarged souls possess,
And learn the height, and breadth, and length
Of thine unmeasurable grace.

3 Now to the God whose power can do
More than our thoughts or wishes know,
Be everlasting honours done
By all the church, thro' Christ his Son.


Hymn 1:136.
Sincerity and hypocrisy; or, Formality in worship,
John 4. 24. Psalm 139. 23 24.

1 God is a spirit just and wise,
He sees our inmost mind;
In vain to heaven we raise our cries
And leave our souls behind.

2 Nothing but truth before his throne,
With honour can appear,
The painted hypocrites are known
Thro' the disguise they wear.

3 Their lifted eyes salute the skies,
Their bending knees the ground;
But God abhors the sacrifice
Where not the heart is found.

4 Lord, search my thoughts, and try my ways,
And make my soul sincere;
Then shall I stand before thy face,
And find acceptance there.


Hymn 1:137.
Salvation by grace in Christ, 2 Tim. 1. 9 10.

1 Now to the power of God supreme
Be everlasting honours given,
He saves from hell, (we bless his Name)
He calls our wandering feet to heaven.

2 Not for our duties or deserts,
But of his own abounding grace,
He works salvation in our hearts,
And forms a people for his praise.

3 'Twas his own purpose that begun
To rescue rebels doom'd to die;
He gave us grace in Christ his Son
Before he spread the starry sky.

4 Jesus the Lord appears at last,
And makes his Father's counsels known;
Declares the great transactions past,
And brings immortal blessings down.

5 He dies; and in that dreadful night
Did all the powers of hell destroy;
Rising he brought our heaven to light,
And took possession of the joy.


Hymn 1:138.
Saints in the hands of Christ, John 10. 28 29.

1 Firm as the earth thy gospel stands,
My Lord, my hope, my trust;
If I am found in Jesus' hands,
My soul can ne'er be lost.

2 His honour is engag'd to save
The meanest of his sheep,
All that his heavenly Father gave
His hands securely keep.

3 Nor death, nor hell shall e'er remove
His favourites from his breast;
In the dear bosom of his love
They must for ever rest.


Hymn 1:139.
Hope in the covenant; or, God's promise and truth
unchangeable, Heb. 6. 17 18 19.

1 How oft have sin and Satan strove
To rend my soul from thee, my God,
But everlasting is thy love,
And Jesus seals it with his blood.

2 The oath and promise of the Lord
Join to confirm the wondrous grace;
Eternal power performs the word,
And fills all heaven with endless praise.

3 Amidst temptations sharp and long
My soul to this dear refuge flies:
Hope is my anchor firm and strong,
While tempests blow, and billows rise.

4 The gospel bears my spirits up;
A faithful and unchanging God
Lays the foundation for my hope
In oaths, and promises, and blood.


Hymn 1:140.
A living and a dead faith. Collected from
several scriptures.

1 Mistaken souls! that dream of heaven,
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys, and sins forgiven,
While they are slaves to lust.

2 Vain are our fancies airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead,
None but a living power unites
To Christ the living head.

3 'Tis faith that changes all the heart;
'Tis faith that works by love;
That bids all sinful joys depart,
And lifts the thoughts above.

4 'Tis faith that conquers earth and hell
By a celestial power;
This is the grace that shall prevail
In the decisive hour.

5 [Faith must obey her Father's will
As well as trust his grace;
A pardoning God is jealous still
For his own holiness.

6 When from the curse he sets us free,
He makes our natures clean,
Nor would he send his Son to be
The minister of sin.

7 His Spirit purifies our frame,
And seals our peace with God;
Jesus, and his salvation, came
By water and by blood.]


Hymn 1:141.
The humiliation and exaltation of Christ,
Isa. 53. 1-5 10 11 12.

1 Who has believ'd thy word,
Or thy salvation known?
Reveal thine arm, almighty Lord,
And glorify thy Son.

2 The Jews esteem'd him here
Too mean for their belief:
Sorrows his chief acquaintance were,
And his companion, grief.

3 They turn'd their eyes away,
And treated him with scorn;
But 'twas their grief upon him lay,
Their sorrows he has borne.

4 'Twas for the stubborn Jews,
And Gentiles then unknown,
The God of justice pleas'd to bruise
His best beloved Son.

5 "But I'll prolong his days,
"And make his kingdom stand,
"My pleasure, (saith the God of grace)
"Shall prosper in his hand.

6 ["His joyful soul shall see
"The purchase of his pain,
"And by his knowledge justify
"The guilty sons of men.]

7 ["Ten thousand captive slaves,
"Releas'd from death and sin,
"Shall quit their prisons and their graves;
"And own his power divine.]

8 ["Heaven shall advance my Son
"To joys that earth deny'd;
"Who saw the follies men had done,
"And bore their sins, and dy'd."]


Hymn 1:142.
The same, Isa. 53. 6-9 12.

1 Like sheep we went astray,
And broke the fold of God,
Each wandering in a different way,
But all the downward road.

2 How dreadful was the hour
When God our wanderings laid,
And did at once his vengeance pour
Upon the Shepherd's head!

3 How glorious was the grace
When Christ sustain'd the stroke!
His life and blood the Shepherd pays,
A ransom for the flock.

4 His honour and his breath
Were taken both away;
Join'd with the wicked in his death,
And made as vile as they.

5 But God shall raise his head
O'er all the sons of men,
And make him see a numerous seed
To recompense his pain.

6 "I'll give him, (saith the Lord)
"A portion with the strong;
"He shall possess a large reward,
"And hold his honours long."


Hymn 1:143.
Characters of the children of God,
from several scriptures.

1 So new born babes desire the breast
To feed, and grow, and thrive:
So saints with joy the gospel taste,
And by the gospel live.

2 [With inward gust their heart approves
All that the word relates;
They love the men their Father loves,
And hate the works he hates.]

3 [Not all the flattering baits on earth
Can make them slaves to lust;
They can't forget their heavenly birth,
Nor grovel in the dust.

4 Not all the chains that tyrants use
Shall bind their souls to vice;
Faith like a conqueror can produce
A thousand victories.]

5 [Grace like an uncorrupting seed
Abides and reigns within;
Immortal principles forbid
The sons of God to sin.]

6 [Not by the terrors of a slave
Do they perform his will,
But with the noblest powers they have
His sweet commands fulfil.]

7 They find access at every hour,
To God within the veil;
Hence they derive a quickening power,
And joys that never fail.

8 O happy souls! O glorious state
Of overflowing grace!
To dwell so near their Father's seat,
And see his lovely face.

9 Lord, I address thy heavenly throne;
Call me a child of thine,
Send down the Spirit of thy Son
To form my heart divine.

10 There shed thy choicest loves abroad,
And make my comforts strong:
Then shall I say, "My Father God,"
With an unwavering tongue.


Hymn 1:144.
The witnessing and sealing Spirit, Rom. 8. 14 16.
Eph. 1. 13 14.

1 Why should the children of a King
Go mourning all their days?
Great Comforter, descend and bring
Some tokens of thy grace.

2 Dost thou not dwell in all the saints,
And seal the heirs of heaven?
When wilt thou banish my complaints,
And shew my sins forgiven?

3 Assure my conscience of her part
In the Redeemer's blood;
And bear thy witness with my heart,
That I am born of God.

4 Thou art the earnest of his love,
The pledge of joys to come;
And thy soft wings, celestial dove,
Will safe convey me home.


Hymn 1:145.
Christ and Aaron. Taken from Heb. 7. and 9.

1 Jesus, in thee our eyes behold
A thousand glories more
Than the rich gems and polish'd gold
The sons of Aaron wore.

2 They first their own burnt-offerings brought
To purge themselves from sin;
Thy life was pure without a spot,
And all thy nature clean.

3 [Fresh blood as constant as the day
Was on their altar spilt;
But thy one offering takes away
For ever all our guilt.]

4 [Their priesthood ran thro' several hands.
For mortal was their race;
Thy never-changing office stands
Eternal as thy days.]

5 [Once in the circuit of a year
With blood, but not his own,
Aaron within the veil appears
Before the golden throne;

6 But Christ by his own powerful blood
Ascends above the skies,
And in the presence of our God
Shews his own sacrifice.]

7 Jesus, the King of Glory, reigns
On Sion's heavenly hill,
Looks like a lamb that has been slain,
And wears his priesthood still.

8 He ever lives to intercede
Before his Father's face;
Give him, my soul, thy cause to plead,
Nor doubt the Father's grace.


Hymn 1:146.
Characters of Christ, borrowed from inanimate
things, in scripture.

1 Go, worship at Immanuel's feet,
See in his face what wonders meet;
Earth is too narrow to express
His worth, his glory, or his grace.

2 [The whole creation can afford
But some faint shadows of my Lord:
Nature to make his beauties known
Must mingle colours not her own.]

3 [Is he compar'd to wine or bread?
Dear Lord, our souls would thus be fed;
That flesh, that dying blood of thine,
Is bread of life, is heavenly wine.]

4 [Is he a tree? The world receives
Salvation from his healing leaves;
That righteous branch, that fruitful bough,
Is David's root and offspring too.]

5 [Is he a rose? Not Sharon yields
Such fragrancy in all her fields:
Or if the lily he assume,
The vallies bless the rich perfume.]

6 [Is he a vine? His heavenly root
Supplies the boughs with life and fruit:
O let a lasting union join
My soul the branch to Christ the vine:

7 [Is he the head? Each member lives,
And owns the vital powers he gives;
The saints below, and saints above,
Join'd by his Spirit and his love.]

8 [Is he a fountain? There I bathe,
And heal the plague of sin and death
These waters all my soul renew,
And cleanse my spotted garments too.]

9 [Is he a fire? he'll purge my dross,
But the true gold sustains no loss;
Like a refiner shall he sit,
And tread the refuse with his feet.]

10 [Is he a rock? How firm he proves!
The rock of ages never moves;
Yet the sweet streams that from him flow
Attend us all the desert thro'.]

11 [Is he a way? He leads to God,
The path is drawn in lines of blood;
There would I walk with hope and zeal,
Till I arrive at Sion's hill.]

12 [Is he a door? I'll enter in
Behold the pastures large and green,
A paradise divinely fair,
None but the sheep have freedom there.]

13 [Is he design'd a corner-stone,
For men to build their heaven upon?
I'll make him my foundation too,
Nor fear the plots of hell below.]

14 [Is he a temple? I adore
Th'indwelling majesty and power;
And still to this most holy place,
Whene'er I pray, I turn my face.]

15 [Is he a star? He breaks the night,
Piercing the shades with dawning light;
I know his glories from afar,
I know the bright, the morning-star.]

16 [Is he a sun? His beams are grace,
His course is joy, and righteousness;
Nations rejoice when he appears
To chase their clouds, and dry their tears.

17 O let me climb those higher skies,
Where storms and darkness never rise!
There he displays his powers abroad,
And shines, and reigns th'incarnate God.]

18 Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars,
Nor heaven his full resemblance bears;
His beauties we can never trace,
Till we behold him face to face.


Hymn 1:147.
The names and titles of Christ, from several scriptures.

1 ['Tis from the treasures of his word
I borrow titles for my Lord?
Nor art, nor nature can supply
Sufficient forms of majesty.

2 Bright image of the Father's face,
Shining with undiminish'd rays;
Th' eternal God's eternal Son,
The heir, and partner of his throne.]

3 The King of kings, the Lord most high,
Writes his own Name upon his thigh:
He wears a garment dipt in blood,
And breaks the nations with his rod.

4 Where grace can neither melt nor move
The Lamb resents his injur'd love,
Awakes his wrath without delay,
And Judah's Lion tears the prey.

5 But when for works of peace he comes,
What winning titles he assumes!
"Light of the World, and Life of Men;"
Nor bears those characters in vain.

6 With tender pity in his heart
He acts the Mediator's part;
A friend and brother he appears,
And well fulfils the names he wears.

7 At length the Judge his throne ascends,
Divides the rebels from his friends,
And saints in full fruition prove
His rich variety of love.


Hymn 1:148. As the 148th Psalm.
The same.

1 [With cheerful voice I sing
The titles of my Lord,
And borrow all the names
Of honour from his word:
Nature and art
Can ne'er supply
Sufficient forms
Of majesty.

2 In Jesus we behold
His Father's glorious face,
Shining for ever bright
With mild and lovely rays:
Th' eternal God's
Eternal Son
Inherits and
Partakes the throne.]

3 The sovereign King of kings,
The Lord of lords most high,
Writes his own name upon
His garment and his thigh:
His Name is call'd
"The Word of God;"
He rules the earth
With iron rod.

4 Where promises and grace
Can neither melt nor move,
The angry Lamb resents
The injuries of his love;
Awakes his wrath
Without delay,
As lions roar
And tear the prey.

5 But when for works of peace
The great Redeemer comes,
What gentle characters,
What titles he assumes!
"Light of the world,
"And Life of men"
Nor will he bear
Those names in vain.

6 Immense compassion reigns
In our Immanuel's heart,
When he descends to act
A Mediator's part:
He is a friend
And brother too
Divinely kind,
Divinely true.

7 At length the Lord the Judge
His awful throne ascends,
And drives the rebels far
From favourites and friends:
Then shall the saints
Completely prove
The heights and depths
Of all his love.


Hymn 1:149.
The offices of Christ, from several scriptures.

1 Join all the names of love and power
That ever men or angels bore;
All are too mean to speak his worth,
Or set Immanuel's glory forth.

2 But O what condescending ways
He takes to teach his heavenly grace!
My eyes with joy and wonder see
What forms of love he bears for me.

3 [The "Angel of the covenant" stands
With his commission in his hands,
Sent from his Father's milder throne,
To make the great Salvation known.]

4 Great Prophet let me bless thy Name;
By thee the joyful tidings came,
Of wrath appeas'd, of sins forgiven,
Of hell subdu'd, and peace with heaven.]

5 [My bright Example, and my Guide,
I would be walking near thy side;
O let me never run astray,
Nor follow the forbidden way!]

6 [I love my Shepherd, he shall keep
My wandering soul among his sheep:
He feeds his flock, he calls their names,
And in his bosom bears the lambs.]

7 [My surety undertakes my cause,
Answering his Father's broken laws;
Behold my soul at freedom set;
My surety paid the dreadful debt.]

8 [Jesus, my great High Priest has dy'd,
I seek no sacrifice beside;
His blood did once for all atone,
And now it pleads before the throne.]

9 [My advocate appears on high,
The Father lays his thunder by;
Not all that earth or hell can say,
Shall turn my Father's heart away.]

10 [My Lord, my Conqu'ror and my King,
Thy sceptre and thy sword I sing;
Thine is the victory, and I sit
A joyful subject at thy feet.]

11 [Aspire my soul, to glorious deeds,
The "Captain of salvation" leads;
March on, nor fear to win the day,
Tho' death and hell obstruct the way.

12 Should death and hell, and powers unknown
Put all their forms of mischief on,
I shall be safe; for Christ displays
Salvation in more sovereign ways.]


Hymn 1:150. As the 149th Psalm.
The same.

1 Join all the glorious names
Of wisdom, love, and power,
That ever mortals knew,
That angels ever bore:
All are too mean
To speak his worth,
Too mean to set
My Saviour forth.

2 But O what gentle terms,
What condescending ways
Doth our Redeemer use
To teach his heavenly grace!
Mine eyes with joy
And wonder see
What forms of love
He bears for me.

3 [Array'd in mortal flesh
He like an angel stands,
And holds the promises
And pardons in his hands:
Commission'd from
His Father's throne
To make his grace
To mortals known.]

4 [Great Prophet of my God,
My tongue would bless thy Name;
By thee the joyful news
Of our salvation came.
The joyful news
Of sins forgiven,
Of hell subdu'd,
And peace with heaven.]

5 [Be thou my counsellor,
My pattern and my guide,
And thro' this desert land
Still keep me near thy side:
O let my feet
Ne'er run astray,
Nor rove nor seek
The crooked way.]

6 [I love my Shepherd's voice,
His watchful eyes shall keep
My wandering soul among
The thousands of his sheep:
He feeds his flock,
He calls their names,
His bosom bears
The tender lambs.]

7 [To this dear surety's hand
Will I commit my cause;
He answers and fulfils
His Father's broken laws:
Behold my soul
At freedom set!
My surety paid
The dreadful debt.]

8 [Jesus my great high Priest
Offer'd his blood and dy'd;
My guilty conscience seeks
No sacrifice beside:
His powerful blood
Did once atone;
And now it pleads
Before the throne.]

9 [My Advocate appears
For my defence on high,
The Father bows his ear,
And lays his thunder by:
Not all that hell
Or sin can say
Shall turn his heart,
His love away.]

10 [My dear Almighty Lord,
My Conqu'ror and my King,
Thy sceptre and thy sword,
Thy reigning grace I sing:
Thine is the power;
Behold I sit
In willing bonds
Before thy feet.]

11 [Now let my soul arise,
And tread the tempter down
My captain leads me forth
To conquest and a crown.
A feeble saint
Shall win the day,
Tho' death and hell
Obstruct the way.]

12 Should all the hosts of death,
And powers of hell unknown,
Put their most dreadful forms
Of rage and mischief on;
I shall be safe,
For Christ displays
Superior power,
And guardian grace.


End of the First Book.



Hymns.

Book 2.

Composed on Divine Subjects.


Hymn 2:1.
A song of praise to God from Great Britain.

1 Nature with all her powers shall sing
God the Creator and the King;
Nor air, nor earth, nor skies, nor seas
Deny the tribute of their praise.

2 [Begin to make his glories known,
Ye seraphs that sit near his throne;
Tune your harps high, and spread the sound
To the creation's utmost bound.

3 All mortal things of meaner frame,
Exert your force and own his Name;
Whilst with our souls and with our voice
We sing his honours and our joys.]

4 [To him be sacred all we have
From the young cradle to the grave:
Our lips shall his loud wonders tell,
And every word a miracle.]

5 [This northern isle, our native land,
Lies safe in God th' Almighty's hand:
Our foes of victory dream in vain,
And wear the captivating chain.

6 He builds and guards the British throne,
And makes it gracious like his own,
Makes our successive princes kind,
And gives our dangers to the wind.]

7 Raise monumental praises high
To him that thunders thro' the sky,
And with an awful nod or frown
Shakes an aspiring tyrant down.

8 [Pillars of lasting brass proclaim
The triumphs of th' eternal Name;
While trembling nations read from far
The honours of the God of war.]

9 Thus let our flaming zeal employ
Our loftiest thoughts and loudest songs
Britain pronounce with warmest joy
Hosanna from ten thousand tongues.

10 Yet, mighty God, our feeble frame
Attempts in vain to reach thy Name;
The strongest notes that angels raise
Faint in the worship and the praise.


Hymn 2:2.
The death of a sinner.

1 My thoughts on awful subjects roll,
Damnation and the dead;
What horrors seize the guilty soul
Upon a dying bed!

2 Lingering about these mortal shores,
She makes a long delay,
Till like a flood with rapid force
Death sweeps the wretch away.

3 Then swift and dreadful she descends
Down to the fiery coast,
Amongst abominable fiends,
Herself a frightful ghost.

4 There endless crowds of sinners lie,
And darkness makes their chains;
Tortur'd with keen despair they cry,
Yet wait for fiercer pains.

5 Not all their anguish and their blood
For their old guilt atones,
Nor the compassions of a God
Shall hearken to their groans.

6 Amazing grace, that kept my breath,
Nor bid my soul remove,
Till I had learn'd my Saviour's death,
And well insur'd his love!


Hymn 2:3.
The death and burial of a saint.

1 Why do we mourn departing friends
Or shake at death's alarms?
'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends
To call them to his arms.

2 Are we not tending upward too
As fast as time can move?
Nor would we wish the hours more slow
To keep us from our love.

3 Why should we tremble to convey
Their bodies to the tomb?
There the dear flesh of Jesus lay,
And left a long perfume.

4 The graves of all his saints he bless'd,
And soften'd every bed;
Where should the dying members rest,
But with the dying head?

5 Thence he arose, ascending high,
And shew'd our feet the way;
Up to the Lord our flesh shall fly
At the great rising day.

6 Then let the last loud trumpet sound,
And bid our kindred rise,
Awake, ye nations under ground,
Ye saints, ascend the skies.


Hymn 2:4.
Salvation in the cross.

1 Here at thy cross, my dying God,
I lay my soul beneath thy love,
Beneath the droppings of thy blood,
Jesus, nor shall it e'er remove.

2 Not all that tyrants think or say,
With rage and lightning in their eyes,
Nor hell shall fright my heart away,
Should hell with all its legions rise.

3 Should worlds conspire to drive me thence,
Moveless and firm this heart should lie;
Resolv'd (for that's my last defence)
If I must perish, there to die.

4 But speak, my Lord, and calm my fear,
Am I not safe beneath thy, shade?
Thy vengeance will not strike me here,
Nor Satan dares my soul invade.

5 Yes, I'm secure beneath thy blood,
And all my foes shall lose their aim,
Hosanna to my dying God,
And my best honours to his Name.


Hymn 2:5.
Longing to praise Christ better.

1 Lord, when my thoughts with wonder roll
O'er the sharp sorrows of thy soul,
And read my Maker's broken laws
Repair'd and honour'd by thy cross;

2 When I behold death, hell and sin,
Vanquish'd by that dear blood of thine,
And see the man that groan'd and dy'd
Sit glorious by his Father's side;

3 My passions rise and soar above,
I'm wing'd with faith and fir'd with love;
Fain would I reach eternal things,
And learn the notes that Gabriel sings.

4 But my heart fails, my tongue complains,
For want of their immortal strains;
And in such humble notes as these
Must fall below thy victories.

5 Well, the kind minute must appear
When we shall leave these bodies here,
These clogs of clay, and mount on high,
To join the songs above the sky.


Hymn 2:6.
A morning song.

1 Once more, my soul, the rising day
Salutes thy waking eyes.
Once more, my voice, thy tribute pay
To him that rolls the skies.

2 Night unto night his name repeats,
The day renews the sound,
Wide as the heaven on which he sits
To turn the seasons round.

3 'Tis he supports my mortal frame,
My tongue shall speak his praise;
My sins would rouse his wrath to flame,
And yet his wrath delays.

4 On a poor worm thy power might tread,
And I could ne'er withstand;
Thy justice might have crush'd me dead,
But mercy held thine hand.

5 A thousand wretched souls are fled
Since the last setting sun,
And yet thou length'nest out my thread,
And yet my moments run.

6 Dear God, let all my hours be thine
Whilst I enjoy the light,
Then shall my sun in smiles decline,
And bring a pleasing night.


Hymn 2:7.
An evening song.

1 [Dread Sovereign, let my evening song
Like holy incense rise;
Assist the offerings of my tongue
To reach the lofty skies.

2 Thro' all the dangers of the day,
Thy hand was still my guard,
And still to drive my wants away
Thy mercy stood prepar'd.]

3 Perpetual blessings from above
Encompass me around,
But O how few returns of love
Hath my Creator found!

4 What have I done for him that dy'd
To save my wretched soul?
How are my follies multiply'd,
Fast as my minutes roll;

5 Lord, with this guilty heart of mine
To thy dear cross I flee,
And to thy grace my soul resign
To be renew'd by thee.

6 Sprinkled afresh with pardoning blood
I lay me down to rest,
As in th' embraces of my God,
Or on my Saviour's breast.


Hymn 2:8.
A hymn for morning or evening.

1 Hosanna, with a cheerful sound,
To God's upholding hand;
Ten thousand snares attend us round,
And yet secure we stand.

2 That was a most amazing power
That rais'd us with a word,
And every day and every hour
We lean upon the Lord.

3 The evening rests our weary head,
And angels guard the room;
We wake and we admire the bed
That was not made our tomb.

4 The rising morning can't assure
That we shall end the day,
For death stands ready at the door
To seize our lives away.

5 Our breath is forfeited by sin
To God's revenging law;
We own thy grace, immortal King,
In every gasp we draw.

6 God is our sun, whose daily light
Our joy and safety brings:
Our feeble flesh lies safe at night
Beneath his shady wings.


Hymn 2:9.
Godly sorrow arising from the sufferings of Christ.

1 Alas! and did my Saviour bleed,
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

2 [Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, thine,
And bath'd in its own blood,
While all expos'd to wrath divine
The glorious Sufferer stood.]

3 Was it for crimes that I had done
He groan'd upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

4 Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When God the mighty Maker dy'd
For man the creature's sin.

5 Thus might I hide my blushing face
While his dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

6 But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
'Tis all that I can do.


Hymn 2:10.
Parting with carnal joys.

1 My soul forsakes her vain delight,
And bids the world farewell
Base as the dirt beneath my feet,
And mischievous as hell.

2 No longer will I ask your love,
Nor seek your friendship more;
The happiness that I approve
Lies not within your power.

3 There's nothing round this spacious earth
That suits my large desire;
To boundless joy and solid mirth
My nobler thoughts aspire.

4 [Where pleasure rolls its living flood,
From sin and dross refin'd,
Still springing from the throne of God,
And fit to cheer the mind.

5 Th' Almighty Ruler of the sphere,
The glorious and the great,
Brings his own all-sufficience there,
To make our bliss complete.]

6 Had I the pinions of a dove,
I'd climb the heavenly road;
There sits my Saviour dress'd in love,
And there my smiling God.


Hymn 2:11.
The same.

1 Send the joys of earth away,
Away ye tempters of the mind,
False as the smooth deceitful sea,
And empty as the whistling wind.

2 Your streams were floating me along
Down to the gulf of black despair,
And whilst I listen'd to your song,
Your streams had e'en convey'd me there.

3 Lord, I adore thy matchless grace,
That warn'd me of that dark abyss,
That drew me from those treacherous seas,
And bid me seek superior bliss.

4 Now to the shining realms above
I stretch my hands, and glance mine eyes;
O for the pinions of a dove
To bear me to the upper skies.

5 There from the bosom of my God
Oceans of endless pleasure roll;
There would I fix my last abode,
And drown the sorrows of my soul.


Hymn 2:12.
Christ is the substance of the Levitical priesthood.

1 The true Messiah now appears,
The types are all withdrawn;
So fly the shadows and the stars
Before the rising dawn.

2 No smoking sweets, nor bleeding lambs,
Nor kid, nor bullock slain,
Incense and spice of costly names
Would all be burnt in vain.

3 Aaron must lay his robes away;
His mitre and his vest,
When God himself comes down to be
The offering and the priest.

4 He took our mortal flesh to show
The wonders of his love;
For us he paid his life below,
And prays for us above.

5 "Father, (he cries) forgive their sins,
"For I myself have dy'd,"
And then he shews his open'd veins,
And pleads his wounded side.


Hymn 2:13.
The creation, preservation, dissolution, and
restoration of this world.

1 Sing to the Lord that built the skies,
The Lord that rear'd this stately frame;
Let half the nations sound his praise,
And lands unknown repeat his Name.

2 He form'd the seas, and form'd the hills,
Made every drop and every dust,
Nature and time with all their wheels,
And push'd them into motion first.

3 Now from his high imperial throne
He looks far down upon the spheres;
He bids the shining orbs roll on,
And round he turns our hasty years.

4 Thus shall this moving engine last
Till all his saints are gather'd in,
Then for the trumpet's dreadful blast
To shake it all to dust again!

5 Yet when the sound shall tear the skies,
And lightning burn the globe below,
Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes,
There's a new heaven and earth for you.


Hymn 2:14.
The Lord's day; or, Delight in ordinances.

1 Welcome, sweet day of rest,
That saw the Lord arise;
Welcome to this reviving breast,
And these rejoicing eyes!

2 The King himself comes near,
And feasts his saints to-day,
Here we may sit, and see him here,
And love, and praise, and pray.

3 One day amidst the place
Where my dear God hath been,
Is sweeter than ten thousand days
Of pleasurable sin.

4 My willing soul would stay
In such a frame as this,
And sit and sing herself away
To everlasting bliss.


Hymn 2:15.
The enjoyment of Christ; or, Delight in worship.

1 Far from my thoughts, vain world, be gone,
Let my religious hours alone;
Fain would my eyes my Saviour see,
I wait a visit, Lord, from thee.

2 My heart grows warm with holy fire,
And kindles with a pure desire:
Come, my dear Jesus, from above,
And feed my soul with heavenly love.

3 [The trees of life immortal stand
In flourishing rows at thy right-hand,
And in sweet murmurs by their side
Rivers of bliss perpetual glide.

4 Haste then, but with a smiling face,
And spread the table of thy grace:
Bring down a taste of fruit divine,
And cheer my heart with sacred wine.]

6 Blest Jesus, what delicious fare!
How sweet thy entertainments are!
Never did angels taste above
Redeeming grace, and dying love.

6 Hail, great Immanuel, all divine,
In thee thy Father's glories shine;
Thou brightest, sweetest, fairest one,
That eyes have seen, or angels known.


Hymn 2:16.
Part the second.

7 Lord, what a heaven of saving grace,
Shines thro' the beauties of thy face,
And lights our passions to a flame!
Lord, how we love thy charming Name!

8 When I can say, my God is mine,
When I can feel thy glories shine,
I tread the world beneath my feet,
And all that earth calls good or great.

9 While such a scene of sacred joys
Our raptur'd eyes and souls employs,
Here we could sit, and gaze away
A long, an everlasting day.

10 Well, we shall quickly pass the night
To the fair coasts of perfect light;
Then shall our joyful senses rove
O'er the dear object of our love.

11 [There shall we drink full draughts of bliss,
And pluck new life from heavenly trees:
Yet now, and then, dear Lord, bestow
A drop of heaven on worms below.

12 Send comforts down from thy right-hand,
While we pass thro' this barren land,
And in thy temple let us see
A glimpse of love, a glimpse of thee.]


Hymn 2:17
God's eternity.

1 Rise, rise, my soul, and leave the ground,
Stretch all thy thoughts abroad,
And rouse up every tuneful sound
To praise th' eternal God.

2 Long ere the lofty skies were spread
Jehovah fill'd his throne;
Or Adam form'd, or angels made,
The Maker liv'd alone.

3 His boundless years can ne'er decrease,
But still maintain their prime;
Eternity's his dwelling-place,
And ever is his time.

4 While like a tide our minutes flow,
The present and the past,
He fills his own immortal now,
And sees our ages waste.

5 The sea and sky must perish too,
And vast destruction come!
The creatures--look, how old they grow,
And wait their fiery doom!

6 Well, let the sea shrink all away,
And flame melt down the skies,
My God shall live an endless day,
When th' old creation dies.


Hymn 2:18.
The ministry of angels.

1 High on a hill of dazzling light,
The King of Glory spreads his seat,
And troops of angels stretch'd for flight,
Stand waiting round his awful feet.

2 "Go," saith the Lord, "my Gabriel go,
"Salute the virgin's fruitful womb,[1]
"Make haste, ye cherubs, down below,
Sing and proclaim the Saviour come."

3 Here a bright squadron leaves the skies,
And thick around Elisha stands;[2]
Anon a heavenly soldier flies,
And breaks the chains from Peter's hands.[3]

4 Thy winged troops, O God of hosts,
Wait on thy wandering church below,
Here we are sailing to thy coasts,
Let angels be our convoy too.

5 Are they not all thy servants,[4] Lord?
At thy command they go and come
With cheerful haste obey thy word,
And guard thy children to their home.

[1] Luke 1:16. [2] Luke 2:13.
[3] Acts 11:7. [4] Heb. 1:14.


Hymn 2:19.
Our frail bodies, and God our preserver.

1 Let others boast how strong they be,
Nor death, nor danger fear;
But we'll confess, O Lord, to thee,
What feeble things we are.

2 Fresh as the grass our bodies stand,
And flourish bright and gay,
A blasting wind sweeps o'er the land,
And fades the grass away.

3 Our life contains a thousand springs,
And dies if one be gone;
Strange! that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.

4 But 'tis our God supports our frame,
The God that built us first;
Salvation to th' Almighty Name,
That rear'd us from the dust.

5 [He spoke, and straight our hearts and brains
In all their motions rose;
"Let blood, (said he) flow round the veins,"
And round the veins it flows.

6 While we have breath, or use our tongues,
Our Maker we'll adore;
His Spirit moves our heaving lungs
Or they would breathe no more.]


Hymn 2:20.
Backslidings and returns; or, The
inconstancy of our love.

1 Why is my heart so far from thee,
My God, my chief delight?
Why are my thoughts no more by day
With thee, no more by night?

2 [Why should my foolish passions rove?
Where can such sweetness be
As I have tasted in thy love;
As I have found in thee?]

3 When my forgetful soul renews
The savour of thy grace,
My heart presumes I cannot lose
The relish all my days.

4 But ere one fleeting hour is pass'd,
The flattering world employs
Some sensual bait to seize my taste,
And to pollute my joys.

5 [Trifles of nature or of art
With fair deceitful charms
Intrude upon my thoughtless heart,
And thrust thee from my arms.]

6 Then I repent and vex my soul
That I should leave thee so,
Where will those wild affections roll
That let a Saviour go?

7 [Sin's promis'd joys are turn'd to pain,
And I am drown'd in grief;
But my dear Lord returns again,
He flies to my relief.

8 Seizing my soul with sweet surprise
He draws with loving bands;
Divine compassion in his eyes,
And pardon in his hands.]

9 [Wretch that I am to wander thus
In chase of false delight!
Let me be fasten'd to thy cross,
Rather than lose thy sight.]

10 [Make haste, my days, to reach the goal,
And bring my heart to rest
On the dear centre of my soul,
My God, my Saviour's breast.]


Hymn 2:21.
A song of praise to God the Redeemer.

1 Let the old heathens tune their song
Of great Diana and of Jove;
But the sweet theme that moves my tongue
Is my Redeemer and his love.

2 Behold a God descends and dies
To save my soul from gaping hell;
How the black gulf where Satan lies
Yawn'd to receive me when I fell!

3 How justice frown'd and vengeance stood
To drive me down to endless pain!
But the great Son propos'd his blood,
And heavenly wrath grew mild again.

4 Infinite lover, gracious Lord,
To thee be endless honours given;
Thy wondrous Name shall be ador'd
Round the wide earth, and wider heaven.


Hymn 2:22.
With God is terrible majesty.

1 Terrible God, that reign'st on high,
How awful is thy thundering hand!
Thy fiery bolts how fierce they fly!
Nor can all earth or hell withstand.

2 This the old rebel angels knew,
And Satan fell beneath thy frown:
Thine arrows struck the traitor thro',
And weighty vengeance sunk him down.

3 This Sodom felt, and feels it still,
And roars beneath th' eternal load,
"With endless burnings who can dwell,
"Or bear the fury of a God!"

4 Tremble, ye sinners, and submit,
Throw down your arms before his throne,
Bend your heads low beneath his feet,
Or his strong hand shall crush you down.

5 And ye, blest saints, that love him too,
With rev'rence bow before his Name,
Thus all his heavenly servants do:
God is a bright and burning flame.


Hymn 2:23.
The sight of God and Christ in heaven.

1 Descend from heaven, immortal Dove,
Stoop down and take us on thy wings,
And mount and bear us far above
The reach of these inferior things.

2 Beyond, beyond this lower sky,
Up where eternal ages roll,
Where solid pleasures never die,
And fruits immortal feast the soul.

3 O for a sight, a pleasing sight
Of our almighty Father's throne!
There sits our Saviour crown'd with light
Cloth'd in a body like our own.

4 Adoring saints around him stand,
And thrones, and powers before him fall;
The God shines gracious thro' the man,
And sheds sweet glories on them all.

5 O what amazing joys they feel
While to their golden harps they sing,
And sit on every heavenly hill,
And spread the triumphs of their King!

6 When shall the day, dear Lord, appear
That I shall mount to dwell above,
And stand and bow amongst them there,
And view thy face, and sing, and love!


Hymn 2:24.
The evil of sin visible in the fall of angels and men.

1 When the great Builder arch'd the skies,
And form'd all nature with a word,
The joyful cherubs tun'd his praise,
And every bending throne ador'd.

2 High in the midst of all the throng,
Satan, a tall archangel, sat,
Amongst the morning stars he sung [1]
Till sin destroy'd his heavenly state.

3 ['Twas sin that hurl'd him from his throne,
Grov'ling in fire the rebel lies:
"How art thou sunk in darkness down,
"Son of the morning, from the skies!" [2]

4 And thus our two first parents stood
Till sin defil'd the happy place
They lost their garden and their God,
And ruin'd all their unborn race.

5 [So sprung the plague from Adam's bower,
And spread destruction all abroad;
Sin, the curs'd name, that in one hour
Spoil'd six days labour of a God.]

6 Tremble, my soul, and mourn for grief,
That such a foe should seize thy breast;
Fly to thy Lord for quick relief;
O! may he slay this treacherous guest.

Then to thy throne, victorious King,
Then to thy throne our shouts shall rise,
Thine everlasting arm we sing,
For sin the monster bleeds and dies.

[1] Job 38:7. [2] Isaiah 14:12.


Hymn 2:25.
Complaining of spiritual sloth.

1 My drowsy powers, why sleep ye so?
Awake, my sluggish soul!
Nothing has half thy work to do,
Yet nothing's half so dull.

2 The little ants for one poor grain
Labour, and tug, and strive,
Yet we who have a heaven t' obtain,
How negligent we live!

3 We for whose sake all nature stands
And stars their courses move;
We for whose guard the angel bands
Come flying from above;

4 We for whom God the Son came down,
And labour'd for our good,
How careless to secure that crown
He purchas'd with his blood!

5 Lord, shall we lie so sluggish still,
And never act our parts?
Come, holy Dove, from th' heavenly hill,
And sit and warm our hearts.

6 Then shall our active spirits move,
Upward our souls shall rise:
With hands of faith and wings of love
We'll fly and take the prize.


Hymn 2:26.
God invisible.

1 Lord, we are blind, we mortals blind,
We can't behold thy bright abode;
O 'tis beyond a creature-mind
To glance a thought half-way to God.

2 Infinite leagues beyond the sky
The great Eternal reigns alone,
Where neither wings nor soul can fly,
Nor angels climb the topless throne.

3 The Lord of glory builds his seat
Of gems insufferably bright,
And lays beneath his sacred feet
Substantial beams of gloomy night.

4 Yet, glorious Lord, thy gracious eyes
Look thro', and cheer us from above;
Beyond our praise thy grandeur flies,
Yet we adore, and yet we love.


Hymn 2:27.
Praise ye him, all his angels, Psalm 148. 2.

1 God! the eternal awful Name
That the whole heavenly army fears,
That shakes the wide creation's frame,
And Satan trembles when he hears.

2 Like flames of fire his servants are,
And light surrounds his dwelling place;
But, O ye fiery flames, declare
The brighter glories of his face.

3 'Tis not for such poor worms as we
To speak so infinite a thing,
But your immortal eyes survey
The beauties of your sovereign King.

4 Tell how he shews his smiling face,
And clothes all heaven in bright array;
Triumph and joy run thro' the place,
And songs eternal as the day.

5 Speak, (for you feel his burning love)
What zeal it spreads thro' all your frame:
That sacred fire dwells all above,
For we on earth have lost the name.

6 [Sing of his power and justice too,
That infinite right-hand of his
That vanquish'd Satan and his crew,
And thunder drove them down from bliss.

7 [What mighty storms of poison'd darts
Were hurl'd upon the rebels there!
What deadly jav'lins nail'd their hearts
Fast to the racks of long despair!]

8 [Shout to your King, you heavenly host,
You that beheld the sinking foe;
Firmly ye stood when they were lost;
Praise the rich grace that kept you so.]

9 Proclaim his wonders from the skies,
Let every distant nation hear;
And while you sound his lofty praise,
Let humble mortals bow and fear.


Hymn 2:28.
Death and eternity.

1 Stoop down, my thoughts, that use to rise,
Converse awhile with death:
Think how a gasping mortal lies,
And pants away his breath.


 


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