Hymns and Spiritual Songs
by
Isaac Watts
Part 5 out of 7
And like a violent sea
They break our duty, Lord, to thee,
And hurry us away.
2 The waves of trouble how they rise!
How loud the tempests roar!
But death shall land our weary souls
Safe on the heavenly shore.
3 There to fulfil his sweet commands
Our speedy feet shall move,
No sin shall clog our winged zeal,
Or cool our burning love.
4 There shall we sit, and sing, and tell
The wonders of his grace,
Till heavenly raptures fire our hearts,
And smile in every face.
5 For ever his dear sacred Name
Shall dwell upon our tongue,
And Jesus and salvation be
The close of every song.
Hymn 2:87.
The divine glories above our reason.
1 How wond'rous great, how glorious bright
Must our Creator be,
Who dwells amidst the dazzling light
Of vast infinity!
2 Our soaring spirits upward rise
Tow'rd the celestial throne,
Fain would we see the blessed Three,
And the Almighty One.
3 Our reason stretches all its wings,
And climbs above the skies;
But still how far beneath thy feet
Our groveling reason lies!
4 [Lord, here we bend our humble souls,
And awfully adore,
For the weak pinions of our mind
Can stretch a thought no more.]
5 Thy glories infinitely rise
Above our labouring tongue;
In vain the highest seraph tries
To form an equal song.
6 [In humble notes our faith adores
The great mysterious King,
While angels strain their nobler powers,
And sweep th' immortal string.]
Hymn 2:88.
Salvation.
1 Salvation! O, the joyful sound!
'Tis pleasure to our ears;
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.
2 Buried in sorrow and in sin,
At hell's dark door we lay,
But we arise by grace divine
To see a heavenly day.
3 Salvation! let the echo fly
The spacious earth around,
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound.
Hymn 2:89.
Christ's victory over Satan.
1 Hosanna to our conquering King!
The prince of darkness flies,
His troops rush headlong down to hell
Like lightning from the skies.
2 There, bound in chains, the lions roar,
And fright the rescu'd sheep,
But heavy bars confine their power
And malice to the deep.
3 Hosanna to our conquering King,
All hail, incarnate love!
Ten thousand songs and glories wait
To crown thy head above.
4 Thy victories and thy deathless fame
Thro' the wide world shall run,
And everlasting ages sing
The triumphs thou hast won.
Hymn 2:90.
Faith in Christ for pardon and sanctification.
1 How sad our state by nature is!
Our sin how deep it stains!
And Satan binds our captive minds
Fast in his slavish chains.
2 But there's a voice of sovereign grace
Sounds from the sacred word,
"Ho, ye despairing sinners, come,
"And trust upon the Lord."
3 My soul obeys th' almighty call,
And runs to this relief,
I would believe thy promise, Lord,
O! help my unbelief.
4 [To the dear fountain of thy blood,
Incarnate God, I fly,
Here let me wash my spotted soul
From crimes of deepest die.
5 Stretch out thine arm victorious King,
My reigning sins subdue,
Drive the old dragon from his seat,
With all his hellish crew.]
6 A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On thy kind arms I fall:
Be thou my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus, and my all.
Hymn 2:91.
The glory of Christ in heaven.
1 O the delights, the heavenly joys,
The glories of the place
Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams
Of his o'erflowing grace.
2 Sweet majesty and awful love
Sit smiling on his brow,
And all the glorious ranks above
At humble distance bow.
3 [Princes to his imperial Name
Bend their bright sceptres down,
Dominions, thrones, and powers rejoice
To see him wear the crown.]
4 Archangels sound his lofty praise
Thro' every heavenly street,
And lay their highest honours down
Submissive at his feet.
5 Those soft, those blessed feet of his
That once rude iron tore,
High on a throne of light they stand,
And all the saints adore.
6 His head, the dear majestic head
That cruel thorns did wound,
See what immortal glories shine,
And circle it around.
7 This is the Man, th' exalted Man,
Whom we unseen adore;
But when our eyes behold his face,
Our hearts shall love him more.
8 [Lord, how our souls are all on fire
To see thy bless'd abode,
Our tongues rejoice in tunes of praise
To our incarnate God.
9 And whilst our faith enjoys this sight,
We long to leave our clay,
And wish thy fiery chariots, Lord,
To fetch our souls away.]
Hymn 2:92
The church saved, and her enemies disappointed.
Composed the 5th of November, 1694.
1 Shout to the Lord, and let our joys
Thro' the whole nation run;
Ye British skies, resound the noise
Beyond the rising sun.
2 Thee, mighty God, our souls admire,
Thee our glad voices sing,
And join with the celestial choir
To praise th' eternal King.
3 Thy power the whole creation rules,
And on the starry skies
Sits smiling at the weak designs
Thine envious foes devise.
4 Thy scorn derides their feeble rage,
And with an awful frown
Flings vast confusion on their plots,
And shakes their Babel down.
5 [Their secret fires in caverns lay,
And we the sacrifice:
But gloomy caverns strove in vain
To 'scape all-searching eyes.
6 Their dark designs were all reveal'd,
Their treasons all betray'd:
Praise to the God that broke the snare
Their cursed hands had laid.]
7 In vain the busy sons of hell
Still new rebellions try,
Their souls shall pine with envious rage,
And vex away and die.
8 Almighty grace defends our land
From their malicious power,
Let Britain with united songs
Almighty grace adore.
Hymn 2:93.
God all, and in all, Psalm 73. 25.
1 My God, my life, my love,
To thee, to thee I call,
I cannot live if thou remove,
For thou art all in all.
2 [Thy shining grace can cheer,
This dungeon where I dwell;
'Tis paradise when thou art here;
If thou depart, 'tis hell.]
3 [The smilings of thy face,
How amiable they are!
'Tis heaven to rest in thine embrace,
And no where else but there.]
4 [To thee, and thee alone,
The angels owe their bliss;
They sit around thy gracious throne,
And dwell where Jesus is.]
5 [Not all the harps above
Can make a heavenly place,
If God his residence remove,
Or but conceal his face.]
6 Nor earth nor all the sky
Can one delight afford;
No not a drop of real joy,
Without thy presence, Lord.
7 Thou art the sea of love,
Where all my pleasures roll,
The circle where my passions move,
And centre of my soul.
8 [To thee my spirits fly
With infinite desire;
And yet how far from thee I lie!
Dear Jesus, raise me higher!]
Hymn 2:94.
God my only happiness, Psalm 73. 25.
1 My God, my portion, and my love,
My everlasting all,
I've none but thee in heaven above,
Or on this earthly ball.
2 [What empty things are all the skies,
And this inferior clod!
There's nothing here deserves my joys,
There's nothing like my God.]
3 [In vain the bright, the burning sun
Scatters his feeble light;
'Tis thy sweet beams create my noon;
If thou withdraw, 'tis night.
4 And whilst upon my restless bed,
Amongst the shades I roll,
If my Redeemer shew his head
'Tis morning with my soul.]
5 To thee we owe our wealth and friends,
And health, and safe abode;
Thanks to thy Name for meaner things,
But they are not my God.
6 How vain a toy is glittering wealth,
If once compar'd to thee;
Or what's my safety, or my health,
Or all my friends to me?
7 Were I possessor of the earth,
And call'd the stars my own
Without thy graces and thyself
I were a wretch undone.
8 Let others stretch their arms like seas,
And grasp in all the shore,
Grant me the visits of thy face,
And I desire no more.
Hymn 2:95.
Look on him whom they pierced, and mourn.
1 Infinite grief! amazing woe!
Behold my bleeding Lord:
Hell and the Jews conspir'd his death,
And us'd the Roman sword.
2 O the sharp pangs of smarting pain
My dear Redeemer bore,
When knotty whips and ragged thorns
His sacred body tore!
3 But knotty whips and ragged thorns
In vain do I accuse;
In vain I blame the Roman bands,
And the more spiteful Jews.
4 'Twere you, my sins, my cruel sins,
His chief tormentors were;
Each of my crimes became a nail,
And unbelief the spear.
5 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down
Upon his guiltless head:
Break, break, my heart, O burst mine eyes!
And let my sorrows bleed.
6 Strike, mighty grace, my flinty soul,
Till melting waters flow,
And deep repentance drown mine eyes
In undissembled woe.
Hymn 2:96.
Distinguishing love; or, Angels
punished and men saved.
1 Down headlong from their native skies
The rebel angels fell,
And thunderbolts of flaming wrath
Pursu'd them deep to hell.
2 Down from the top of earthly bliss
Rebellious man was hurl'd
And Jesus stoop'd beneath the grave
To reach a sinking world.
3 O love of infinite degree!
Unmeasurable grace!
Must heaven's eternal Darling die
To save a traitorous race?
4 Must angels sink for ever down,
And burn in quenchless fire,
While God forsakes his shining throne
To raise us wretches higher?
5 O for this love let earth and skies
With hallelujahs ring,
And the full choir of human tongues
All hallelujah sing.
Hymn 2:97.
The same.
1 From heaven the sinning angels fell,
And wrath and darkness chain'd them down;
But man, vile man, forsook his bliss,
And mercy lifts him to a crown.
2 Amazing work of sovereign grace
That could distinguish rebels so!
Our guilty treasons call'd aloud
For everlasting fetters too.
3 To thee, to thee, Almighty Love,
Our souls, ourselves, our all we pay:
Millions of tongues shall sound thy praise
On the bright hills of heavenly day.
Hymn 2:98.
Hardness of heart complained of.
1 My heart, how dreadful hard it is!
How heavy here it lies,
Heavy and cold within my breast
Just like a rock of ice!
2 Sin like a raging tyrant sits
Upon this flinty throne,
And every grace lies buried deep
Beneath this heart of stone.
3 How seldom do I rise to God,
Or taste the joys above!
This mountain presses down my faith,
And chills my flaming love.
4 When smiling mercy courts my soul
With all its heavenly charms,
This stubborn, this relentless thing
Would thrust it from my arms.
5 Against the thunders of thy word
Rebellious I have stood,
My heart it shakes not at the wrath
And terrors of a God.
6 Dear Saviour, steep this rock of mine
In thine own crimson sea:
None but a bath of blood divine
Can melt the flint away.
Hymn 2:99.
The book of God's decrees.
1 Let the whole race of creatures lie
Abas'd before their God;
Whate'er his sovereign voice hath form'd
He governs with a nod.
2 [Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought,
All the long years and worlds to come
Stood present to his thought.]
5 [There's not a sparrow or a worm
But's found in his decrees;
He raises monarchs to their thrones,
And sinks them as he please.]
4 If light attends the course I run,
'Tis he provides those rays;
And 'tis his hand that hides my sun,
If darkness cloud my days.
5 Yet I would not be much concern'd,
Nor vainly long to see
The volume of his deep decrees,
What months are writ for me.
6 When he reveals the book of life,
O, may I read my name
Amongst the chosen of his love,
The followers of the Lamb!
Hymn 2:100.
The presence of Christ is the life of my soul.
1 [How full of anguish is the thought,
How it distracts and tears my heart
If God, at last, my sovereign Judge,
Should frown, and bid my soul, "Depart!"]
2 Lord, when I quit this earthly stage,
Where shall I fly but to thy breast?
For I have sought no other home
For I have learn'd no other rest.
3 I cannot live contented here,
Without some glimpses of thy face;
And heaven without thy presence there
Would be a dark and tiresome place.
4 When earthly cares engross the day
And hold my thoughts aside from thee,
The shining hours of cheerful light
Are long and tedious years to me.
5 And if no evening visit's paid
Between my Saviour and my soul,
How dull the night! how sad the shade!
How mournfully the minutes roll!
6 This flesh of mine might learn as soon
To live, yet part with all my blood;
To breathe when vital air is gone,
Or thrive and grow without my food.
7 [Christ is my light, my life, my care,
My blessed hope, my heavenly prize,
Dearer than all my passions are,
My limbs, my bowels, or my eyes.
8 The strings that twine about my heart,
Tortures and racks may tear them off,
But they can never, never part
With their dear hold of Christ my love.]
9 [My God! and can an humble child
That loves thee with a flame so high,
Be ever from thy face exil'd
Without the pity of thine eye?
10 Impossible--For thine own hands
Have tied my heart so fast to thee;
And in thy book the promise stands,
That where thou art thy friends must be.
Hymn 2:101.
The world's three great temptations.
1 When in the light of faith divine
We look on things below,
Honour, and gold, and sensual joy,
How vain and dangerous too!
2 [Honour's a puff of noisy breath;
Yet men expose their blood,
And venture everlasting death
To gain that airy good.
3 Whilst others starve the nobler mind,
And feed on shining dust,
They rob the serpent of his food
T' indulge a sordid lust.]
4 The pleasures that allure our sense
Are dangerous snares to souls;
There's but a drop of flattering sweet,
And dash'd with bitter bowls.
5 God is mine all-sufficient good,
My portion and my choice;
In him my vast desires are fill'd,
And all my powers rejoice.
6 In vain the world accosts my ear,
And tempts my heart anew;
I cannot buy your bliss so dear,
Nor part with heaven for you.
Hymn 2:102.
A happy resurrection.
1 No, I'll repine at death no more,
But with a cheerful gasp resign
To the cold dungeon of the grave
These dying, withering limbs of mine.
2 Let worms devour my wasting flesh,
And crumble all my bones to dust,
My God shall raise my frame anew
At the revival of the just.
3 Break, sacred morning, thro' the skies,
Bring that delightful, dreadful day,
Cut short the hours, dear Lord, and come,
Thy lingering wheels, how long they stay!
4 [Our weary spirits faint to see
The light of thy returning face,
And hear the language of those lips
Where God has shed his richest grace.]
5 Haste then upon the wings of love,
Rouse all the pious sleeping clay,
That we may join in heavenly joys,
And sing the triumph of the day.
Hymn 2:103.
Christ's commission, John 3. 16 17.
1 Come happy souls, approach your God
With new melodious songs;
Come, render to almighty grace
The tribute of your tongues.
2 So strange, so boundless was the love
That pity'd dying men,
The Father sent his equal Son
To give them life again.
3 Thy hands, dear Jesus, were not arm'd
With a revenging rod,
No hard commission to perform
The vengeance of a God.
4 But all was mercy, all was mild,
And wrath forsook the throne,
When Christ on the kind errand came,
And brought salvation down.
5 Here, sinners, you may heal your wounds,
And wipe your sorrows dry;
Trust in the mighty Saviour's Name,
And you shall never die.
6 See, dearest Lord our willing souls
Accept thine offer'd grace;
We bless the great Redeemer's love,
And give the Father praise.
Hymn 2:104.
The same.
1 Raise your triumphant songs
To an immortal tune,
Let the wide earth resound the deeds
Celestial grace has done.
2 Sing how eternal love
Its chief beloved chose,
And bid him raise our wretched race
From their abyss of woes.
3 His hand no thunder bears,
Nor terror clothes his brow,
No bolts to drive our guilty souls
To fiercer flames below.
4 'Twas mercy fill'd the throne,
And wrath stood silent by,
When Christ was sent with pardons down
To rebels doom'd to die.
5 Now, sinners, dry your tears,
Let hopeless sorrow cease;
Bow to the sceptre of his love,
And take the offer'd peace.
6 Lord we obey thy call;
We lay an humble claim
To the salvation thou hast brought,
And love and praise thy Name.
Hymn 2:105.
Repentance flowing from the patience of God.
1 And are we wretches yet alive?
And do we yet rebel?
'Tis boundless, 'tis amazing love
That bears us up from hell!
2 The burden of our weighty guilt
Would sink us down to flames,
And threatening vengeance rolls above
To crush our feeble frames.
3 Almighty goodness cries, "Forbear;"
And straight the thunder stays;
And dare we now provoke his wrath,
And weary out his grace?
4 Lord, we have long abus'd thy love,
Too long indulg'd our sin;
Our aching hearts e'en bleed to see
What rebels we have been.
5 No more, ye lusts, shall ye command,
No more will we obey;
Stretch out, O God, thy conquering hand,
And drive thy foes away.
Hymn 2:106.
Repentance at the cross.
1 Oh, if my soul was form'd for woe,
How would I vent my sighs!
Repentance should like rivers flow
From both my streaming eyes.
2 'Twas for my sins, my dearest Lord
Hung on the cursed tree,
And groan'd away a dying life,
For thee, my soul, for thee.
3 O how I hate those lusts of mine
That crucify'd my God,
Those sins that pierc'd and nail'd his flesh
Fast to the fatal wood!
4 Yes, my Redeemer, they shall die,
My heart has so decreed,
Nor will I spare the guilty things
That made my Saviour bleed.
5 Whilst with a melting broken heart
My murder'd Lord I view,
I'll raise revenge against my sins,
And slay the murderers too.
Hymn 2:107.
The everlasting absence of God intolerable.
1 That awful day will surely come,
Th' appointed hour makes haste,
When I must stand before my Judge,
And pass the solemn test.
2 Thou lovely chief of all my joys,
Thou sovereign of my heart,
How could I bear to hear thy voice
Pronounce the sound, "Depart?"
3 [The thunder of that dismal word,
Would so torment my ear,
'Twould tear my soul asunder, Lord,
With most tormenting fear.]
4 [What, to be banish'd from my life,
And yet forbid to die!
To linger in eternal pain,
Yet death for ever fly!]
5 O wretched state of deep despair,
To see my God remove,
And fix my doleful station where
I must not taste his Love.
6 Jesus, I throw my arms around,
And hang upon thy breast;
Without a gracious smile from thee
My spirit cannot rest.
7 O tell me that my worthless name
Is graven on thy hands;
Shew me some promise in thy book
Where my salvation stands!
8 [Give me one kind assuring word,
To sink my fears again,
And cheerfully my soul shall wait
Her threescore years and ten.]
Hymn 2:108.
Access to the throne of grace by a Mediator.
1 Come, let us lift our joyful eyes
Up to the courts above,
And smile to see our Father there
Upon a throne of love.
2 Once 'twas a seat of dreadful wrath,
And shot devouring flame;
Our God appear'd consuming fire,
And vengeance was his name.
3 Rich were the drops of Jesus' blood,
That calm'd his frowning face,
That sprinkled o'er the burning throne,
And turn'd the wrath to grace.
4 Now we may bow before his feet,
And venture near the Lord;
No fiery cherub guards his seat,
Nor double-flaming sword.
5 The peaceful gates of heavenly bliss
Are open'd by the Son;
High let us raise our notes of praise,
And reach th' Almighty throne.
6 To thee ten thousand thanks we bring
Great Advocate on high:
And glory to th' eternal King
That lays his fury by.
Hymn 2:109.
The darkness of providence.
1 Lord, we adore thy vast designs,
Th' obscure abyss of providence,
Too deep to sound with mortal lines
Too dark to view with feeble sense.
2 Now thou array'st thine awful face
In angry frowns, without a smile;
We thro' the cloud believe thy grace,
Secure of thy compassion still.
3 Thro' seas and storms of deep distress
We sail by faith and not by sight;
Faith guides us in the wilderness
Through all the briers and the night.
4 Dear Father, if thy lifted rod
Resolve to scourge us here below,
Still we must lean upon our God,
Thine arm shall bear us safely thro'.
Hymn 2:110.
Triumph over death in
hope of the resurrection.
1 And must this body die?
This mortal frame decay?
And must these active limbs of mine
Lie mouldering in the clay?
2 Corruption, earth and worms,
Shall but refine this flesh,
Till my triumphant spirit comes
To put it on afresh.
3 God my Redeemer lives,
And often from the skies
Looks down, and watches all my dust,
Till he shall bid it rise.
4 Array'd in glorious grace
Shall these vile bodies shine,
And every shape and every face
Look heavenly and divine.
5 These lively hopes we owe
To Jesus' dying love;
We would adore his grace below,
And sing his power above.
6 Dear Lord, accept the praise
Of these our humble songs,
Till tunes of nobler sound we raise
With our immortal tongues.
Hymn 2:111.
Thanksgiving for victory; or, God's
dominion and our deliverance.
1 Zion rejoice, and Judah sing;
The Lord assumes his throne;
Let Britain own the heavenly King,
And make his glories known.
2 The great, the wicked, and the proud,
From their high seats are hurl'd;
Jehovah rides upon a cloud,
And thunders thro' the world.
3 He reigns upon th' eternal hills,
Distributes mortal crowns,
Empires are fix'd beneath his smiles,
And totter at his frowns.
4 Navies, that rule the ocean wide,
Are vanquish'd by his breath;
And legions arm'd with power and pride
Descend to watery death.
5 Let tyrants make no more pretence
To vex our happy land;
Jehovah's Name is our defence,
Our buckler is his hand.
6 [Long may the King our Sovereign live
To rule us by his word;
And all the honours he can give
Be offer'd to the Lord.]
Hymn 2:112.
Angels ministering to Christ and saints.
1 Great God, to what a glorious height
Hast thou advanc'd the Lord thy Son!
Angels, in all their robes of light,
Are made the servants of his throne.
2 Before his feet their armies wait,
And swift as flames of fire they move,
To manage his affairs of state
In works of vengeance or of love.
3 His orders run thro' all their hosts,
Legions descend at his command
To shield and guard the British coasts,
When foreign rage invades our land.
4 Now they are sent to guide our feet
Up to the gates of thine abode,
Thro' all the dangers that we meet
In travelling the heavenly road.
5 Lord, when I leave this mortal ground,
And thou shall bid me rise and come,
Send a beloved angel down
Safe to conduct my spirit home.
Hymn 2:113.
The same.
1 The majesty of Solomon!
How glorious to behold
The servants waiting round his throne,
The ivory and the gold.
2 But, mighty God, thy palace shines
With far superior beams;
Thine angel-guards are swift as winds,
Thy ministers are flames.
3 [Soon as thine only Son had made
His entrance on this earth,
A shining army downward fled
To celebrate his birth.
4 And when oppress'd with pains and fears
On the cold ground he lies,
Behold a heavenly form appears
T' allay his agonies.]
5 Now to the hands of Christ our King
Are all their legions given;
They wait upon his saints, and bring
His chosen heirs to heaven.
6 Pleasure and praise run thro' their host
To see a sinner turn;
Then Satan has a captive lost,
And Christ a subject born.
7 But there's an hour of brighter joy,
When he his angels sends
Obstinate rebels to destroy,
And gather in his friends.
8 O! could I say, without a doubt,
There shall my soul be found,
Then let the great archangel shout,
And the last trumpet sound.
Hymn 2:114.
Christ's death, victory and dominion.
1 I sing my Saviour's wondrous death;
He conquer'd when he fell:
_'Tis finish'd_, said his dying breath,
And shook the gates of hell.
2 _'Tis finish'd_, our Immanuel cries,
The dreadful work is done;
Hence shall his sovereign throne arise,
His kingdom is begun.
3 His cross a sure foundation laid
For glory and renown,
When thro' the regions of the dead
He pass'd to reach the crown.
4 Exalted at his Father's side
Sits our victorious Lord;
To heaven and hell his hands divide
The vengeance or reward.
5 The saints from his propitious eye
Await their several crowns,
And all the sons of darkness fly
The terror of his frowns.
Hymn 2:115.
God the avenger of his saints; or, His kingdom.
1 High as the heavens above the ground
Reigns the Creator God;
Wide as the whole creation's bound
Extends his awful rod.
2 Let princes of exalted state
To him ascribe their crown,
Render their homage at his feet,
And cast their glories down.
3 Know that his kingdom is supreme,
Your lofty thoughts are vain;
He calls you gods, that awful name,
But ye must die like men.
4 Then let the sovereigns of the globe
Not dare to vex the just;
He puts on vengeance like a robe,
And treads the worms to dust.
5 Ye judges of the earth, be wise,
And think on heaven with fear;
The meanest saint that you despise
Has an avenger there.
Hymn 2:116.
Mercies and thanks.
1 How can I sink with such a prop
As my eternal God,
Who bears the earth's huge pillars up,
And spreads the heavens abroad?
2 How can I die while Jesus lives,
Who rose and left the dead?
Pardon and grace my soul receives
From mine exalted head.
3 All that I am, and all I have
Shall be for ever thine,
Whate'er my duty bids me give
My cheerful hands resign.
4 Yet if I might make some reserve,
And duty did not call,
I love my God with zeal so great
That I should give him all.
Hymn 2:117.
Living and dying with God present.
1 I cannot bear thine absence, Lord,
My life expires if thou depart;
Be thou, my heart, still near my God,
And thou, my God, be near my heart.
2 I was not born for earth and sin,
Nor can I live on things so vile;
Yet I would stay my Father's time,
And hope and wait for heaven a while.
3 Then, dearest Lord, in thine embrace
Let me resign my fleeting breath,
And with a smile upon my face
Pass the important hour of death.
Hymn 2:118.
The priesthood of Christ.
1 Blood has a voice to pierce the skies
_Revenge_, the blood of Abel cries;
But the dear stream when Christ was slain
Speaks _Peace_ as loud from ev'ry vein.
2 Pardon and peace from God on high,
Behold he lays his vengeance by,
And rebels that deserv'd his sword,
Become the favourites of the Lord.
3 To Jesus let our praises rise,
Who gave his life a sacrifice;
Now he appears before his God,
And for our pardon pleads his blood.
Hymn 2:119.
The holy scriptures.
1 Laden with guilt, and full of fears,
I fly to thee, my Lord,
And not a glimpse of hope appears,
But in thy written word.
2 The volume of my Father's grace
Does all my griefs assuage:
Here I behold my Saviour's face
Almost in every page.
3 [This is the field where hidden lies
The pearl of price unknown,
That merchant is divinely wise
Who makes the pearl his own.]
4 [Here consecrated water flows
To quench my thirst of sin;
Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
Nor danger dwells therein.]
5 This is the Judge that ends the strife,
Where wit and reason fail;
My guide to everlasting life,
Thro' all this gloomy vale.
6 O may thy counsels, mighty God,
My roving feet command;
Nor I forsake the happy road
That leads to thy right-hand.
Hymn 2:120.
The law and gospel joined in scripture.
1 The Lord declares his will,
And keeps the world in awe;
Amidst the smoke on Sinai's hill
Breaks out his fiery law.
2 The Lord reveals his face,
And smiling from above,
Sends down the gospel of his grace,
Th' epistles of his love.
3 These sacred words impart
Our Maker's just commands;
The pity of his melting heart,
And vengeance of his hands.
4 [Hence we awake our fear,
We draw our comfort hence;
The arms of grace are treasur'd here,
And armour of defence.
5 We learn Christ crucify'd,
And here behold his blood:
All arts and knowledges beside
Will do us little good.]
6 We read the heavenly word,
We take the offer'd grace,
Obey the statutes of the Lord,
And trust his promises.
7 In vain shall Satan rage
Against a book divine;
Where wrath and lightning guard the page,
Where beams of mercy shine.
Hymn 2:121.
The law and gospel distinguished.
1 The law commands, and makes us know
What duties to our God we owe;
But 'tis the gospel must reveal
Where lies our strength to do his will.
2 The law discovers guilt and sin,
And shews how vile our hearts have been;
Only the gospel can express
Forgiving love and cleansing grace.
3 What curses doth the law denounce
Against the man that fails but once!
But in the gospel Christ appears
Pardoning the guilt of numerous years.
4 My soul, no more attempt to draw
Thy life and comfort from the law,
Fly to the hope the gospel gives;
The man that trusts the promise lives.
Hymn 2:122.
Retirement and meditation.
1 My God, permit me not to be
A stranger to myself and thee;
Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove
Forgetful of my highest love.
2 Why should my passions mix with earth,
And thus debase my heavenly birth?
Why should I cleave to things below,
And let my God, my Saviour go?
3 Call me away from flesh and sense,
One sovereign word can draw me thence;
I would obey the voice divine,
And all inferior joys resign.
4 Be earth with all her scenes withdrawn,
Let noise and vanity be gone;
In secret silence of the mind,
My heaven, and there my God I find.
Hymn 2:123.
The benefit of public ordinances.
1 Away from every mortal care,
Away from earth our souls retreat;
We leave this worthless world afar,
And wait and worship near thy seat.
2 Lord, in the temple of thy grace
We see thy feet, and we adore;
We gaze upon thy lovely face,
And learn the wonders of thy power.
3 While here our various wants we mourn,
United groans ascend on high,
And prayer bears a quick return
Of blessings in variety.
4 [If Satan rage and sin grow strong,
Here we receive some cheering word;
We gird the gospel armour on
To fight the battles of the Lord.
5 Or if our spirit faints and dies,
(Our conscience gall'd with inward stings)
Here doth the righteous sun arise
With healing beams beneath his wings.]
6 Father, my soul would still abide
Within thy temple, near thy side;
But if my feet must hence depart
Still keep thy dwelling in my heart.
Hymn 2:124.
Moses, Aaron, and Joshua.
1 'Tis not the law of ten commands
On holy Sinai given,
Or sent to men by Moses' hands,
Can bring us safe to heaven.
2 'Tis not the blood which Aaron spilt,
Nor smoke of sweetest smell,
Can buy a pardon for our guilt,
Or save our souls from hell.
3 Aaron the priest resigns his breath
At God's immediate will;
And in the desert yields to death
Upon th' appointed hill.
4 And thus on Jordan's yonder side
The tribes of Israel stand,
While Moses bow'd his head and dy'd
Short of the promis'd land.
5 Israel rejoice, now Joshua * leads,
He'll bring your tribes to rest;
So far the Saviour's name exceeds
The ruler and the priest.
* Joshua, the same with Jesus,
and signifies a Saviour.
Hymn 2:125.
Faith and repentance; unbelief and impenitence.
1 Life and immortal joys are given
To those that mourn the sins they've done,
Children of wrath made heirs of heaven
By faith in God's eternal Son.
2 Woe to the wretch that never felt
The inward pangs of pious grief,
But adds to all his crying guilt
The stubborn sin of unbelief.
3 The law condemns the rebel dead,
Under the wrath of God he lies,
He seals the curse on his own head,
And with a double vengeance dies.
Hymn 2:126.
God glorified in the gospel.
1 The Lord, descending from above,
Invites his children near,
While power and truth and boundless love
Display their glories here.
2 Here in thy gospel's wondrous frame
Fresh wisdom we pursue;
A thousand angels learn thy Name
Beyond whate'er they knew.
3 Thy Name is writ in fairest lines,
Thy wonders here we trace;
Wisdom thro' all the mystery shines,
And shines in Jesu's face.
4 The law its best obedience owes
To our incarnate God;
And thy revenging justice shows
Its honours in his blood.
6 But still the lustre of thy grace
Our warmer thoughts employs,
Gilds the whole scene with brighter rays,
And more exalts our joys.
Hymn 2:127.
Circumcision and baptism.
(Written only for those
who practise infant baptism.)
1 Thus did the sons of Abrah'm pass
Under the bloody seal of grace;
The young disciples bore the yoke,
Till Christ the painful bondage broke.
2 By milder ways doth Jesus prove
His Father's covenant, and his love;
He seals to saints his glorious grace,
And not forbids their infant race.
3 Their seed is sprinkled with his blood,
Their children set apart for God,
His Spirit on their offspring shed,
Like water pour'd upon the head.
4 Let every saint with cheerful voice
In this large covenant rejoice;
Young children in their early days
Shall give the God of Abrah'm praise.
Hymn 2:128.
Corrupt nature from Adam.
1 Bless'd with the joy of innocence
Adam, our father, stood,
Till he debas'd his soul to sense,
And ate th' unlawful food.
2 Now we are born a sensual race,
To sinful joys inclin'd;
Reason has lost its native place,
And flesh enslaves the mind.
3 While flesh and sense and passion reigns,
Sin is the sweetest good:
We fancy music in our chains,
And so forget the load.
4 Great God, renew our ruin'd frame,
Our broken powers restore,
Inspire us with a heavenly flame,
And flesh shall reign no more.
5 Eternal Spirit, write thy law
Upon our inward parts,
And let the second Adam draw
His image on our hearts.
Hymn 2:129.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
1 'Tis by the faith of joys to come
We walk thro' deserts dark as night;
Till we arrive at heaven our home,
Faith is our guide, and faith our light.
2 The want of sight she well supplies,
She makes the pearly gates appear;
Far into distant worlds she pries,
And brings eternal glories near.
3 Cheerful we tread the desert thro',
While faith inspires a heavenly ray,
Tho' lions roar, and tempests blow,
And rocks and dangers fill the way.
4 So Abrah'm, by divine command,
Left his own house to walk with God;
His faith beheld the promis'd land,
And fir'd his zeal along the road.
Hymn 2:130.
The new creation.
1 Attend while God's exalted Son
Doth his own glories shew;
"Behold I sit upon my throne
Creating all things new.
2 "Nature and sin are pass'd away,
And the old Adam dies;
"My hands a new foundation lay,
"See the new world arise.
3 "I'll be a sun of righteousness
"To the new-heavens I make;
"None but the new-born heirs of grace
"My glories shall partake."
4 Mighty Redeemer, set me free
From my old state of sin;
O make my soul alive to thee,
Create new powers within.
5 Renew mine eyes, and form mine ears,
And mould my heart afresh;
Give me new passions, joys and fears,
And turn the stone to flesh.
6 Far from the regions of the dead,
From sin, and earth, and hell,
In the new-world that grace has made
I would for ever dwell.
Hymn 2:131.
The excellency of the Christian religion.
1 Let everlasting glories crown
Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord;
Thy hands have brought salvation down,
And writ the blessings in thy word.
2 [What if we trace the globe around,
And search from Britain to Japan,
There shall be no religion found
So just to God, so safe for man.]
3 In vain the trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With long despair the spirit breaks,
Till we apply to Christ alone.
4 How well thy blessed truths agree!
How wise and holy thy commands!
Thy promises how firm they be!
How firm our hope and comfort stands!
5 [Not the feign'd fields of heathenish bliss
Could raise such pleasures in the mind;
Nor does the Turkish paradise
Pretend to joys so well refin'd.]
6 Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I'd call them vanity and lies
And bind the gospel to my heart.
Hymn 2:132.
The offices of Christ.
1 We bless the Prophet of the Lord,
That comes with truth and grace;
Jesus, thy Spirit and thy word
Shall lead us in thy ways.
2 We reverence our High Priest above,
Who offer'd up his blood,
And lives to carry on his love,
By pleading with our God.
3 We honour our exalted King,
How sweet are his commands!
He guards our souls from hell and sin
By his almighty hands.
4 Hosanna to his glorious Name,
Who saves by different ways;
His mercies lay a sovereign claim
To our immortal praise.
Hymn 2:133.
The operations of the Holy Spirit.
1 Eternal Spirit! we confess
And sing the wonders of thy grace;
Thy power conveys our blessings down
From God the Father and the Son.
2 Enlighten'd by thine heavenly ray
Our shades and darkness turn to day;
Thine inward teachings make us know
Our danger and our refuge too.
3 Thy power and glory works within,
And breaks the chains of reigning sin,
Doth our imperious lusts subdue,
And forms our wretched hearts anew.
4 The troubled conscience knows thy voice,
Thy cheering words awake our joys;
Thy words allay the stormy wind,
And calm the surges of the mind.
Hymn 2:134.
Circumcision abolished.
1 The promise was divinely free,
Extensive was the grace;
"I will the God of Abrah'm be,
"And of his numerous race."
2 He said; and with a bloody seal
Confirm'd the words he spoke;
Long did the Sons of Abrah'm feel
The sharp and painful yoke.
3 Till God's own Son, descending low,
Gave his own flesh to bleed;
And Gentiles taste the blessing now,
From the hard bondage freed.
4 The God of Abrah'm claims our praise,
His promises endure;
And Christ the Lord in gentler ways
Makes the salvation sure.
Hymn 2:135.
Types and prophecies of Christ.
1 Behold the woman's promis'd seed!
Behold the great Messiah come!
Behold the prophets all agreed
To give him the superior room!
2 Abrah'm the saint rejoic'd of old
When visions of the Lord he saw;
Moses the man of God foretold
This great fulfiller of his law.
3 The types bore witness to his Name,
Obtain'd their chief design, and ceas'd;
The incense and the bleeding lamb,
The ark, the altar, and the priest.
4 Predictions in abundance meet
To join their blessings on his head;
Jesus, we worship at thy feet,
And nations own the promis'd seed.
Hymn 2:136.
Miracles at the birth of Christ.
1 The King of Glory sends his Son
To make his entrance on this earth!
Behold the midnight bright as noon,
And heavenly hosts declare his birth!
2 About the young Redeemer's head
What wonders and what glories meet!
An unknown star arose, and led
The eastern sages to his feet.
3 Simeon and Anna both conspire
The Infant-Saviour to proclaim;
Inward they felt the sacred fire,
And bless'd the babe, and own'd his Name.
4 Let Jews and Greeks blaspheme aloud,
And treat the holy Child with scorn;
Our souls adore th' eternal God
Who condescended to be born.
Hymn 2:137.
Miracles in the life, death,
and resurrection of Christ.
1 Behold the blind their sight receive;
Behold the dead awake and live;
The dumb speak wonders, and the lame
Leap like the hart, and bless his Name.
2 Thus doth th' eternal Spirit own
And seal the mission of the Son;
The Father vindicates his cause,
While he hangs bleeding on the cross.
3 He dies; the heavens in mourning stood;
He rises, and appears a God;
Behold the Lord ascending high,
No more to bleed, no more to die.
4 Hence and for ever from my heart
I bid my doubts and fears depart;
And to those hands my soul resign
Which bear credentials so divine.
Hymn 2:138.
The power of the gospel.
1 This is the word of truth and love,
Sent to the nations from above;
Jehovah here resolves to shew
What his almighty grace can do.
2 This remedy did wisdom find
To heal diseases of the mind:
This sovereign balm, whose virtues can
Restore the ruin'd creature, man.
3 The gospel bids the dead revive,
Sinners obey the voice, and live;
Dry bones are rais'd and cloth'd afresh,
And hearts of stone are turn'd to flesh.
4 [Where Satan reign'd in shades of night
The gospel strikes a heavenly light;
Our lusts its wondrous power controls,
And calms the rage of angry souls.]
5 [Lions and beasts of savage name
Put on the nature of the lamb;
Whilst the wild world esteems it strange
Gaze, and admire, and hate the change.]
6 May but this grace my soul renew,
Let sinners gaze and hate me too;
The word that saves me does engage
A sure defence from all their rage.
Hymn 2:139.
The example of Christ.
1 My dear Redeemer and my Lord,
I read my duty in thy word;
But in thy life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.
2 Such was thy truth, and such thy zeal,
Such deference to thy Father's will,
Such love, and meekness so divine,
I would transcribe, and make them mine.
3 Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witness'd the fervor of thy prayer:
The desert thy temptations knew,
Thy conflict and thy victory too.
4 Be thou my pattern; make me bear
More of thy gracious image here;
Then God the Judge shall own my name,
Amongst the followers of the Lamb.
Hymn 2:140.
The example: of Christ and the saints.
1 Give me the wings of faith to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.
2 Once they were mourning here below,
And wet their couch with tears;
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins, and doubts, and fears.
3 I ask them whence their victory came,
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to his death.
4 They mark'd the footsteps that he trod,
(His zeal inspir'd their breast;)
And following their incarnate God
Possess the promis'd rest.
5 Our glorious Leader claims our praise
For his own pattern given,
While the long cloud of witnesses
Shew the same path to heaven.
Hymn 2:141.
Faith assisted by sense; or, Preaching,
baptism, and the Lord's Supper.
1 My Saviour-God, my Sovereign-Prince
Reigns far above the skies;
But brings his graces down to sense,
And helps my faith to rise.
2 My eyes and ears shall bless his Name,
They read and hear his word;
My touch and taste shall do the same
When they receive the Lord.
3 Baptismal water is design'd
To seal his cleansing grace;
While at his feast of bread and wine
He gives his saints a place.
4 But not the waters of a flood
Can make my flesh so clean,
As by his Spirit and his blood
He'll wash my soul from sin.
5 Not choicest meats or noblest wines,
So much my heart refresh,
As when my faith goes thro' the signs,
And feeds upon his flesh.
6 I love the Lord, that stoops so low
To give his word a seal;
But the rich grace his hands bestow
Exceeds the figures still.
Hymn 2:142.
Faith in Christ our sacrifice.
1 Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.
2 But Christ the heavenly Lamb
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.
3 My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of thine,
While like a penitent I stand
And there confess my sin.
4 My soul looks back to see
The burdens thou didst bear
When hanging on the cursed tree,
And hopes her guilt was there.
5 Believing we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing his bleeding love.
Hymn 2:143.
Flesh and spirit.
1 What different powers of grace and sin
Attend our mortal state!
I hate the thoughts that work within,
And do the works I hate.
2 Now I complain, and groan, and die,
While sin and Satan reign:
Now raise my songs of triumph high,
For grace prevails again.
3 So darkness struggles with the light
Till perfect day arise;
Water and fire maintain the fight
Until the weaker dies.
4 Thus will the flesh and spirit strive,
And vex and break my peace;
But I shall quit this mortal life,
And sin for ever cease.
Hymn 2:144.
The effusion of the Spirit; or,
The success of the gospel.
1 Great was the day, the joy was great,
When the divine disciples met;
Whilst on their heads the Spirit came,
And sat like tongues of cloven flame.
2 What gifts, what miracles he gave!
And power to kill, and power to save!
Furnish'd their tongues with wondrous words,
Instead of shields, and spears, and swords.
3 Thus arm'd, he sent the champions forth
From east to west, from south to north;
"Go, and assert your Saviour's cause,
"Go, spread the mystery of his cross."
4 These weapons of the holy war,
Of what almighty force they are
To make our stubborn passions bow,
And lay the proudest rebel low!
5 Nations, the learned and the rude,
Are by these heavenly arms subdu'd;
While Satan rages at his loss,
And hates the doctrine of the cross.
6 Great King of Grace, my heart subdue,
I would be led in triumph too,
A willing captive to my Lord,
And sing the victories of his word.
Hymn 2:145.
Sight through a glass, and face to face.
1 I love the windows of thy grace
Thro' which my Lord is seen,
And long to meet my Saviour's face
Without a glass between.
2 O, that the happy hour were come
To change my faith to sight!
I shall behold my Lord at home
In a diviner light.
3 Haste, my beloved, and remove
These interposing days:
Then shall my passions all be love,
And all my powers be praise.
Hymn 2:146.
The vanity of creatures;
or, No rest on earth.
1 Man has a soul of vast desires,
He burns within with restless fires;
Tost to and fro, his passions fly
From vanity to vanity.
2 In vain on earth we hope to find
Some solid good to fill the mind,
We try new pleasures, but we feel
The inward thirst and torment still.
3 So when a raging fever burns
We shift from side to side by turns,
And 'tis a poor relief we gain
To change the place, but keep the pain.
4 Great God, subdue this vicious thirst,
This love to vanity and dust;
Cure the vile fever of the mind,
And feed our souls with joys refin'd.
Hymn 2:147.
The creation of the world, Gen. 1.
1 "Now let a spacious world arise,"
Said the Creator-Lord:
At once the obedient earth and skies
Rose at his sovereign word.
2 [Dark was the deep; the waters lay
Confus'd and drown'd the land:
He call'd the light; the new-born day
Attends on his command.
3 He bids the clouds ascend on high;
The clouds ascend and bear
A watery treasure to the sky,
And float on softer air.
4 The liquid element below
Was gather'd by his hand;
The rolling seas together flow,
And leave the solid land.
5 With herbs and plants, a flowery birth,
The naked globe he crown'd,
Ere there was rain to bless the earth,
Or sun to warm the ground.
6 Then he adorn'd the upper skies;
Behold the sun appears,
The moon and stars in order rise
To make our months and years,
7 Out of the deep th' almighty King
Did vital beings frame;
The painted fowls of every wing,
And fish of every name.]
8 He gave the lion and the worm
At once their wondrous birth;
And grazing beasts of various form,
Rose from the teeming earth.
9 Adam was fram'd of equal clay,
Tho' sovereign of the rest,
Design'd for nobler ends than they,
With God's own image bless'd.
10 Thus glorious in the Maker's eye
The young creation stood;
He saw the building from on high,
His word pronounc'd it good.
11 Lord, while the frame of nature stands,
Thy praise shall fill my tongue;
But the new world of grace demands
A more exalted song.
Hymn 2:148.
God reconciled in Christ.
1 Dearest of all the names above
My Jesus, and my God,
Who can resist thy heavenly love,
Or trifle with thy blood?
2 'Tis by the merits of thy death
The Father smiles again;
'Tis by thine interceding breath
The Spirit dwells with men.
3 Till God in human flesh I see,
My thoughts no comfort find;
The holy, just, and sacred Three
Are terrors to my mind.
4 But if Immanuel's face appear,
My hope, my joy, begins;
His Name forbids my slavish fear,
His grace removes my sins.
5 While Jews on their own law rely,
And Greeks of wisdom boast,
I love th' incarnate mystery,
And there I fix my trust.
Hymn 2:149.
Honour to Magistrates; or,
Government from God.
1 Eternal Sovereign of the sky,
And Lord of all below,
We mortals to thy majesty
Our first obedience owe.
2 Our souls adore thy throne supreme,
And bless thy providence
For magistrates of meaner name,
Our glory and defence.
3 [The crowns of British princes shine
With rays above the rest,
Where laws and liberties combine
To make the nation bless'd.]
4 Kingdoms on firm foundations stand,
While virtue finds reward;
And sinners perish from the land
By justice and the sword.
5 Let Cesar's due be ever paid
To Cesar and his throne;
But consciences and souls were made
To be the Lord's alone.
Hymn 2:150.
The deceitfulness of sin.
1 Sin has a thousand treacherous arts
To practise on the mind;
With flattering looks she tempts our hearts
But leaves a sting behind.
2 With names of virtue she deceives
The aged and the young;
And while the heedless wretch believes,
She makes his fetters strong.
3 She pleads for all the joys she brings,
And gives a fair pretence;
But cheats the soul of heavenly things,
And chains it down to sense.
4 So on a tree divinely fair
Grew the forbidden food;
Our mother took the poison there,
And tainted all her blood.
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