2 'Twas not the death which He endured,
Nor all the pangs He bore,
That God's eternal love procured,
For God was love before.

3 He loved the world of His elect
With love surpassing thought;
Nor will His mercy e'er neglect
The souls so dearly bought.

4 The warm affections of His breast
Towards His chosen burn;
And in His love He'll ever rest,
Nor from His oath return.

5 Still to confirm His oath of old,
See in the heavens His bow;
No fierce rebukes, but love untold
Awaits His children now.

John Kent, 1803..

997

1

THE COVENANT.

The Covenant.

WITH David's Lord, and ours,

A covenant once was made,

Whose bonds are firm and sure,
Whose glories ne'er shall fade;
Sign'd by the sacred Three in One,
In mutual love ere time begun.
2 Firm as the lasting hills,

This covenant shall endure,
Whose potent shalls and wills

148th.

Make every blessing sure:
When ruin shakes all nature's frame,
Its jots and tittles stand the same.

3 Here, when thy feet shall fall,
Believer, thou shalt see
Grace to restore thy soul,
And pardon, full and free;
Thee with delight shall God behold
A sheep restored to Zion's fold.

4 And when through Jordan's flood
Thy God shall bid thee go,
His arm shall thee defend,

228

1

And vanquish every foe;

And in this covenant thou shalt view
Sufficient strength to bear thee through.

MY

John Kent, 1803, a

C. M.

An everlasting Covenant.

Y God, the covenant of Thy love
Abides for ever sure;

And in its matchless grace I feel

My happiness secure.

2 What though my house be not with Thee As nature could desire!

To nobler joys than nature gives
Thy servants all aspire.

3 Since Thou, the everlasting God,
My Father art become;

Jesus, my guardian and my friend,
And heaven my final home;

4 I welcome all Thy sovereign will,
For all that will is love;

And when I know not what Thou dost,

I'll wait the light above.

5 Thy covenant the last accent claims
Of this poor faltering tongue;
And that shall the first notes employ
celestial song.

Of my

Philip Doddridge, 1755.

229 The Covenant God extolled.

1

2

3

THE

6.8.4.

HE God of Abraham praise
Who reigns enthroned above,

Ancient of everlasting days,
And God of love!
Jehovah, great I AM!

By earth and heaven confest;
I bow, and bless the sacred name,
For ever blest!

The God of Abraham praise,
At whose supreme command,
From earth I rise, and seek the joys
At His right hand:

I all on earth forsake,

Its wisdom, fame, and power;
And Him my only portion make,
My shield and tower.

The God of Abraham praise,
Whose all-sufficient grace
Shall guide me all my happy dayз
In all His ways:

He calls a worm His friend,
He calls Himself my God!

And He shall save me to the end,
Through Jesus' blood.

4

5

6

7

He by Himself hath sworn,
I on His oath depend;

I shall, on eagles' wings upborne,
To heaven ascend:

I shall behold His face,

I shall His power adore,
And sing the wonders of His grace
For evermore.

PART THE SECOND.

Though nature's strength decay,
And earth and hell withstand,
To Canaan's bounds I urge my way
At His command:

The watery deep I pass

With Jesus in my view,

And through the howling wilderness

My way pursue.

The goodly land I see,

With peace and plenty blest;

A land of sacred liberty,

And endless rest:

There milk and honey flow,
And oil and wine abound,
And trees of life for ever grow,

With mercy crown'd.

There dwells the Lord our King,
The Lord our righteousness!

Triumphant o'er the world and sin,

The Prince of Peace.
On Sion's sacred height,

His kingdom still maintains;
And glorious with His saints in light,
For ever reigns!

8

The whole triumphant host
Give thanks to God on high,
"Hail Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!"
They ever cry:

Hail, Abraham's God, and mine!
I join the heavenly lays;

All might and majesty are Thine,
And endless praise.

Thomas Olivers, 1772.

THE WORK OF GRACE AS

A WHOLE.

230 All Mercies traced to electing Love. 148th.

NDULGENT God! how kind

1 INDU

Are all Thy ways to me,

Whose dark benighted mind

Was enmity with Thee;

Yet now, subdued by sovereign grace,
My spirit longs for Thine embrace.

2 How precious are Thy thoughts,
That o'er my bosom roll;

They swell beyond my faults,
And captivate my soul;

How great their sum, how high they rise, Can ne'er be known beneath the skies. 3 Preserved in Jesus, when

My feet made haste to hell;
And there should I have gone,
But Thou dost all things well;
Thy love was great, Thy mercy free,
Which from the pit deliver'd me.