VIII. O LORD, I WILL PRAISE THEE. Isaiah, xii. 1.
I WILL praise thee every day Now thine anger 's turn'd away; Comfortable thoughts arise From the bleeding sacrifice.
Here, in the fair gospel-field, Wells of free salvation yield Streams of life, a plenteous store, And my soul shall thirst no more. Jesus is become at length My salvation and my strength ; And his praises shall prolong, While I live, my pleasant song. Praise ye, then, his glorious name, Publish his exalted fame!
Still his worth your praise exceeds ; Excellent are all his deeds.
Raise again the joyful sound, Let the nations roll it round! Zion, shout! for this is he;
God the Saviour dwells in thee:
IX. THE CONTRITE HEART. Isaiah, lvii. 15.
THE Lord will happiness divine
On contrite hearts bestow; Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
A contrite heart, or no?
I hear, but seem to hear in vain, Insensible as steel;
If aught is felt, 'tis only pain, To find I cannot feel.
I sometimes think myself inclined To love thee, if I could;
But often feel another mind, Averse to all that's good.
My best desires are faint and few, I fain would strive for more;
But when I cry, "My strength renew!" Seem weaker than before.
Thy saints are comforted, I know, And love thy house of prayer; I therefore go where others go, But find no comfort there.
O make this heart rejoice or ache; Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken, break,- And heal it if it be.
X. THE FUTURE PEACE AND GLORY OF THE CHURCH. Isaiah, ix. 15-20.
HEAR what God the Lord hath spoken: "O my people, faint and few, Comfortless, afflicted, broken, Fair abodes I build for you. Thorns of heart-felt tribulation Shall no more perplex your ways:
You shall name your walls, Salvation, And your gates shall all be Praise.
"There, like streams that feed the garden, Pleasures without end shall flow; For the Lord, your faith rewarding, All his bounty shall bestow; Still in undisturb'd possession Peace and righteousness shall reign; Never shall you feel oppression, Hear the voice of war again.
"Ye no more your suns descending, Waning moons no more shall see ; But your griefs for ever ending, Find eternal noon in me:
God shall rise, and shining o'er ye, Change to day the gloom of night; He, the Lord, shall be your glory, God your everlasting light."
XI. JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jer. xxiii. 6.
My God, how perfect are thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.
When I would speak what thou hast done To save me from my sin,
I cannot make thy mercies known, But self-applause creeps in. Divine desire, that holy flame Thy grace creates in me; Alas! impatience is its name, When it returns to thee.
This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts, How does it overflow, While self upon the surface floats, Still bubbling from below!
Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine;
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord for ever mine.
My God, till I received thy stroke, How like a beast was I!
So unaccustom'd to the yoke,
So backward to comply.
With grief my just reproach I bear; Shame fills me at the thought, How frequent my rebellions were, What wickedness I wrought. Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd, Ånd left the pleasant road; Yet turn me, and I shall be turn'd! Thou art the Lord my God.
"Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, Or vile in my esteem ?
No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults,
I still remember him.
"Is he a dear and pleasant child?
Yes, dear and pleasant still; Though sin his foolish heart beguiled, And he withstood my will.
'My sharp rebuke has laid him low, He seeks my face again;
My pity kindles at his woe, He shall not seek in vain."
THE Lord proclaims his grace abroad! "Behold, I change your hearts of stone; Each shall renounce his idol-god,
And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone.
My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds To wash your filthiness away; Ye shall abhor your former deeds, And learn my statutes to obey.
My truth the great design insures, I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours, Your God unalterably true.
"Yet not unsought, or unimplored, The plenteous grace shall I confer; No-your whole hearts shall seek the Lord, I'll put a praying spirit there.
"From the first breath of life divine,
Down to the last expiring hour,
The gracious work shall all be mine, Begun and ended in my power."
XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. Ezek. xlviii. 35.
As birds their infant brood protect,† And spread their wings to shelter them, Isaiah, xxxi. 5.
Thus saith the Lord to his elect, So will I guard Jerusalem.
And what then is Jerusalem, This darling object of his care?
Where is its worth in God's esteem ? Who built it? who inhabits there?
Jehovah founded it in blood, The blood of his incarnate Son; There dwell the saints, once foes to God, The sinners whom he calls his own. There, though besieged on every side, Yet much beloved, and guarded well, From age to age they have defied The utmost force of earth and hell. Let earth repent, and hell despair, This city has a sure defence;
Her name is call'd, "The Lord is there," And who has power to drive him thence ?
XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED. Zech. xiii. 1.
THERE is a fountain fill'd with blood Drawn from Emmanuel's veins; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; And there have I, as vile as he, Wash'd all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransom'd church of God Be saved, to sin no more.
E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be till I die.
« הקודםהמשך » |