University of Virginia Library


371

XVII.

[Thou great Unsearchable, Unknown]

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” —Deuteronomy vi. 5.

Thou great Unsearchable, Unknown,
How shall I Thy command fulfil,
Or force my faithless heart of stone
To bow obedient to Thy will?
Unless the stony Thou remove,
Unless Thou show me who Thou art,
'Tis quite impossible to love
The Lord my God with all my heart.
Come then, Jehovah crucified,
The God supreme in Christ reveal'd,
And through Thy sacred blood applied
My soul shall feel its pardon seal'd:
Shall truly by Thy Spirit know
The God that purged my sinful stain,
And pay the mighty debt I owe,
And love my loving Lord again.
A few more days imprison'd here,
For this, and only this I live,
Till Thou the slaughter'd Lamb appear,
Till Thou the pure affection give.
(That purchase of Thy dying groan,
That boundless charity Divine,)
And take possession of Thy own
And seal my heart for ever Thine.