The poetical works of John and Charles Wesley

They who the will Divine have done,
The promise shall through grace receive,
And gain their calling's glorious crown,
And free from sin in Jesus live.

Yes, Lord, Thy word for ever stands,
And shall from age to age endure;
To us, who own Thy mild commands,
To working faith, the word is sure.

Who Thee remembers in Thy ways,
And follows after holiness,
Because on Thee his mind he stays,
Him Thou wilt keep in perfect peace.

Who trusts to be redeem'd from sin,
And all Thy holy will to prove,
Thy open arms shall take him in,
And root and 'stablish him in love.

Trust in the Lord, ye sons of men,
The Lord almighty to redeem;
Your faith in Him shall not be vain,
He saves whoever trust in Him.

His saving power no limits knows,
In strength and goodness infinite;
Satan and sin His arm o'erthrows,
And bruises them beneath our feet.

287

He brings down them who dwell on high,
Humbles each vain aspiring boast;
Bulwarks and towers, that threat the sky,
He fells, and levels with the dust.

He lays the lofty city low,
O'erturns, and brings it to the ground;
His hands destroy the inbred foe,
And all the strength of sin confound.

That haughty Babylon within
Shall to believing souls submit:
They shall not always strive with sin,
But tread it down beneath their feet.

Satan's strongholds o'erthrown shall be,
The poor shall on their ruins tread,
Lead captive their captivity,
From all their sins for ever freed.

This is the triumph of the just,
Whoe'er on Thee their spirit stay,
Shall find the God in whom they trust:
Perfection is their shining way.

Most holy, pure, and perfect Thou,
Just of Thyself, and good alone,
Dost all Thy children's paths allow,
When cleansed, and sanctified in One.

PART II.

Awaken'd by Thy threatenings, Lord,
We long have seen our lost estate,
And still we hang upon Thy word,
And still for full redemption wait.

288

'Tis all our soul's desire to know
Thy loveliness, and to proclaim,
To perfect holiness below,
And show forth all Thy glorious name.

Thee with my spirit have I desired,
And mourn'd throughout the livelong night,
To Thee my early soul aspired;
And still I want Thy blissful sight.

Still do I languish for Thy grace,
And groan in pain to be renew'd,
And all within me seeks Thy face,
And all I am cries out for God.

Thy awful judgments first awoke,
And fill'd with terrors from above,
We sunk beneath Thine anger's stroke,
And trembled till we felt Thy love.

Sinners shall hear Thy threatening rod,
Break off their sins, and stand in awe,
For when Thy judgments are abroad,
The guilty world will learn Thy law.

But neither threats nor smiles can move
The wretch self-harden'd, self-destroy'd;
Who slights Thy wrath, will spurn Thy love,
And make Thy tender mercies void.

He in the land of uprightness
Rejects the grace he might receive,
He will not learn the way of peace,
He will not come to Thee, and live.

He will not taste Thy pardoning grace,
Thy bleeding love he will not see,
Behold his God in Jesu's face,
Or own the suffering Deity.

289

Lord, when Thine hand is lifted up,
They will not see, nor understand;
But they shall soon be forced to stoop,
And feel Thy sin-avenging hand.

Who now their hellish malice show,
And in Thy people Thee defy,
Malign Thy little flock below,
And touch the apple of Thine eye;

Confounded for their envious hate
They soon shall prove Thine utmost ire,
And tremble and confess too late
Our God is a consuming fire.

Judgment for those who slight Thy grace;
But peace Thou wilt for us ordain,
Thou hast inclined us to embrace
Thyself, and bid our fruit remain.

O Lord, our God, (when all renew'd
And perfected in love, we say,)
We were by other lords subdued,
And basely yielded to their sway.

Long did our lusts and passions reign,
And ruled us with an iron rod;
But lo! we now their yoke disdain;
And yield us servants to our God.

Redeem'd from all iniquity,
Thine all-victorious grace we own;
Worship and power ascribe to Thee,
And live and die to Thee alone.

Through Thee Thy goodness we proclaim,
We glory in Thy gracious power,
And boast us of Thine only name,
And speak, and think, of sin no more.

290

Our old usurping sins are dead,
Thou hast the lawless tyrants slain,
Buried, no more to lift their head;
No, never shall they rise again.

No spark of sin is left alive,
No least remains, or smallest seed;
That they might never more revive,
The Son hath made us free indeed.

Thou all their memory hast erased,
Their being utterly destroy'd,
Their name eternally defaced,
And fill'd our spotless souls with God.

PART III.

God of all power, and truth, and grace,
Thou hast increased the holy seed,
Thou hast increased the chosen race,
The souls from sin for ever freed.

Thou in Thy saints art glorified,
Thou hast in them Thine image shown;
Shepherdless souls they wander'd wide,
Till call'd and perfected in One.

All we like sheep have gone astray,
To earth's remotest bounds removed,
Till Jesus show'd Himself the Way,
And kindly chasten'd whom He loved.

To Thee we in our trouble turn'd,
Constrain'd Thy chastisements to bear,
We then our sin and folly mourn'd,
And pour'd out all our soul in prayer.

291

As women, when their time draws nigh,
Cry out in sore distress, and pain,
So have we travail'd, in Thine eye,
And struggled to be born again.

In anguish, agony, and grief,
For years our labouring souls have been,
Nor could we bring ourselves relief,
Nor could we save ourselves from sin.

Our toil and strife avail'd us not,
Abortive proved our hope, and vain;
For we have no deliverance wrought,
For yet we were not born again.

The world did not before us fall,
We wanted still the victory,
The mighty faith that conquers all,
And makes the soul for ever free.

But they who, sunk in self-despair,
Death's sentence in themselves receive,
The quickening voice Divine shall hear,
And dead with Christ, with Christ shall live.

The Spirit that raised Him from the dead,
My mortal body shall inspire,
Shall raise us all with Christ our Head,
And hallow and baptize with fire.

Awake and sing, ye souls that dwell
Indignant in the shade of death,
Our Lord, who burst the gates of hell,
Shall bear you from the gulf beneath.

As herbs revived by vernal dew,
Spring from the earth, and flourish fair,
Ye all shall rise with verdure new,
And fruit unto perfection bear.

292

The hour shall come, the gospel hour,
When all that wait, His power shall prove,
His resurrection's glorious power,
And live the life of faith and love.

They from the death of sin shall rise,
Preventing here the general doom,
When Christ the Lord shall bow the skies,
And all mankind to judgment come.

The earth shall then cast out its dead,
While all who perish'd unforgiven,
Horribly lift their guilty head,
And rise, to be shut out from heaven.

Come, little flock, (My people now,
My Israel, if thy heart be clean,)
Enter into thy chamber thou,
Exclude the world, the hell of sin.

Betake thee to the secret place,
Safe in My tabernacle rest,
O hide thee for a little space,
Be shelter'd in thy Saviour's breast.

Rest, till the storm is all o'erpast,
For lo! the Lord from heaven shall come
Judgment to execute at last,
And seal the guilty sinner's doom.

The sea shall then its dead restore,
The earth shall then disclose her blood,
Shelter their carcases no more,
Or screen them from an angry God.

Dragg'd from their graves, they then shall call
On rocks their quicken'd dust to' entomb,
And bid the burning mountains fall,
To hide them from the hell to come.

293

The wrath is come, the curse takes place,
The slaves of sin receive their hire,
And punish'd from My glorious face,
They sink into eternal fire.

II. ISAIAH XXVII. 1–6, &c.

The Lord of Hosts, the' Almighty Lord
Shall punish in that vengeful day,
Shall with His Spirit's two-edged sword
The piercing crooked serpent slay.

Leviathan, that subtle fiend,
That soul-insinuating foe,
Jesus shall make his malice end,
And root out all our sins below.

Jesus shall make us free indeed,
Redeem from all iniquity,
And crush the hellish serpent's head,
And slay the dragon in the sea.

The sea is calm'd, the troubled soul,
In which he did his pastime take,
The sinner now by faith made whole,
Will never more his God forsake.

Sing to the church in that glad day,
(The church is join'd to those above,
When all their sins are wash'd away,
And they are perfected in love:

Partakers of the life Divine,
When grace the full salvation brings,)
Sing ye, a vineyard of red wine,
A vineyard for the King of kings!

294

I keep it, I the' almighty Lord
My Spirit every moment pour,
Descends the water and the word,
The gracious never-ceasing shower.

I water it with heavenly dew,
Satan and sin I chase away,
I water it, and keep it too,
I watch My vineyard night and day.

Fury is not in Me; to all,
To all My mercies freely move:
Who would resist My gracious call,
Or spurn the bowels of My love?

Who against Me would madly dare
To set the thorns and briers in fight?
Through all I would My passage tear,
And trample on their feeble might.

The soul that will not taste My love
Shall perish by My righteous ire,
My vengeful indignation prove,
And feel Me a consuming fire.

But rather let him freely take
A power from Me to turn and live;
Peace with his God he then shall make,
And Christ into his heart receive.

My Son from all, who come to Him,
Shall every spot of sin remove,
From all iniquity redeem,
And root and 'stablish them in love.

Grafted in Him they all shall share
The life and fatness of the Root,
And every holy temper bear,
And fill the world with golden fruit.

295

The trees of righteousness shall rise,
Water'd each moment from above,
And bear the fruits of paradise,
The glorious fruits of perfect love.

III. THE FORTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

Yet now, My chosen servant, hear,
The Lord hath to His Israel said,
Who form'd thee from the womb is near,
To help, and save the souls He made.

Jacob, receive the word Divine,
Bid all thy fears and doubts depart;
Jeshurun, I have called thee Mine,
My servant, and My son thou art.

On every soul that thirsts for grace,
I will the living water shower,
I will on all thy gasping race
The fulness of My Spirit pour.

The grace shall on thy sons descend,
Through all succeeding ages flow,
And all who on My truth depend,
The' indwelling Comforter shall know.

The holy seed shall soon spring up,
(Water'd each moment from above,)
In tender awe, and blooming hope,
And flowery joy, and ripen'd love.

Fast by the streams of paradise,
With never-fading verdure fair,
The trees of righteousness shall rise,
And fruit unto perfection bear.

296

In different states the ransom'd race
Their still-increasing faith shall show,
The babes shall rise from pardoning grace,
And into youths and fathers grow.

The least shall say, the Lord's I am,
He bought with blood this soul of mine:
Another shall the blessing claim,
While wrestling with the Man Divine.

Prevalent now with God and man,
Sinners shall all My grace assert,
Jacob shall the new name obtain,
And Israel be, when pure in heart.

Thus saith the Lord of earth and heaven,
The King of Israel and his God,
Who hath for all a ransom given,
And bought a guilty world with blood:

I am from all eternity,
To all eternity I am:
There is none other God but Me,
Jehovah is My glorious name.

The Rise and End, the First and Last,
The Alpha and Omega I;
Who could like Me ordain the past,
Or who the things to come descry?

Where is the wise, foreknowing man,
Who hath to Me My model show'd,
Prescribed the great, eternal plan,
Or boldly taught the omniscient God?

Stand forth the self-instructed seers,
(Who ransack time's dark, burden'd womb,)
Foretell the' events of distant years,
And show mankind the things to come.

297

Foolish is all their strife, and vain
To' invade the property Divine;
'Tis Mine the work undone to' explain,
To call the future now is Mine.

Fear not, My own peculiar race,
I have to thee My counsel show'd,
The word of sure prophetic grace,
And told thee all the mind of God.

Ye are My witnesses, to you
My name and nature is made known,
Ye only can your seal set to,
That I am God, and God alone.

PART II.

Thou, only thou My servant art,
I call'd thee by My grace alone,
I fashion'd, and prepared thy heart,
And now I claim thee for My own.

Who to My righteousness submit,
Shall all My great salvation see;
The poor I never will forget,
Or cast him out who comes to Me.

Thy sins, which like a wide-spread cloud
Darken'd the face of angry heaven,
Lo! I have blotted out with blood:
Thy sins are all through grace forgiven.

I, the bright Sun of Righteousness,
Have chased the darkness all away;
Return to Me, who bought thy peace,
Rejoice to see My gospel day.

298

Ye heavens rejoice In Jesus's grace,
Let earth make a noise, And echo His praise!
Our all-loving Saviour Hath pacified God,
And paid for His favour The price of His blood.

Ye mountains, and vales, In praises abound,
Ye hills, and ye dales, Continue the sound,
Break forth into singing Ye trees of the wood,
For Jesus is bringing Lost sinners to God.

Atonement He made For every one,
The debt He hath paid, The work He hath done,
Shout all the creation, Below and above,
Ascribing salvation To Jesus's love.

His mercy hath brought Salvation to all,
Who take it unbought He frees them from thrall,
Throughout the believer His glory displays,
And perfects for ever The vessels of grace.

O Israel, hear, thy God hath said,
The voice of thy Creator own,
I am the Lord, who all things made,
And still stretch out the heavens alone.

I hung the earth on empty space,
And still in equal poise sustain;
I make, and mar, pull down, and raise,
And Lord of My creation reign.

I the weak sons of men o'errule,
Their tokens and their schemes o'erthrow,
Baffle their strength, their wisdom fool,
On all their blasted projects blow.

299

I the diviner's skill confound,
From sinners I their purpose hide,
Level their Babels with the ground,
And torture, and distract their pride.

I stop the wise, and drive them back,
Cross and defeat their surest aim,
Their knowledge foolishness I make,
And turn their glory into shame.

But I My servants' word fulfil,
My messengers Divine I own;
Who show the counsel of My will,
Their word shall stand, and theirs alone.

I speak the' irrevocable word,
Which never unaccomplish'd dies;
Jerusalem shall be restored,
Thy ruins from the dust shall rise.

I bid the' unfathom'd deep be dry,
I bid the streams their course forsake,
My will to kings I signify,
And Cyrus for My servant take.

He shall perform My word of grace,
Whate'er My love benign hath will'd,
My shepherd He shall Salem raise,
And all her desolate wastes rebuild.

He, He shall bid the temple rise,
Type of My Cyrus from above,
Who builds the church to touch the skies,
In symmetry of perfect love.

300

IV. THE FIFTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

Hearken to Me, who seek the Lamb,
Who follow after righteousness;
Look to the rock, from whence ye came,
The father of the faithful race:

Behold, and in his footsteps tread:
I call'd him by My grace alone,
And bless'd, and multiplied his seed,
Believers in the promised Son.

Children of faithful Abraham these,
Who dare expect salvation here,
The Lord shall give them gospel peace,
And all His hopeless mourners cheer:

Shall soon His fallen Sion raise,
Her waste and desolate places build,
Pour out the Spirit of His grace,
And make her wilds a fruitful field.

The barren souls shall be restored,
The desert all renew'd shall rise,
Bloom as the garden of the Lord,
A fair terrestrial paradise.

Gladness and joy shall there be found,
Thanksgiving and the voice of praise,
The voice of melody shall sound,
And every heart be fill'd with grace.

Hearken to Me, My chosen race,
My own peculiar people, hear,
Whoe'er the gospel word embrace,
Look to be pure and perfect here.

301

A law shall soon from Me proceed,
A living life-infusing word,
The truth that makes you free indeed,
The' eternal Spirit of your Lord.

My mercy will I cause to rest,
Where all may see their sins forgiven,
May rise no more by guilt opprest,
And bless the light that leads to heaven.

My righteousness shall soon appear;
Already is the grace gone forth,
The grace that brings salvation near,
And offers all My pardoning worth.

Mine arms shall judge the world below,
The isles on Me shall humbly wait,
And long, through Me restored, to know
The glories of their first estate.

Not on an arm of flesh, but Mine,
Their steady confidence shall be;
Pardon, and peace, and power Divine,
All, all they shall expect from Me.

Lift up your eyes, the heavens survey,
And look upon the earth below;
The heavens like smoke shall pass away,
The earth its final period know.

Vanishes hence whate'er is seen,
The breath of life shall all expire,
The earth, and all that dwell therein
Shall perish in that fatal fire.

My righteousness shall stand alone,
My saving grace shall never move,
The basis cannot be o'erthrown,
The truth of My eternal love.

302

Hearken to Me, ye souls who know
The righteousness which faith imparts,
And lovingly obedient show
The law engraven on your hearts.

Fear not the taunts of short-lived man,
His feeble calumnies despise,
Impotent all his rage, and vain,
The threatener, while he threatens, dies.

Perishing as the garb they wear,
Your enemies shall fade away,
Their breath shall vanish into air,
The worm shall on their carcase prey.

God only is unchangeable,
My righteousness remaineth sure,
My great salvation cannot fail,
But shall from age to age endure.

PART II.

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake!
Thine own immortal strength put on,
With terror clothed the nations shake,
And cast Thy foes in fury down.

As in the ancient days appear,
The sacred annals speak Thy fame,
Be now omnipotently near,
Through endless ages still the same.

Thy tenfold vengeance knew to quell,
And humble haughty Rahab's pride,
Groan'd her pale sons Thy stroke to feel,
The first-born victims groan'd, and died.

303

The wounded dragon raged in vain,
While bold Thine utmost plague to brave,
Madly he dared the parted main,
And sunk beneath the' o'erwhelming wave.

He sunk; while Israel's chosen race
Triumphant urge their wondrous way;
Divinely led, the favourites pass
The' unwatery deep, and emptied sea.

At distance heap'd on either hand,
Yielding a strange unbeaten road,
In crystal walls the waters stand,
And own the arm of Israel's God.

That arm which is not shorten'd now,
Which wants not now the power to save;
Still present with Thy people Thou
Bear'st them through life's disparted wave.

By earth and hell pursued in vain,
To Thee the ransom'd seed shall come;
Shouting, their heavenly Sion gain,
And pass through death triumphant home.

The pain of life shall there be o'er,
The anguish, and distracting care,
There sighing grief shall weep no more,
And sin shall never enter there.

Where pure essential joy is found,
The Lord's redeem'd their heads shall raise,
With everlasting gladness crown'd,
And fill'd with love, and lost in praise.

304

PART III.

I, even I, am He that cheer
My people in distress and pain;
How weak thy heart, O man, to fear
Thy feeble fellow-reptile man!

Withering as grass he fades, and dies:
Yet hast thou been of man afraid,
Thoughtless of God, who earth and skies
Hath built, and keeps the worlds He made.

The' oppressor's rage thou every day
Hast fear'd, and trembled at his power,
As man like God thy soul could slay,
As hell were ready to devour.

But where is all his furious boast,
His idle wrath, and threatening vain?
Spite of the world and Satan's host,
Thou dost, Thou ever shalt remain.

The captive exile pines for ease,
And trembles lest his bread should fail,
Groans in the pit for his release,
Lest death consign his soul to hell.

But I the Lord thy Saviour am,
Divider of the roaring sea,
The Lord of Hosts is still My name;
Mine arm is now stretch'd out for thee.

My Son I have for sinners given:
Help upon thee, My Son, I place;
Go, plant the new-made earth and heaven,
And bring Me back the ransom'd race.

305

Thee have I shadow'd with My hand,
In Thee Divine and human join'd,
My Messenger of peace ordain'd,
My Gift of Life to all mankind.

Thee more peculiarly I give,
To souls who for redemption groan,
Say to the dying sinner, Live,
To Sion say, Thou art Mine own!

PART IV.

Awake, Jerusalem, awake,
Thou that hast drunk the trembling cup,
The slumber from thy spirit shake,
Beneath thy mighty woes stand up.

Thou that hast drunk the deadly wine
Of pain, astonishment, and fear,
The last sad dregs of wrath Divine;
Awake, and see thy Saviour near.

Of all her sons whom she brought forth,
Of all her sons whom Sion bred,
Not one can help her by his worth,
Not one can his weak mother lead.

Not one attempts with pious care
To guide her in the paths of peace:
Ah! who shall Sion's burden bear?
Ah! who shall bid thy sufferings cease?

Famine, and sword, have laid thee waste;
Sin, the destroying angel's sword
Throughout thy desolate land hath past,
Join'd with a famine of the word.

306

By whom shall I thy sorrows cheer?
As a wild bull thy sons lie bound,
And struggling in the hunter's snare,
And bellowing through their spirit's wound.

Fainting in all the streets they lie,
O'erwhelm'd beneath their guilty load,
Rebuked by Him they dared defy,
Full of the fury of thy God.

Wherefore to thee the Lord hath said,
(Opprest and drunk with wrath Divine,)
The Lord thy God, who deigns to plead
His people's desperate cause, and thine;

Lo! I thy soul have freely loved,
I have display'd My mercy's power,
The cup out of thy hands removed,
And thou shalt never taste it more.

Mine indignation's dreadful cup
The portion of thy foes shall be,
They, they shall all the dregs drink up:
The cup of blessing is for thee.

Thee, Sion, thee: so long compell'd
To stoop at the oppressor's frown,
Enslaved by man, and forced to yield,
When sin, or Satan, cried, Bow down.

Poor vassal! to rebel afraid,
Thy baseness bow'd to every lust,
As clay thou hast thy body laid,
And mix'd thy spirit with the dust.

But I, the righteous Lord, on all
That tread thee down will vengeance take,
My fury on thy sin shall fall,
Mine arm an end of sin shall make.

307

Its being with its power destroy,
The inward stumbling-block remove,
And fill thee with unfading joy,
And crown thee with eternal love.

V. THE SIXTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

The Spirit of the Lord My God
(Spirit of power, and health, and love)
My Father hath on Me bestow'd,
And sent Me from His throne above.

Prophet, and priest, and king of peace,
Anointed to declare His will,
To minister His pardoning grace,
And govern every soul I heal.

To sinners bruised, and meek, and poor,
Good tidings of great joy to' impart,
Sinners incurable to cure,
And bind up every broken heart.

The royal edict to proclaim,
Redemption for the captives found,
Mercy for all in Jesu's name,
And liberty to spirits bound.

Sinners, obey the heavenly call,
Your prison doors stand open wide;
Go forth, for I have ransom'd all,
For every soul of man have died.

The Lord hath sent His only Son,
To preach His acceptable year,
To make the joyful tidings known
Of vengeance, and deliverance near.

308

To' avenge them of their tyrant foe,
From sin, and Satan's power to turn,
The gift of righteousness bestow,
And kindly comfort all that mourn.

To help their grovelling unbelief,
Beauty for ashes to confer,
The oil of joy for abject grief,
Confident joy for sad despair.

'Tis Mine the drooping soul to raise,
To rescue all by sin opprest,
To clothe them in the robes of praise,
And give their weary spirits rest;

To make them trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord below;
Planted in honour of His grace,
They here shall to perfection grow.

They all shall spread the gospel hope,
Soon as My righteousness they have,
Shall raise the guilty sinner up,
And saved themselves their brethren save.

Workers with God, they now shall rear
The church, that long in ruins lay,
Her desolate estate repair,
Her ancient piety's decay.

With zeal, and heavenly wisdom fill'd,
The faithful labourers shall work on,
Build the old wastes, the cities build,
The souls by Satan broken down.

Strangers shall serve at your command,
Beneath your sacred burdens bow,
Labour for you, and till your land,
And gladly hold the gospel plough.

309

The Alien's sons your vine shall dress,
And feed your little flock and keep,
Themselves your little flock increase,
And play among your lambs and sheep.

Ye all My glory shall declare,
The chosen people of your God,
Mine image and inscription bear,
When wash'd from all your sins in blood.

A royal race of priests Divine,
Ye all shall minister My grace;
In prayers and free-will offerings join,
And sacrificial songs of praise.

To you the Gentile world shall flow,
Their glory and their wealth resign,
Lords are ye now of all below,
For all is yours, when ye are Mine.

With Me is full redemption found,
Ye more than justified shall be,
Much more than sin shall grace abound,
My people shall be all like Me;

Shall glory in My saving name:
I will remove the foul disgrace,
And swallow up their guilty shame,
And all their sins with blood efface.

Their glory shall their shame exceed,
When saved from all indwelling sin,
Doubly redeem'd, and free indeed,
Their conscience, and their heart is clean.

They now of double grace possest,
Shall all their souls in thanks employ,
Received into My perfect rest,
And crown'd with everlasting joy.

310

PART II.

For I the righteous Lord, and true,
Can only righteousness approve;
My people all are creatures new,
And I in them My image love.

I hate the souls that preach a lie,
And stumble the believing race,
My truth and holiness deny,
To' exalt My justifying grace.

That rob Me of My utmost power,
Which would their bosom-sin remove,
And hug it to their latest hour,
In honour of My pardoning love.

But will I not confirm My word,
The purpose of My soul fulfil?
The servant shall be as his lord,
For who can cross My sovereign will?

I will, that they should holy be,
Myself will lead them by the hand,
Into the truth, the liberty,
The glorious rest, the promised land.

Patience its perfect work shall have,
They shall be all entire and whole,
I will to all perfection save,
And fill their body, spirit, soul.

Thus will I make the covenant sure,
From them it never shall depart,
Who feel, while pure as God is pure,
My love, My nature in their heart.

311

Their seed by characters Divine
Shall be among the Gentiles known,
And in a land of darkness shine,
When all are perfected in One.

Whoe'er behold their heavenly grace,
Their glory shining from within,
Shall own them the peculiar race,
Whom God hath blest from all their sin.

My soul doth magnify the Lord,
(Then every chosen one shall cry,)
Wash'd by the water and the word,
I triumph in the Lord most High.

My God hath saved me from all sin,
His everlasting righteousness
Into my new-born soul brought in,
And fill'd with heavenly joy and peace.

The righteousness of saints I wear,
Which He the King of saints hath wrought;
Salvation from all guilt, and fear,
From pride, and every evil thought.

Jesus my garments hath put on,
Hath clothed me with the milk-white vest,
And sanctified through faith alone,
And in His glorious image dress'd.

He now mine inmost soul hath turn'd,
And bid me in His nature shine,
With every perfect gift adorn'd,
And all my graces are Divine.

With faith, and every grace beside
He hath endow'd me from above,
My Lamb hath deck'd me like a bride,
And my best jewel is His love.

312

For as the plants in gardens grow,
Or cultured lands their product yield,
The Lord His righteousness shall show,
The treasure in the gospel field.

Surely the' incorruptible seed
Shall in our earthly hearts take root,
Spring up in works, its branches spread,
And holiness its golden fruit.

The Lord our God shall give the' increase,
Shall matter for His glory find,
And lo! the perfect righteousness
Springs forth to gladden all mankind.

VI. THE SIXTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

For Sion's sake I will not cease
In agony of prayer to cry,
No, never will I hold my peace,
Till God proclaim salvation nigh:

Worthy in her great Saviour's worth
Till Sion doth illustrious shine,
And as a burning lamp goes forth
The blaze of righteousness Divine.

Thy righteousness the world shall see,
The Gentiles on thy beauty gaze,
And all the kings of earth agree
In wondering at thy glorious grace.

Thy glorious grace what tongue can tell?
The Lord shall a new name impart,
The' unutterable name reveal,
And write it on His people's heart.

313

Sion, for thee thy God shall care,
And claim thee as His just reward,
Thee for His crown of glory wear,
The royal diadem of thy Lord.

Outcast of God and man no more,
No more forsaken and forlorn,
Thy desolate estate is o'er,
For God shall comfort all that mourn.

The widow'd church shall married be,
And soon a numerous offspring bear:
Thy every son shall comfort thee,
And cherish with a husband's care.

Thy duteous sons to thee shall cleave,
The barren woman that keeps house,
Nor ever more the bosom leave
Of their dear mother and their spouse.

The Lord Himself thy Husband is,
He bought, and claims thee for His own;
Thy God delights to call thee His,
Flesh of His flesh, bone of His bone.

The joy that swells a bridegroom's breast,
When glorying o'er his long sought bride,
Shall swell thy God, of thee possess'd,
Of thee, for whom He lived and died.

Prophets to thee thy Lord hath raised,
O holy city of our God,
Hath on thy walls His watchmen placed,
And with a trumpet-voice endued.

They cry, and never hold their peace,
His promise day and night they plead,
Till God from all thy sins release,
And make thee like thy glorious Head.

314

Call on Him now, ye watchmen call,
Cry ye remembrancers Divine,
Give Him no rest, who died for all,
Till all in His pure worship join:

Till God appear the faithful God,
And make Jerusalem a praise,
And spread through all the earth abroad,
And 'stablish her with perfect grace.

The Lord by His right hand hath sworn,
The arm of His almighty power,
No more shalt thou to sin return,
Thy enemy shall no more devour.

Satan, the world, and sin too long
Have robb'd the children of their bread,
Poor labouring souls they suffer'd wrong,
Nor saw their legal toil succeed.

They sow'd the ground, and did not reap,
Planted, and did not drink the wine:
But I will comfort all that weep,
And fill the poor with food Divine.

No more shall strange desires consume
Their holy, pure and constant joy,
The waster pride no more shall come,
Their gifts and graces to destroy.

Surely the faithful seed at last
The labour of their hands shall eat,
Shall praise the Lord, and more than taste
The heavenly everlasting meat.

They all shall sit beneath the vine,
In calm inviolable peace,
And drink within My courts the wine,
My courts of perfect holiness.

315

Go through the gates, ('tis God commands,)
Workers with God, the charge obey,
Remove whate'er His work withstands,
Prepare, prepare His people's way.

Their even course let nothing stop,
Cast up the way, the stones remove,
The high and holy way cast up,
The gospel way of perfect love.

Lift up for all mankind to see
The standard of their dying God,
And point them to the shameful tree,
The cross all stain'd with hallow'd blood.

The Lord hath glorified His grace,
Throughout the earth proclaim'd His Son;
Say ye to all the sinful race,
He died for all your sins to' atone.

Sion, thy suffering God behold,
Thy Saviour and salvation too,
He comes, He comes, so long foretold,
Clothed in a vest of bloody hue.

Himself prepares His people's hearts,
Breaks and binds up, and wounds and heals,
A mystic death, and life imparts,
Empties the full, the emptied fills.

He fills whom first He hath prepared,
With Him the perfect grace is given,
Himself is here their great reward,
Their future and their present heaven.

They now the holy people named,
Their glorious title shall express,
From all iniquity redeem'd,
Fill'd with the Lord their righteousness.

316

A chosen, saved, peculiar race,
Sion, with all thy sons thou art,
Elect through sanctifying grace,
Perfect in love, and pure in heart.

VII. AN HYMN FOR SERIOUSNESS.

Thou God of glorious majesty,
To Thee against myself, to Thee
A worm of earth I cry,
An half-awaken'd child of man,
An heir of endless bliss or pain,
A sinner born to die.

Lo! on a narrow neck of land,
'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand
Secure, insensible:
A point of life, a moment's space
Removes me to that heavenly place,
Or shuts me up in hell.

O God, mine inmost soul convert,
And deeply on my thoughtful heart
Eternal things impress,
Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And tremble on the brink of fate,
And wake to righteousness.

Before me place in dread array
The pomp of that tremendous day,
When Thou with clouds shalt come
To judge the nations at Thy bar:
And tell me, Lord, shall I be there
To meet a joyful doom?

317

Be this my one great business here,
With serious industry, and fear,
My future bliss to' insure,
Thine utmost counsel to fulfil,
And suffer all Thy righteous will,
And to the end endure.

Then, Saviour, then my soul receive,
Transported from the vale, to live,
And reign with Thee above,
Where faith is sweetly lost in sight,
And hope in full supreme delight,
And everlasting love.

VIII. THE BEATITUDES.

Matthew v. 3–12.

Who believes the tidings? who
Witnesses that God is true?
Sees his sins and follies more
Than the sands upon the shore;
Sees his works with evil fraught,
All his life a constant blot;
Sees his heart of virtue void,
Alien from the life of God;
Tastes in every tainted breath
Pride, self-will, and sin, and death!

Who, ah, who deserves to feel
Never-ending pains in hell?
Conscious owns the just desert
Of his life, and of his heart?
Trembling views his long sought hire,
Vengeance of eternal fire?

318

Who hath fruitless toil bestow'd
To appease the wrath of God?
Vain is all thy toil and care,
Vain all nature's treasures are,
More to buy one soul it cost,
More to save a spirit lost.

What then wilt thou, canst thou do?
Canst thou form thyself anew?
Canst thou cleanse a filthy heart,
Life to the dead soul impart?
Canst thou thy lost powers restore,
Rise, go forth, and sin no more?

Never, never can it be,
God alone can set thee free!
God alone the work hath done,
Fought the fight, the battle won:
God alone the price hath paid,
All thy sins on Him were laid.
Happy soul, from guilt set free,
Jesus died for thee, for thee!
Jesus does for thee atone,
Points thee to the' eternal crown,
Speaks to thee the kingdom given,
Kingdom of an inward heaven,
Glorious joy, unutter'd peace,
All-victorious righteousness.

Why then do thy fears return?
Yet again why dost thou mourn?
Whence the clouds that round thee roll?
Whence the doubts that tear thy soul?
Why are all thy comforts fled?
“Sin revives, and I am dead.”

319

Dead alas! thou art within,
Still remains the inbred sin,
Dead within thou surely art,
Still unclean remains thy heart;
Pride alas is still behind,
Still the earthly carnal mind,
The untamed rebellious will,
Foe to good, enslaved to ill;
Still the nature unrenew'd,
Alien from the life of God.

Mourn awhile for God thy Rest,
God will soon pronounce thee blest,
Soon the Comforter will come,
Fix in thee His constant home,
With thy heart His witness bear
Strong, and permanent, and clear:
All thy griefs shall then be gone,
Doubt, and fear no more be known,
Holy love thy heart possess,
Silent joy, and steadfast peace,
Peace that never can decay,
Joy that none can take away.

Happy soul, as silver tried,
Silver seven times purified,
Love hath broke the rock of stone,
All thy hardness melted down,
Wrath, and pride, and hatred cease,
All thy heart is gentleness.
Let the waves around thee rise,
Let the tempest threat the skies,
Calm thou ever art within,
All unruffled, all serene:

320

Thy sure anchor cannot fail,
Enter'd now within the veil;
Glad this earth thou canst resign:
The new heavens and earth are thine.

Why then heave again thy sighs,
Heir of all in earth and skies?
Still thou feel'st the root within,
Bitter root of inbred sin;
Nature still in thee hath part,
Unrenew'd is still thy heart,
Still thy heart is unrenew'd,
Alien from the life of God:
Hence with secret earnest moans,
Deep unutterable groans,
Day and night thy ceaseless cries
To the mercy-seat arise;
“Come, Thou holy God and true!
Come, and my whole heart renew;
Take me now, possess me whole,
Form the Saviour in my soul,
In my heart Thy name reveal,
Stamp me with Thy Spirit's seal,
Change my nature into Thine,
In me Thy whole image shine:
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Fill me with Thy fulness now.”
Happy soul, thy suit is won,
As thou wilt it shall be done.

Happy soul, who now renew'd,
God in thee, and thou in God,
Only feel'st within thee move
Tenderness, compassion, love,

321

Love immense, and unconfined,
Love to all of humankind,
Love, which willeth all should live,
Love, which all to all would give,
Love, that over all prevails,
Love, that never, never fails:
Stand secure, for thou shalt prove
All the' eternity of love.

Happy soul, from every sin
Clean, even as thy Lord is clean,
God hath made thy footsteps sure,
Purified as He is pure.
God thou dost in all things see;
God is all in all to thee;
Heaven above, and earth abroad,
All to thee is full of God.

Happy soul, whose active love
Emulates the bless'd above,
In thy every action seen,
Sparkling from the soul within:
Thou to every sufferer nigh,
Hearest, not in vain, the cry
Of the widow in distress,
Of the poor and fatherless!
Raiment thou to all that need,
To the hungry deal'st thy bread,
To the sick thou givest relief,
Soothest the hapless prisoner's grief,
The weak hands thou liftest up,
Bidd'st the helpless mourners hope,
Givest to those in darkness light,
Guidest the weary wanderer right,

322

Break'st the roaring lion's teeth,
Savest the sinner's soul from death;
Happy thou, for God doth own
Thee, His well-beloved son.

Let the sons of Belial rage,
Let all hell its powers engage,
Brand with infamy thy name,
Put thee to an open shame;
Let earth's comforts be withdrawn,
Parents, kindred, friends be gone;
Naked didst thou hither come?
Naked let them send thee home:
Happy, O thrice happy thou,
Seal'd unto redemption now!
Let thy soul with transport swell
Glorious and unspeakable;
All in earth thou well hast given,
God is thy reward in heaven.

[FOR ONE CONVINCED OF UNBELIEF.]

IX. FOR ONE CONVINCED OF UNBELIEF.

Hymn 1.

And have I measured half my days,
And half my journey run,
Nor tasted the Redeemer's grace,
Nor yet my work begun?

The morning of my life is past,
The noon almost is o'er,
The night of death approaches fast,
When I can work no more.

323

O what a length of wretched years
Have I lived out in vain!
How fruitless all my toils and tears!
I am not born again.

Evil and sad my days have been,
And all a painful void,
For still I am not saved from sin;
For still I know not God.

Darkness He makes His secret place,
Thick clouds surround His throne:
Nor can I yet behold His face,
Or find the God unknown.

A God that hides Himself He is,
Far off from mortal sight,
An inaccessible abyss
Of uncreated light.

Far off He is, yet always near,
He fills both earth and heaven,
But doth not to my soul appear,
My soul from Eden driven.

O'er earth a banish'd man I rove,
But cannot feel Him nigh;
Where is the pardoning God of love,
Who stoop'd for me to die?

I sought Him in the secret cell,
With unavailing care,
Long did I in the desert dwell,
Nor could I find Him there.

Still every means in vain I try,
I seek Him far and near,
Where'er I come, constrain'd to cry
My Saviour is not here.

324

God is in this, in every place:
Yet O! how dark and void
To me! 'Tis one great wilderness,
This earth without my God!

Empty of Him, who all things fills,
Till He His light impart!
Till He His glorious self reveals,
The veil is on my heart.

O Thou who seest and know'st my grief,
Thyself unseen unknown,
Pity my helpless unbelief,
And take away the stone.

Regard me with a gracious eye,
The long sought blessing give;
And bid me, at the point to die,
Behold Thy face and live.

A darker soul did never yet
Thy promised help implore:
O that I now my Lord might meet,
And never lose Him more!

Now, Jesus, now the Father's love
Shed in my heart abroad,
The middle wall of sin remove,
And let me into God.

X. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Author of faith, to Thee I cry]

Author of faith, to Thee I cry,
To Thee who wouldst not have me die,
But know the truth and live:
Open mine eyes to see Thy face,
Work in my heart the saving grace,
The life eternal give.

325

Shut up in unbelief I groan,
And blindly serve a God unknown,
Till Thou the veil remove,
The gift unspeakable impart,
And write Thy name upon my heart,
And manifest Thy love.

I know the work is only Thine,
The gift of faith is all Divine;
But if on Thee we call,
Thou wouldst the benefit bestow,
And give us hearts to feel, and know
That Thou hast died for all.

Thou bidd'st us knock, and enter in,
Come unto Thee, and rest from sin,
The blessing seek, and find;
Thou bidd'st us ask Thy grace, and have,
Thou canst, Thou wouldst, this moment save
Both me, and all mankind.

Be it according to Thy word,
Now let me find my pardoning Lord,
Let what I ask be given;
The bar of unbelief remove,
Open the door of faith and love,
And take me into heaven.

XI. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Out of the iron furnace, Lord]

Out of the iron furnace, Lord,
To Thee for help I cry,
I listen to Thy warning word,
And would from Egypt fly.

326

Long have I bow'd to sin's command,
But now I would be free,
'Scape from the dire oppressor's land,
And live, O God, to Thee.

Hast Thou not surely seen my grief?
Hast Thou not heard me groan?
O hasten then to my relief,
In pitying love come down.

From Pharaoh, and the' Egyptian's power,
Redeem a wretched slave;
Thou canst redeem me in this hour,
Thou wilt the sinner save.

Now, Lord, relieve my misery,
Stretch out Thy mighty hand,
Drown all my sins in the Red Sea,
And bring me safe to land.

Strength in the Lord my righteousness,
And pardon I receive,
And holy joy, and quiet peace,
The moment I believe.

XII. THE SAME. AT WAKING.

Hymn 4.

Again my mournful sighs
Prevent the rising morn,
Again my wishful eyes
Look out for His return:
I weep, and languish for relief,
And long my Lord to find,
But wake alas! to all the grief,
And load I left behind.

327

O depth of sad distress,
When shall my sorrows end!
When will the Prince of Peace
Declare Himself my friend?
Or must I thus for ever cry
In hopeless misery,
My God, my God, and Saviour, why
Hast Thou forsaken me!

Is there no balm of love
Within Thy bosom found,
My anguish to remove,
And heal my spirit's wound?
Or wilt Thou, Lord, my cure disclaim,
Who need of healing have?
Because the sinners' chief I am,
Wilt Thou refuse to save?

Most helpless is my soul
Of all the sin-sick race,
Thou therefore make it whole,
In honour of Thy grace:
More honour will Thy grace receive
By freely pardoning me,
Than if ten thousand sinners live,
Converted all to Thee.

Come then, and show Thine art,
Physician most Divine,
Bind up my broken heart,
Pour in Thy oil and wine:
Into my heart the Spirit pour
Of love, and joy, and peace,
To perfect health my soul restore,
To perfect holiness.

328

XIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[What tongue alas! can tell]

What tongue alas! can tell
The trouble and the grief,
The shame and fear I feel,
In hopeless unbelief!
In ceaseless groans
My soul bemoans
Its perfect misery:
Thou pardoning God,
Remove my load,
Or at Thy feet I die.

Why should I longer live
In unavailing pain?
Thy will is not to grieve
The helpless sons of men:
Send from above
Thy saving love,
And take me up on high:
Thou pardoning God,
Remove my load,
Or at Thy feet I die.

What shall a sinner say
Thy pity to incline?
In Jesu's name I pray
Forgive this soul of mine,
For Jesus' sake
Compassion take,
And freely justify;
Thou pardoning God,
Remove my load,
Or at Thy feet I die.

329

Father of mercies hear,
In answer to my moan,
Thy helpless mourner cheer,
And give me to Thy Son:
Till Thou restore
My peace and power,
This shall be all my cry,
Thou pardoning God,
Remove my load,
Or at Thy feet I die.

XIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[How long, Thou hidden God unknown]

How long, Thou hidden God unknown,
Wilt Thou Thy mournful creature see,
Distrest, and dark; yet wandering on,
And blindly feeling after Thee,
Thee, whom I cannot yet attain,
Thee, whom I seem to seek in vain?

An outcast from Thy blissful face,
Stranger to peace, and faith, and power,
I ask, nor have Thy pardoning grace,
I knock at faith's unopen'd door,
Nor can I yet admitted be,
But still the door is shut to me.

What is it makes my Saviour stay,
So strong, and ready to redeem?
Can Jesus will the' unkind delay,
Or cast me out who come to Him,
Or not the secret bar remove,
If still I stop His pardoning love?

330

He will, I dare believe, He will
His way into my heart prepare:
But let me wait Thy leisure still,
My passionate complaints forbear,
And give my rash impatience o'er,
And murmur for relief no more.

When my relief shall most display
Thy glory in Thy creature's good,
Then, Saviour, take the veil away,
Sprinkle me with the' atoning blood,
The power of living faith impart,
And breathe Thy love into my heart.

XV. THE SAME.

Hymn 7.

[Jesu, the promised strength supply]

Jesu, the promised strength supply,
Support my feeble, fainting mind,
Nor let me in the winter fly,
But seek, till I acceptance find,
But ask, till I am saved from sin,
And knock, till mercy takes me in.

Sufficient is the season past,
That I have grieved Thy gentle Dove,
Flew out in unbelieving haste,
And clamour'd for Thy pardoning love,
And raved and murmur'd to be free,
As God were bound to wait on me.

In base mistrust of finding God,
No more Thy gospel I deny,
Sit down content beneath my load,
Or with the world of liars cry,

331

“We need not know our sins forgiven,
Or feel His love, the pledge of heaven.”

I must, I shall be born again,
And perfect holiness below;
For this I wait in patient pain,
Nor is it mine the times to know,
But Thou hast died to ransom me,
And all my soul is cast on Thee.

XVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 8.

[O Thou hidden God unknown]

O Thou hidden God unknown,
Hear Thy fallen creature's cry,
Now recall Thy banished one,
One who would on Thee rely:
But till Thou Thy Spirit give,
Lord, I never can believe.

Dead in sin too long I was,
Blindest when I said “I see;”
Thou hast magnified Thy grace,
Show'd my want of faith and Thee,
Shone into my nature's night,
Bade me wait to see Thy light.

Stript of all my boasted power
Now myself I cannot save,
Cannot hasten the glad hour;
Only this from Thee I have,
Sin and unbelief to feel,
Both, alas! invincible.

332

Conscious of my unbelief,
Sweetly now for Thee I mourn,
Taste the blessedness of grief,
To my mighty fortress turn,
Prisoner I of gospel hope
For Thyself to Thee look up.

Token of Thy richest grace
I my poverty receive,
Sure Thou wilt unveil Thy face,
Sure Thou wilt the blessing give,
Faith that seals my sins forgiven,
Faith the earnest of my heaven.

XVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 9.

[O Thou of whom I oft have heard]

O Thou of whom I oft have heard,
Heard with the hearing of the ear,
But never truly loved, or fear'd,
But never found Thee present here,
Come to my poor, my faithless heart,
And kindly tell me who Thou art.

A spirit dark, and damn'd I am,
Sorrow and sin and I are one,
Weigh'd down with grief, and guilt and shame,
Out of the deep I cry and groan,
Nor know I where relief to find:
Show me, Thou Saviour of mankind.

No smallest motion can I make,
Toward heaven, and happiness, and Thee;
But save me for Thy mercy's sake,
Thy mercy most divinely free

333

Be on this harden'd rebel show'd,
In honour of the dying God.

The cause is all in Thee alone,
It lies within Thy tender breast;
To hell in anger send me down,
Or give my labouring spirit rest,
Redeem me from the' infernal grave,
And show forth all Thy power to save.

Look not on me, a beast, a fiend,
All wrath, all passion, and all pride;
But see Thyself, the sinner's Friend,
The Son of Man, the Crucified,
The God that left His throne above,
The bleeding Prince of peace, and love.

Why did Thy love submit to die,
If not to save apostate man!
Ah! let Thy bowels answer, Why
Made capable of mortal pain,
Did God His precious life resign,
If not from death to ransom mine!

Thy only dying love I plead,
Stronger than death Thy love to me:
If Thou couldst suffer in my stead,
Thou canst from sin and misery
My poor expiring soul lift up,
And bid the chief of sinners hope.

Even now Thou bidd'st my fears depart,
I hope to know my sins forgiven,
I hope to find Thee in my heart,
And taste that antepast of heaven,

334

I hope to feel Thy blood applied,
Since Thou for me, for me hast died.

XVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 10.

[Peace, doubting heart! hath God begun]

Peace, doubting heart! hath God begun,
And brought me to the birth in vain?
Will Jesus leave His work undone,
Or slight His sin-sick creature's pain,
My want of faith so kindly show,
And not the precious gift bestow?

Away my fond and needless fears,
That I shall seek, and never find,
Shall lose, my unavailing tears
O'erlook'd of God, and left behind,
Shall sue for grace, unanswer'd I,
And groan, till I in Egypt die!

Who ever ask'd for help in vain,
Or weary sunk beneath his load,
Or knock'd, but could not entrance gain?
Or hopeless died in seeking God,
Nor could at last acceptance meet,
But perish'd at his Saviour's feet?

His truth and love are on my side,
And stand engaged to make me blest;
I shall be freely justified,
I shall obtain the promised rest,
With eyes of faith my Jesus see,
And feel that He hath died for me.

335

[DESIRING TO LOVE.]

XIX. DESIRING TO LOVE.

Hymn 1.

Still, Lord, I languish for Thy grace,
Unveil the beauties of Thy face,
The middle wall remove,
Appear, and banish my complaint,
Come, and supply mine only want,
Fill all my soul with love.

Accurst without Thy love I am,
I bear my punishment, and shame,
And droop my guilty head,
Unchanged, unhallow'd, unrestored,
I do not love my bleeding Lord;
No other hell I need.

O conquer this rebellious will,
(Willing Thou art, and ready still,
Thy help is always nigh,)
The stony from my heart remove,
And give me, Lord, O give me love,
Or at Thy feet I die.

Whither, ah! whither should I go?
Nothing is worth a thought below;
Yet while on earth I stay,
O let me here my station keep,
And wash Thy feet with tears, and weep,
And weep my life away.

To Thee I lift my mournful eye,
Why am I thus? O tell me why
Cannot I love my God?

336

The hindrance must be all in me,
It cannot in my Saviour be,
Witness that streaming blood!

It cost Thy blood my heart to win,
To buy me from the power of sin,
And make me love again;
Come then, my Lord, Thy right assert,
Take to Thyself my ransom'd heart,
Nor bleed, nor die in vain.

XX. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Thou lovely Lamb, who on the tree]

Thou lovely Lamb, who on the tree
Shedd'st Thy last drop of blood for me,
My sufferings to remove,
Low in the dust I lie, and mourn
That I can make Thee no return
For all Thy waste of love.

'Tis all Thy loving heart's desire,
That I Thy fulness should require,
And with my misery part;
Thy Spirit strives to set me free,
The Father's Wisdom speaks in Thee,
“My Son, give Me thy heart.”

What is it, Lord, that keeps me back?
What is it which for Thy dear sake
I would not now forego?
Pleasure, or wealth, or life, or fame?
Thou know'st, no more my wishes aim
At happiness below.

337

I dread the human face Divine,
I want no other love than Thine,
All lovely as Thou art:
I view Thy creatures with disdain:
Tear them away, let Jesus reign
The monarch of my heart.

I would not, Lord, my soul deceive,
Willing I seem my all to leave,
So I might purchase Thee:
What is it then that holds me still?
My own, my own, and not the will
Of Him who died for me.

It must be so; in me alone
It stands; some cursed thing unknown
Compels my Lord to stay;
I will not suffer Him to save,
Some mystery of sin I have,
That bars the Saviour's way.

Shame on my soul! The dire disgrace
Covers with guilty shame my face,
And presses down my soul;
Hardly compell'd, I now confess,
I love, and cherish my disease,
And will not be made whole.

The Saviour God of love I clear,
Who justifies is always near,
And waits His grace to show;
But I, the stubborn rebel I,
Far from His arms of mercy fly,
And will not Jesus know.

338

Here then beneath my curse I stoop,
I give my false pretensions up,
Death's sentence I receive,
Guilty before my God I am,
I justify the angry Lamb,
He would have had me live.

I would not live, and therefore go,
Self-plunged in gulfs of endless woe,
I go to second death;
And let me now to Tophet fall,
Unless the God, who died for all,
Still spreads His arms beneath.

XXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[O Saviour, cast a pitying eye]

O Saviour, cast a pitying eye,
A sinner at Thy feet I lie,
And will not hence depart,
Till Thou regard my ceaseless moan;
O speak, and take away the stone,
The unbelieving heart:

Till Thou the mountain load remove,
I groan beneath my want of love;
O hear my bitter cry:
Without Thy love I cannot live,
Give, Jesu, Friend of sinners, give
Me love, or else I die.

Dost Thou not all my sufferings know,
Dost Thou not see mine eyes o'erflow,
My labouring bosom move?
Why do I all this burden bear?
Need I to Thee the cause declare?
Thou know'st, I cannot love.

339

This is my sin and misery,
I always find Thy love to me,
Seal'd by Thy precious blood;
And yet I make Thee no return,
I only for my baseness mourn,
I cannot love my God.

The world admire my mystic grief,
And torture me with vain relief,
And cruel kindness show;
They bid me give my wailings o'er,
And weep and vex myself no more
For One they never knew.

My Father's children feel my care,
With kind concern my cross they bear,
And in my sorrows join;
The suffering members sympathise,
And grieve my griefs, and sigh my sighs,
And mix their tears with mine.

But all in vain for me they grieve,
Their sufferings cannot mine relieve,
Or mitigate my pain:
No answer to their prayers they see,
And prevalent with God for me
They seem to pray in vain.

Thou then, O God, Thine hand lay to,
And let me all the means look through,
And trust to Thee alone,
To Thee alone for all things trust,
And say to Thee, who sav'st the lost,
Thine only will be done.

340

XXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O Jesu, let me bless Thy name!]

O Jesu, let me bless Thy name!
All sin, alas! Thou know'st I am,
But Thou all pity art;
Turn into flesh my heart of stone,
Such power belongs to Thee alone,
Turn into flesh my heart.

A poor unloving wretch to Thee
For help against myself I flee;
Thou only canst remove
The hindrances out of Thy way,
And soften my unyielding clay,
And mould it into love.

O let Thy Spirit shed abroad
The love, the perfect love of God,
In this cold heart of mine!
O might He now descend, and rest,
And dwell for ever in my breast,
And make me all Divine.

What shall I do my suit to gain?
O Lamb of God, for sinners slain,
I plead what Thou hast done:
Didst Thou not die the death for me?
Jesu, remember Calvary,
And break this heart of stone.

Take the dear purchase of Thy blood,
My Friend, and Advocate with God,
My Ransom and my Peace,
Surety, who all my debt hast paid,
For all my sins atonement made,
The Lord my Righteousness.

341

Why didst Thou leave Thy throne above,
But that the secret of Thy love
Might to my soul be known?
Hast Thou not given Thyself for me,
That I might only live to Thee,
Might die to Thee alone?

Be it according to Thy will,
In me Thy mystic love reveal,
And all in earth and heaven
Shall own that I their love outvie:
There's none can love so much as I,
None hath so much forgiven.

XXIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[O Love Divine, how sweet Thou art!]

O Love Divine, how sweet Thou art!
When shall I find my willing heart
All taken up by Thee!
I thirst, and faint, and die to prove,
The greatness of redeeming love,
The love of Christ to me.

Stronger His love than death or hell;
Its riches are unsearchable;
The first-born sons of light
Desire in vain its depth to see,
They cannot reach the mystery,
The length, and breadth, and height.

God only knows the love of God;
O that it now were shed abroad
In this poor stony heart!
For love I sigh, for love I pine:
This only portion, Lord, be mine,
Be mine this better part.

342

O that I could for ever sit,
With Mary at the Master's feet!
Be this my happy choice,
My only care, delight, and bliss,
My joy, my heaven on earth be this
To hear the Bridegroom's voice.

O that with humbled Peter I
Could weep, believe, and thrice reply
My faithfulness to prove,
Thou know'st, (for all to Thee is known,)
Thou know'st, O Lord, and Thou alone,
Thou know'st that Thee I love.

O that I could with favour'd John
Recline my weary head upon
The dear Redeemer's breast!
From care, and sin, and sorrow free,
Give me, O Lord, to find in Thee
My everlasting rest.

Thy only love do I require,
Nothing in earth beneath desire,
Nothing in heaven above;
Let earth, and heaven, and all things go,
Give me Thy only love to know,
Give me Thy only love.

XXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[O Thou, who hast redeem'd of old]

O Thou, who hast redeem'd of old,
And bidd'st me of Thy strength take hold,
And be at peace with Thee,
Help me Thy benefits to own,
And hear me tell what Thou hast done,
O dying Lamb, for me.

343

Out of myself for help I go,
Thy only love resolved to know,
Thy love my plea I make:
Give me Thy love; 'tis all I claim:
Give for the honour of Thy name,
Give for Thy mercy's sake.

Canst Thou deny Thy love to me?
Say, Thou Incarnate Deity,
Thou Man of Sorrows, say:
Thy glory why didst Thou enshrine
In such a clod of earth as mine,
And wrap Thee in my clay?

Ancient of Days, why didst Thou come,
And stoop to a poor virgin's womb,
Contracted to a span?
Flesh of our flesh why wast Thou made,
And humbly in a manger laid,
The new-born Son of Man?

Why didst Thou in this vale of tears,
For more than thirty mournful years,
A life of sufferings lead?
Why did Thine eyes with tears o'erflow?
Why wouldst Thou choose to want below
A place to lay Thy head?

Love, only love, Thy heart inclined,
And brought Thee, Saviour of mankind,
Down from Thy throne above:
Love made my God a man of grief,
Distress'd Thee sore for my relief:
O mystery of love!

344

To fill my soul it emptied Thee,
It made Thee poor, that I might be
Enrich'd with every grace:
Love made Thee to Thy Father cry,
And hid His face from Thee, that I
Might always see His face.

Quite from the manger to the cross
Thy life one scene of sufferings was,
And all sustain'd for me:
O strange excess of love Divine!
Jesus, was ever love like Thine!
Answer me from that tree!

If Thou couldst stoop for me to die,
Surely Thou wouldst that I, even I,
Thy death's effect should prove;
Then help me for Thy mercy's sake,
To weep, believe, and pay Thee back
Thy dear expiring love.

Because Thou lovedst, and diedst for me,
Cause me, my Jesus, to love Thee,
And gladly to resign
Whate'er I have, whate'er I am;
My life be all with Thine the same,
And all Thy death be mine!

XXV. FOR A DYING UNCONVERTED SINNER.

Now, sinner, now what is thy hope?
Canst thou with confidence look up,
And see the angel nigh?
Is death a messenger of peace?
And dost thou long for thy release?
And art thou fit to die?

345

Say, if prepared for death thou art,
What means that faltering of thy heart,
That inly stifled groan?
Why shrinks thy soul with guilty fear,
And loudly warn'd of judgment near
Starts from a God unknown?

Whither, ah! whither must thou go?
Poor dying wretch, thou dost not know,
Doubtful so near thine end;
Doubtful with whom thou first shalt meet,
Who first thy parting soul shall greet,
An angel, or a fiend.

Where wilt thou ease or comfort take?
Now to thy harmless life look back,
From outward vice so free;
Bring all thy works, and seeming good
To balance with thy guilty load,
And let them plead for thee.

Alas! they cannot buy thy peace,
The rags of thy own righteousness
They cannot screen thy shame:
Full of all inward sin thou art,
Anger, and lust, and pride of heart;
And Legion is thy name.

Now let thy best endeavours plead,
Now lean upon that feeble reed;
Thou who hast lived so well!
Thy dying weight it cannot bear,
But breaks, and leaves thee to despair,
And lets thee sink to hell.

346

Now wilt thou mock the sons of God,
Who felt the Saviour's sprinkled blood,
And own'd their sins forgiven!
Tell them, their peace they cannot feel,
The glorious hope, the Spirit's seal,
The antepast of heaven.

Hast thou received the Holy Ghost?
Poor Christless soul, undone, and lost,
Already damn'd thou art:
Now tell thy Lord, It cannot be;
He did not buy the grace for thee,
To dwell within thy heart.

His inspiration now blaspheme,
And call it all a madman's dream,
That God in man should dwell;
The' enthusiastic scheme explode,
That souls should here be fill'd with God:
Go laugh at saints in hell!

Ah! no; thy laughter ceases there,
Doom'd with apostate fiends to share
The unbeliever's hire;
There thou shalt die the second death,
And gnaw thy tongue, and gnash thy teeth,
And welter in that fire.

Alas! thy gracious day is past:
The wrath is come: what hope at last
The sentence to repeal?
No longer thy damnation sleeps,
The soul from off thy quivering lips
Is starting into hell.

347

But if thou nothing hast to plead,
Behold in this thy greatest need
An Advocate is nigh;
Ask Him to undertake thy cause,
The Man that hung upon the cross,
And deign'd for thee to die.

See Him between the dying thieves,
His grace the parting soul relieves
Even at its latest hour:
Ask, and His grace shall reach to thee,
“Jesus, my King, remember me,
Display Thy mercy's power.

“Thee for my Lord, and God I own,
With pity see me from Thy throne,
And though my body dies,
My soul, if Thou Thy Spirit give,
My happy soul to-day shall live,
With Thee in paradise.”

XXVI. ANOTHER.

[And must thou perish in thy blood]

And must thou perish in thy blood,
A wretched soul that knows not God,
A child of Satan thou!
Thy foes, and fears, and sins prevail;
Arrested by the pains of hell,
Where is thy refuge now?

Caught in the toils of death thou art,
All unrenew'd and foul thy heart,
And fill'd with guilty fear:
See there! the king of fears is come!
Prepare to meet thine instant doom,
Before thy God appear.

348

Vain are thy tears and late remorse;
The tyrant sits on his pale horse,
Devourer of mankind,
Attended by a ghastly train,
Sorrow, astonishment, and pain,
And hell comes close behind.

Ready to pierce thy trembling heart,
The grisly terror shakes his dart,
And hell expects its prey!
Ready a troop of devils stands
To take thee from the monster's hands,
And hurry thee away.

What hope or help remains for thee?
Poor desperate soul, and can it be
That thou shouldst mercy find?
Ask Him, who spilt His precious blood,
To buy, and bring thee back to God,
To ransom all mankind.

Call, on the name of Jesus call,
Ask if He did not die for all,
That all might turn and live?
Call on Him in this latest hour;
Hell is not readier to devour,
Than Jesus to forgive.

Sufficient is His grace for thee:
Straiten'd for time He cannot be;
Thy dying groan He hears:
Jesus is mighty to redeem;
A day, a moment's space, with Him
Is as a thousand years.

Call on Him, and He yet shall save,
“Redeem my spirit from the grave,
The gulf that yawns beneath,

349

Jesu, reverse my fearful doom,
O snatch me from the wrath to come,
The everlasting death.

“Sprinkle Thy blood upon my heart;
One drop, if Thou the grace impart,
Shall move my guilty load,
From every spot of sin set free;
Speak all-atoning blood for me,
Cry in the ears of God!

“Father, if now Thou hear'st it cry,
Now let it in my heart reply,
And show my sins forgiven;
Thou canst—Thou dost—this moment save:
'Tis finish'd! I my passport have—
Lead on, lead on to heaven!

XXVII. FOR A SICK FRIEND IN DARKNESS.

Come, Lord, come quickly from above,
The object of Thy bleeding love
Is sick, and wants Thine aid;
Lover of every helpless soul,
O let Thy pity make him whole,
Whose mind on Thee is stay'd.

His only trust is in Thy blood,
Thou sinner's Advocate with God,
Thou all-atoning Lamb,
The virtue of Thy death impart,
Speak comfort to his drooping heart,
And tell him all Thy name.

350

Give him Thy pardoning love to feel,
And freely his backslidings heal,
Repair his faith's decay;
Restore the sweetness of Thy grace,
Reveal the glories of Thy face,
And take his sins away.

Speak, Lord, and let him find Thee near,
O bid him now be of good cheer,
Declare his sins forgiven:
Return, Thou Prince of Peace, return,
Thou Comforter of all that mourn,
And look him into heaven.

XXVIII. ANOTHER.

[O Lord, our strength and righteousness]

O Lord, our strength and righteousness,
Our hope, and refuge in distress,
Our Saviour, and our God,
See here, an helpless sinner see,
Sick, and in pain he gasps to Thee,
And waits to feel Thy blood.

In sickness make Thou all his bed,
Thy hand support his fainting head,
His feeble soul defend;
Teach him on Thee to cast his care,
And all his grief and burden bear,
And love him to the end.

If now Thy will his soul require,
O sit as a refiner's fire,
And purge it first from sin;
Thy love hath quicker wings than death;
The fulness of Thy Spirit breathe,
And bring Thy nature in.

351

If in the vale of tears Thy will
Appoints him to continue still,
O sanctify his pain,
And let him patiently submit,
To suffer as Thy love sees fit,
And never once complain.

O let him look to Thee alone,
(That all Thy will on him be done
His only pleasure be,)
Alike resign'd, to live, or die,
As most Thy name may glorify,
To live or die to Thee.

[FOR ONE IN DOUBT.]

XXIX. FOR ONE IN DOUBT.

Hymn 1.

Ah! woe is me, condemn'd to bear
The living death of lingering hope;
In vain I labour to despair,
To give my life, my Saviour up,
Still on the rack of doubt I lie,
Nor can I live, nor can I die.

Is there a soul on this side hell,
So fallen, and so foul as mine!
But O! 'tis just whate'er I feel,
I dare not at my doom repine,
More I deserve, if more can be,
His plagues are all too light for me.

Yet let me urge my one request,
Most foul, and fallen as I am,
I ask not, Lord, relief and rest,
But end, or plunge me in my shame,

352

Now, Saviour, now conclude the strife,
And turn the scale for death, or life.

Ah! do not let me longer live
Stretch'd on this rack of doubt and fear;
Against, or with me sentence give,
My Judge, or Advocate appear,
Now, let me now Thy pleasure feel,
And rise to heaven, or sink to hell.

XXX. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Still, O Lord, for Thee I tarry]

Still, O Lord, for Thee I tarry,
Full of sorrows, sins, and wants;
Thee, and all Thy saints I weary
With my sad but vain complaints;
Sawn asunder by temptation,
Tortured by distracting care,
Kill'd by doubts' severe vexation,
Sorer evil than despair.

Will the fight be never over?
Will the balance never turn?
Still 'twixt life and death I hover,
Bear what is not to be borne;
Who can bear a wounded spirit?
Whither must my spirit go?
Shall I heaven or hell inherit?
Let me die my doom to know.

All in vain for death I languish,
Death from his pursuer flies:
Still I feel the gnawing anguish
Feel the worm that never dies;

353

Still in horrid expectation
Like the damn'd in hell I groan,
Envy them their swift damnation,
Fearful to enhance my own.

Jesus, see Thy fallen creature,
Fallen at Thy feet I lie,
Act according to Thy nature,
Bid the sinner live or die;
Of my pain fill up the measure,
If Thou canst no more forgive:
If Thou in my life hast pleasure,
Speak, and now my soul shall live.

XXXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[God of my life, to Thee I raise]

God of my life, to Thee I raise
(I fain would raise) my soul to Thee:
If I have lived out half my days,
And suffer'd half my misery,
Thy grace preserved me to this hour;
I glorify Thy gracious power.

Evil alas! Thou know'st, and few
My days of pilgrimage have been;
With thankfulness, and pain, I view
My thirty years of grief and sin—
Yet O! forgive this eager sigh,
This gasping of my soul to die.

I do not, dare not, Lord, mistrust
Thy power or readiness to save;
But let me now return to dust,
But let me find an early grave,
Cut off a length of wretched years,
And die—from all my sins and fears.

354

Long have I drank the bitter cup
Of trembling, agony, and grief;
So short my intervals of hope,
So few my moments of relief,
I fear lest all my bread should fail,
And Amalek at last prevail.

Like Hagar's son I lift mine hand
'Gainst every rebel soul of man,
Adverse to all the world I stand,
The world who triumph in my pain,
And ever for my halting wait,
The object of their endless hate.

A man of strife to all the earth
Me hath my hapless mother borne,
Unconscious of the Spirit's birth;
Where'er my blasted eyes I turn,
Suffering and sin is all I see,
Pure sin, and unmix'd misery.

Still the long hour of darkness lasts,
And Satan's tyranny prevails;
So thick his fiery darts he casts,
My spirit every moment fails,
While in the toils of death I lie,
And from the den of lions cry.

Low in the deepest dungeon laid,
Fast bound in sin and misery,
Of fiends, men, and myself afraid,
I ever hasten to be free,
I see them ready to devour,
And tremble at their baleful power.

355

Nor won, nor lost, subsists the fight,
Hovers in even poise the scale,
Shudders my soul with dread affright,
And quivering hangs 'twixt heaven and hell;
This doubt! 'tis more than I can bear,
'Tis worse, 'tis heavier than despair.

O Saviour, loose me from my pain,
O Jesus, bid my troubles end,
Bear not that healing name in vain,
But show Thyself the sinner's Friend,
Apply the blood that bought my peace,
And give my wounded spirit ease.

Thy only blood can be my balm,
And heal the mortal wounds of sin;
Thy only word my soul can calm,
And lay the storm that works within:
Now, Lord, rebuke the winds and seas,
And speak me into perfect peace.

Or (for I know not what is best)
Still let me bear my guilty load,
But be my everlasting Rest,
But bring me, as Thou wilt, to God,
When all His waves and storms are o'er,
And sin and sorrow are no more.

XXXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O Thou that dost in secret see]

O Thou that dost in secret see,
Regard a dying sinner's prayer;
Out of the deep I cry to Thee,
Save, or I perish in despair.

356

Shorten the days of inbred sin,
Speak to my raging passions peace,
Allay this hurricane within,
Bid all my inward conflicts cease.

When shall the fiery trial end?
When shall I live, and sin no more?
Wilt Thou not, Lord, my soul defend,
Till all the tyranny is o'er?

Weeping to Thee I lift mine eyes,
Mine eyes which fail with looking up,
For Thee my heart laments and sighs,
Sick with desire, and lingering hope.

A daily death I die through fear
That I no more shall see my God,
No more the voice of mercy hear,
But faint, and perish in my blood.

O that I could but surely know
If I at last shall mercy find!
For what am I reserved below!
Tell me, Thou Saviour of mankind.

That hope is in my end declare;
And let me want Thy cheering grace,
For seventy years content I bear
The hidings of Thy blissful face.

Let others walk with Thee in light,
But bless me with one parting ray,
And ere I close mine eyes in night,
Give me to see Thy perfect day.

357

[PENITENTIAL HYMN.]

XXXIII. PENITENTIAL HYMN.

Hymn 1.

Saviour, Prince of Israel's race,
See me from Thy lofty throne,
Give the sweet relenting grace,
Soften this obdurate stone,
Stone to flesh, O God, convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

By Thy Spirit, Lord, reprove,
All mine inmost sins reveal,
Sins against Thy light and love
Let me see, and let me feel,
Sins that crucified my God,
Spilt again Thy precious blood.

Jesu, seek Thy wandering sheep,
Make me restless to return,
Bid me look on Thee and weep,
Bitterly as Peter mourn,
Till I say, by grace restored,
Now Thou know'st I love Thee, Lord.

Or if yet I must not hope
For the pardoning love of God,
Make my stubborn spirit stoop
Under its own guilty load,
Let me sink by sin oppress'd,
Weary wish, and groan for rest.

Shake my inmost soul with fear,
Let me as the gaoler cry,
Trembling at damnation near,
How shall I the judgment fly,
Who the way to' escape will show,
What must a lost sinner do?

358

Might I in Thy sight appear
As the publican distress'd,
Come, not daring to draw near,
Smite on my unworthy breast,
Groan the sinner's only plea,
God be merciful to me!

O that I in Mary's place
Might before the Saviour lie,
Fear to see Thy smiling face,
Blush to meet Thy gracious eye,
Still the solemn task repeat,
Weep, and wash, and kiss Thy feet.

Doth Thy justice still withstand,
Sternly cry “It must not be,”
Till I bear Thy bruising hand,
Suffer all my misery?
Lo! I to the sentence bow;
Make, O make me wretched now!

Lay Thy hand upon my soul,
Bruise me with Thy righteous rod,
Wound and never make me whole,
Till my spirit returns to God;
Grant me then the late relief,
Save me as the' expiring thief.

Then remember me for good
Passing through the mortal vale,
Show me Thy atoning blood,
While my strength and spirit fail,
Give my gasping soul to see
Jesus crucified for me!

359

On the margin of the grave,
In that last decisive hour,
Let me find Thy power to save,
All Thy sanctifying power,
See Thee with my closing eyes,
Die into Thy paradise.

XXXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Will the pardoning God despise]

Will the pardoning God despise
A poor mourner's sacrifice,
One who brings his all to Thee,
All his sin and misery!

Saviour, see my troubled breast,
Heaving, panting after rest,
Jesu, mark my hollow eye,
Never closed, and never dry.

Listen to my plaintive moans,
Deep uninterrupted groans,
Keep not silence at my tears,
Quiet all my griefs and fears.

Good Physician, show Thine art,
Bind Thou up my broken heart;
Aches it not for Thee, my God,
Pants to feel Thy balmy blood?

Gushing from Thy wounded side
Might I feel it now applied,
Wouldst Thou in my last distress
Heal, and bid me die in peace!

Jesus, answer all Thy name,
Save me from my fear, and shame,
Sunk in desperate misery,
Sinner's Friend, remember me.

360

By Thy bonds my soul release,
By Thy pain mine anguish ease,
By Thy bloody sweat, I pray,
Wash my inbred sin away.

Quicken by Thy parting breath,
By Thy life-inspiring death,
Save me, by Thy burial save,
Hide me in Thy quiet grave.

Screen my faint devoted head,
Write me free among the dead,
With Thy pardoning mercy blest
Take me to my endless rest.

XXXV. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Jesu, I call Thee by the name]

Jesu, I call Thee by the name
On which my hopes would fain rely:
Undone without Thy help I am,
Without Thy help for ever die.

Throughout my fallen soul I feel
Thy only name hath power to save:
Quench with Thy blood this inbred hell,
Redeem me from the' infernal grave.

Chief of apostate spirits, I groan
My sense of deepest guilt to Thee,
Of all the' incarnate fiends not one
So devilish, or so damn'd as me.

I know, to' alleviate my pain,
To lessen and remove my load,
Impossible it is with man;
But Thou art the Almighty God.

361

Is there a thing too hard for Thee?
A case beyond Thy mercy's power?
An ill Thou canst not remedy?
A sinner Thou canst not restore?

Can there a malady be found,
By Love Divine incurable?
Or is my spirit's mortal wound
Too deep for Thee to search, and heal?

Is there on earth a loss too great
For all Thy fulness to repair?
Is there a soul so near the pit,
That Thou no more canst save it there?

My soul in sin so rooted stands,
No common miracle can move,
I know, my spirit's cure demands
Thy whole omnipotence of love.

But whether Thou hast ever heal'd
A spirit so desperate as mine
It lies, alas! from me conceal'd
In lowest depths of love Divine.

My feeble heart cannot conceive
Such greatness of redeeming power,
Yet fain I would, I would believe
That Thou canst me, even me, restore.

I hope Thou able art to cleanse
The worst and foulest sinner me,
And suddenly transport me hence,
And snatch this moment up to Thee.

Yet O! I doubt Thy gracious will,
And scarce to sue for mercy dare,
Held on the rack, and tortured still
With pangs severer than despair.

362

My God, my God, what shall I say,
But still my one request repeat!
O might I now escape away,
And die lamenting at Thy feet!

O let it not my Lord displease,
That still I urge my one request,
Languish in pain for lasting ease,
And weary long to be at rest.

Still art Thou silent at my tears?
O were Thy waves and storms o'erpast!
Pardon my sins, remove my fears,
And bid me weep, and groan my last.

Jesu, in honour of Thy name
Hope in my end O let me prove,
And quickly Thee in death proclaim
The' almighty God of pardoning love.

XXXVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O Father of all]

O Father of all,
On Thee let me call,
On Thee let me wait, till upraised from my fall:
My burden of pain
With meekness sustain,
And never revolt, or provoke Thee again.

Mere mercies they are
The judgments I bear,
If saved from the gulf of eternal despair:
All thanks be to Thee,
In my end if there be
Any hope of acceptance, or pardon for me.

363

In patient distress
My soul I possess,
Till life and affliction together shall cease;
Till the anguish and smart
Hath broken my heart,
And the mourner is suffer'd in peace to depart.

Till then I forego
All comfort below,
And no other companion but sorrow will know:
My companion and guide
With me shall abide
And only in death shall be torn from my side.

A stranger to hope
I the measure fill up,
And drink the last dregs of the penitent cup.
In trouble's excess
My wishes suppress,
My pining desires of a speedy release.

If such be my doom,
To suffer I come,
To suffer an age within sight of a tomb;
To continue in fear,
With comfort so near,
And live out the days of my punishment here.

Accepting my pain,
I no longer complain,
But wait, till at last I the haven obtain;
Till the storms are all o'er,
And afflicted no more
On a plank of the ship I escape to the shore.

364

XXXVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[O Jesus, the Rest]

O Jesus, the Rest
Of spirits distress'd,
Receive a lost sinner that flies to Thy breast:
Long tost on a sea
Of trouble, I flee
To find an asylum, and pardon in Thee.

Heavy laden with sin
For years I have been,
And harass'd to death with the tempest within:
The cause I confess
Of my outward distress,
And feel that in sin I can never have peace.

Compell'd though I am
To call on Thy name,
Yet give me not up to my sorrow and shame,
To the evil I fear,
The punishment near,
The righteous reward of my wickedness here.

With penitent sighs
I lift up mine eyes,
And groan for an answer of peace from the skies:
This aching and smart,
I know, shall depart,
If the Lamb will but sprinkle His blood on my heart.

One drop of Thy blood
Shall remove all my load,
And bring me again to my pacified God;
One drop shall o'erthrow
My accuser and foe,
And make my glad heart with the comfort o'erflow.

365

Come then at my call,
Thou Saviour of all,
And redeem me again from my sorrow and thrall,
From all evil set free,
Who hast answer'd for me,
And O! let me live, let me die unto Thee!

XXXVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[O Jesus my Hope]

O Jesus my Hope,
For me offer'd up,
Who with clamour pursued Thee to Calvary's top,
The blood I have shed
For me let it plead,
And declare, Thou hast died in Thy murderer's stead.

Thy blood, which alone
For sin could atone,
For the' infinite evil I madly have done,
That only can seal
My pardon, and fill
My heart with a power of obeying Thy will.

Come then from above,
The stony remove,
And vanquish my heart with the sense of Thy love:
Thy love on the tree
Display unto me,
And the servant of sin in a moment is free.

Neither passion nor pride
Thy cross can abide,
But melt in the fountain that streams from Thy side:

366

The wonderful flood
Washes off my foul load,
And purges my conscience, and brings me to God.

Now, now let me know
Its virtue below,
Let it wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,
Let it hallow my heart,
And throughly convert,
And make me, O Lord, in the world as Thou art.

Each moment applied
My weakness to hide,
Thy blood be upon me, and always abide,
My advocate prove
With the Father above,
And speak me at last to the throne of Thy love.

XXXIX. THE SAME. AT NIGHT.

Hymn 7.

Let sinners possess'd
Of pardon be blest,
And welcome with joy the soft season of rest,
Let innocence sleep,
My station I keep,
My business on earth is to watch and to weep.

A mourner for sin
Through life I have been:
O when shall my heart and my conscience be clean?
If tears could efface
The guilty disgrace,
Mine eyes should be fountains, mine head should be seas.

367

If my blood could atone
For what I have done,
Even now would I spend it, and groan my last groan:
But my dying were vain,
Only Jesus's pain,
Only Jesus's blood can wash out the foul stain.

Its virtue I tried,
When I felt it applied,
And knew that for me my Redeemer had died.
But I quickly gave way
In the cloudy dark day,
And fell to temptation an indolent prey.

That covenant-blood
Under foot I have trod,
And again I have murder'd the meek Son of God.
My sin I declare,
My punishment bear,
And quake on the edge of eternal despair.

And shall I complain
Of a moment of pain,
Which here for my sins I am doom'd to sustain?
No, Lord, I submit,
And fall at Thy feet,
Only let me not sink to the bottomless pit.

I bow to the rod,
To my temporal load,
And fall into the hands of a merciful God:
Thy justice revere,
But with anguish and fear
I beg I may have all my punishment here.

368

With tears of desire,
I humbly require
That in wailing for sin, all my breath may expire.
Only while I remove
To the country above,
O bless me at last with the taste of Thy love.

XL. THE SAME.

Hymn 8.

[Ah! woe (eternal woe) is me]

Ah! woe (eternal woe) is me
To sin and Satan join'd!
What shall I do, or say to Thee,
Preserver of mankind?
My firmest promises are void,
My strictest vows are vain,
Again I have myself destroy'd,
For I have sinn'd again.

And shall I dare mine eyes lift up,
And still for mercy sue?
What possibility of hope
That I should e'er prove true?
Thou know'st, I every means have tried,
And all in Jesus' name,
Fasted, and pray'd, and wept, and cried,
But still remain the same.

Rivers of real tears I shed,
(And still mine eyes run o'er,)
And prostrate at Thine altar pray'd
That I might sin no more.
I burn'd with sin-detesting zeal,
My solemn vows renew'd,
And long'd, Thou know'st, I long'd to seal,
The covenant with my blood.

369

Beyond the world and Satan's power
I wish'd for wings to fly,
And languish'd for the welcome hour,
And groan'd and gasp'd to die:
Struggled to give my spirit back,
That I might sin no more,
Myself impatient to forsake,
And reach the happy shore.

Those longings were they not sincere?
And flow'd they not from Thee?
Why am I then entangled here
In sin and misery?
Ah! wherefore didst Thou let me live
To see this woeful day,
Again Thy gracious Spirit to grieve,
Again to fall away?

But shall my bold presumption dare
Arraign the God of grace?
Mercy, and truth Thy dealings are,
And righteous all Thy ways.
For me, my stubborn will to bow,
What couldst Thou more have done?
The fault, (if yet I know not how,)
Is all in me alone.

O'erwhelm'd again with guilty shame,
With sin's redoubled load,
Whom have I but myself to blame?
I must acquit my God.
I wander o'er Thy judgments' maze,
And cry in painful doubt,
Unsearchable are all Thy ways,
And past my finding out!

370

So be it then, I sink into
The fathomless abyss,
If Christ at last His mercy show,
And whisper I am His;
One ray of heavenly light impart,
Before I hence remove,
And speak Himself into my heart
The God of pardoning love.

XLI. THE SAME.

Hymn 9.

[Stay, Thou insulted Spirit stay]

Stay, Thou insulted Spirit stay,
Though I have done Thee such despite,
Nor cast the sinner quite away,
Nor take Thine everlasting flight.

Though I have steel'd my stubborn heart,
And still shook off my guilty fears,
And vex'd and urged Thee to depart
For forty long rebellious years:

Though I have most unfaithful been,
Of all whoe'er Thy grace received,
Ten thousand times Thy goodness seen,
Ten thousand times Thy goodness grieved:

Yet O! the chief of sinners spare,
In honour of my great High-Priest,
Nor in Thy righteous anger swear
To' exclude me from Thy people's rest.

This only woe I deprecate,
This only plague, I pray, remove,
Nor leave me in my lost estate,
Nor curse me with this want of love.

371

If yet Thou canst my sins forgive,
From now, O Lord, relieve my woes,
Into Thy rest of love receive,
And bless me with the calm repose.

From now my weary soul release,
Upraise me by Thy gracious hand,
And guide into Thy perfect peace,
And bring me to the promised land.

XLII. INVITATION TO SINNERS.

All ye that pass by,
To Jesus draw nigh:
To you is it nothing that Jesus should die?
Your Ransom and Peace,
Your Surety He is,
Come, see if there ever was sorrow like His.

For what you have done
His blood must atone:
The Father hath punish'd for you His dear Son.
The Lord in the day
Of His anger did lay
Your sins on the Lamb; and He bore them away.

He answer'd for all,
O come at His call,
And low at His cross with astonishment fall.
But lift up your eyes
At Jesus's cries:
Impassive He suffers, immortal He dies.

372

He dies to atone
For sins not His own;
Your debt He hath paid, and your work He hath done.
Ye all may receive
The peace He did leave,
Who made intercession “My Father forgive!”

For you, and for me
He pray'd on the tree,
The prayer is accepted, the sinner is free.
The sinner am I,
Who on Jesus rely,
And come for the pardon God cannot deny.

My pardon I claim,
For a sinner I am,
A sinner believing in Jesus's name.
He purchased the grace,
Which now I embrace;
O Father, Thou know'st He hath died in my place.

His death is my plea,
My Advocate see,
And hear the blood speak that hath answer'd for me.
Acquitted I was,
When He bled on the cross,
And by losing His life He hath carried my cause.

[JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOR EVER.]

XLIII. JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOR EVER.—[Heb. xiii. 8.]

Hymn 1.

O God, to whom in flesh reveal'd,
The helpless all for succour came,
The sick to be relieved and heal'd,
And found salvation in Thy name:

373

With publicans and harlots I,
In these Thy Spirit's gospel days
To Thee, the sinner's Friend draw nigh,
And humbly sue for pardoning grace.

Thou seest me wretched, and distress'd,
Feeble, and faint, and blind, and poor:
Weary I come to Thee for rest,
And sick of sin, implore a cure.

My sin's incurable disease
Thou Jesus, Thou alone canst heal,
Inspire me with Thy power, and peace,
And pardon on my conscience seal.

A touch, a word, a look from Thee
Can turn my heart, and make it clean,
Purge the foul inbred leprosy,
And save me from my bosom sin.

Lord, if Thou wilt, I do believe,
Thou canst the saving grace impart,
Thou canst this instant now forgive,
And write my pardon on my heart.

My heart, which now to Thee I raise,
I know Thou canst this moment cleanse,
The deepest stains of sin deface,
And drive the evil spirit hence.

Be it according to Thy word,
Accomplish now Thy word in me,
And let my soul, to health restored,
Devote its little all to Thee.

374

XLIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Jesus, Thy far-extended fame]

Jesus, Thy far-extended fame
My drooping soul exults to hear:
Thy name, Thine all-restoring name
Is music in a sinner's ear.

Drawn by the evangelic sound,
I follow with the helpless crowd:
Mercy, they say, with Thee is found,
And full redemption in Thy blood.

Sinners of old Thou didst receive,
With comfortable words, and kind,
Their sorrows cheer, their wants relieve,
Heal the diseased, and cure the blind:

Whoever then Thine aid implored,
Sick, or in want, or grief, or pain,
Thy condescending grace adored,
Nor ever sought Thy help in vain.

And art Thou not the Saviour still,
In every place, and age the same?
Hast Thou forgot Thy gracious skill,
Or lost the virtue of Thy name?

Faith in Thy changeless name I have;
The good, the kind Physician Thou
Art able now our souls to save,
Art willing to restore them now.

Though seventeen hundred years are past
Since Thou didst in the flesh appear,
Thy tender mercies ever last,
And still Thy healing power is here.

375

Wouldst Thou the body's health restore,
And not regard the sin-sick soul?
The sin-sick soul Thou lovest much more,
And surely Thou shalt make it whole.

The wondrous works in Jewry wrought
Thou canst, Thou wilt, on me repeat;
On me, by faith divinely brought
To fall and worship at Thy feet.

Here will I ever, ever cry,
Jesus, Thy healing power exert,
Balm to my wounded spirit apply,
And bind Thou up my broken heart.

My sore disease, my desperate sin
To Thee I mournfully confess;
In pardon, Lord, my cure begin,
And perfect it in holiness.

That token of Thine utmost good
Now, Jesu, now on me bestow,
And purge my conscience with Thy blood,
And wash my nature white as snow.

XLV. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Help, gracious Lord, my deep distress]

Help, gracious Lord, my deep distress
To Thee with anguish I reveal,
Who every sickness and disease
Dost still among Thy people heal.

O wouldst Thou undertake for me,
Exert Thy healing art Divine!
My complicated malady
Mocks every other help but Thine.

376

A secret, slow, internal fire
Consumes my soul with lingering pains,
The restless fever of desire
Throughout my fallen nature reigns.

Jesu, this eagerness of praise,
This raging thirst of creature-good,
Allay with Thy refreshing grace,
Extinguish with Thy balmy blood.

See the poor patient at Thy feet,
And now the gracious wonder show;
I long Thy healing touch to meet,
I gasp Thy pardoning love to know.

Now, Saviour, now the fever chide,
The virtue of Thy name exert,
The fierceness of desire and pride
Rebuke, and bid my sin depart.

Soon as Thy hand the balm applies,
My dying soul from sin set free
With instantaneous health shall rise,
And gladly serve Thy saints and Thee!

The servant of Thy church below,
With all who know their sins forgiven,
Pardon'd I in Thy peace shall go,
And walk, and run, and fly to heaven.

XLVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O Thou, whom once they flock'd to hear]

O Thou, whom once they flock'd to hear,
Thy words to hear, Thy power to feel,
Suffer the sinners to draw near,
And graciously receive us still.

377

They that be whole, Thyself hast said,
No need of a physician have:
But I am sick, and want Thine aid,
And ask Thine utmost power to save.

Past human help I long have been,
With every soul disease oppress'd;
Weary of life through pain and sin,
And only Thou canst give me rest.

Thy power, and truth, and love Divine
The same from age to age endure:
A word, a gracious word of Thine
The most inveterate plague can cure.

Thy garment, O Thou pardoning God,
Affords the desperate soul relief,
Dries up the fountain of my blood,
And heals at once my sin and grief.

Touch'd by Thine all-restoring hands
I find a soul-erecting power,
Suddenly loosed from Satan's bands
I stand—inclined to earth no more.

Helpless howe'er my spirit lies,
(And long hath languish'd,) at the pool,
A word of Thine shall make me rise,
Shall speak me in a moment whole.

Eighteen, or eight and thirty years,
Or thousands are alike to Thee:
Soon as Thy saving grace appears,
My plague is gone, my heart is free.

Come then, O Lord, my sins forgive,
My complicated sickness heal,
Thou know'st, I would in Thee believe,
I would Thy pardoning mercy feel.

378

Make this the acceptable hour,
Come, O my soul's Physician Thou,
Display Thy justifying power,
And show me Thy salvation now!

[WAITING FOR REDEMPTION.]

XLVII. WAITING FOR REDEMPTION.

Hymn 1.

Who is the trembling sinner, who
That owns eternal death his due,
Waiting his fearful doom to feel,
And hanging o'er the mouth of hell!

Peace, troubled soul, thou need'st not fear,
Thy Jesus cries, Be of good cheer,
Only on Jesu's blood rely,
He died, that thou mightst never die.

XLVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[A guilty soul, by sin oppress'd]

A guilty soul, by sin oppress'd,
Weary of wandering after rest,
Wretched, and bare, and poor, and blind,
I now my want of all things find.

All things I want, but One is nigh,
My want of all things to supply:
Pardon, and peace, and liberty,
Jesus, I all things have in Thee.

XLIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Jesu, Thy word for ever lives]

Jesu, Thy word for ever lives,
A new accomplishment receives
In sinners lost like me;

379

Thy word doth all my soul express,
In every picture of distress
I read my misery.

Written for me the gospel page,
The word of God from age to age
Steadfast remains, and sure:
Thou show'st my wants; but help them too,
Thy miracles of healing show,
And let me read my cure.

Thy servant, Lord, in torment is,
The palsy, sin, is my disease,
My better half is dead:
O cause me Thy free grace to feel,
And by Thy love my numbness heal,
Thy quickening Spirit shed.

I am not worthy, Lord, that Thou
To such an abject worm shouldst bow,
Or enter my poor soul:
But only speak the gracious word,
And I shall be at once restored,
And perfectly made whole.

A begging Bartimeus I,
Naked, and blind, for mercy cry,
If mercy is for me,
Jesu, Thou Son of David hear,
Stand still, and call, and draw me near,
And bid the sinner see.

A leper at Thy feet I fall;
And still for mercy, mercy call,
Till I am purged from sin;

380

With pity see my desperate case,
And O! put forth Thy hand of grace,
And touch my nature clean.

Borne by the prayer of faith I lie,
And long to meet Thy pitying eye,
And feebly gasp to heaven;
O make in me Thy power appear,
And answer, “Son, be of good cheer,
Thy sins are all forgiven.”

O Son of Man, Thy power make known,
That all with me may gladly own
Thou canst on earth forgive,
Bid me take up my bed, and go,
Cause me to walk with Thee below,
And then to heaven receive.

L. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[Jesus, Thou all-redeeming Lord]

Jesus, Thou all-redeeming Lord,
Who preachest still the gospel word
In these Thy Spirit's days,
My helpless soul with pity see,
And set me now at liberty
By justifying grace.

Where two or three Thy presence claim,
Assembled in Thy saving name,
Thy saving power is near:
Sure as Thou art in heaven above,
Thou in the Spirit of Thy love,
And God in Thee is here.

381

See then, with eyes of mercy see
My desperate grief, and misery,
My sore distress, and pain,
In all the impotence of sin
My fallen soul for years hath been,
And bound with Satan's chain.

My strong propensity to ill
My carnal mind and crooked will
To only evil prone,
My downward appetite I find,
My spirit, soul, and flesh inclined
To earth, and earth alone.

Myself alas! I cannot raise,
Or lift my heart in prayer, or praise,
Or rectify my will,
I own, cut off from human hope,
To lift a fallen spirit up
With man impossible.

But O! Thou seest my desperate case:
Pronounce the word of pardoning grace:
And call me, Lord, to Thee,
Inspeak the power into my heart,
And say this moment, “Loosed thou art
From thine infirmity.”

Lay but Thine hand upon my soul,
And instantaneously made whole
My soul by faith shall rise,
Shall rise by faith and upright stand,
And answer all Thy just command
In all its faculties.

382

Straight as the rule, the written word,
My soul in righteousness restored
Thine image shall retrieve,
That ancient rectitude Divine,
And in a land of darkness shine,
And to Thy glory live.

A child of faithful Abraham I,
On Thy redeeming love rely
For life and liberty;
And ought I not the grace to' obtain,
Released from sin and Satan's chain,
Who trust on only Thee.

Thine, Jesus, Thine alone I am;
And ought I not my Lord to claim,
With all Thy righteousness?
I ought—I do Thy love receive,
And now Thou dost my sins forgive,
And bid my bondage cease.

The Sabbath of my soul I see,
The day of gospel liberty,
No more enthrall'd, oppress'd;
And lo! in holiness I rise,
To claim the rest of paradise,
And heaven's eternal rest!

[TO ONE FALLEN FROM GRACE.]

LI. FOR ONE FALLEN FROM GRACE.

Hymn 1.

O how sore a thing and grievous
Is it from our God to run!
When we force our God to leave us,
Wretched are we and undone:

383

Are we not our own tormentors,
When from happiness we flee?
Yes; our soul the iron enters,
Sin is perfect misery.

I the bitter cup have tasted;
Still I drink the mingled gall,
Still my soul by sin lies wasted,
Unrecover'd from its fall:
Still beneath His frown I languish:
God, from whom I would depart,
Leaves me to my grief and anguish,
Gives me up to my own heart.

Plague and curse I now inherit,
Fears, and wars, and storms within,
Pain, and agony of spirit,
Sin chastising me for sin,
Weeping, woe, and lamentation,
Vain desire, and fruitless prayer,
Guilt, and shame, and condemnation,
Doubt, distraction, and despair.

Ye who now enjoy His favour,
Husband well the precious grace,
Never lose, like me, your Saviour,
Never break from His embrace:
Do not by your lightness grieve Him;
Youthful lusts and idols flee,
Little children, never leave Him,
Never lose your God like me.

Punish'd after my demerit,
Dives like on you I call;
Lest my portion you inherit,
Take example by my fall;

384

Lest your joy be turn'd to mourning,
Lest ye come into my hell;
Listen to the solemn warning,
Keep the grace from which I fell.

Dead to praise, and wealth, and beauty,
Cast on Christ your every care,
Walk in all the paths of duty,
Praying, watching unto prayer:
Pray; and when the answer's given,
When ye find the passage free,
When your faith hath open'd heaven,
Faithful souls, remember me!

LII. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Grieved with the penal want of grace]

Grieved with the penal want of grace,
And banish'd from my Father's face,
Far from the paradise of love,
O'er earth's bleak wilderness I rove.

A wandering discontented Cain
I of my punishment complain,
Burden'd with more than I can bear,
In all the sadness of despair.

For years I have my vileness seen,
A man of lips and heart unclean,
Yet can I no deliverance see,
No end of sin and grief for me.

Ah! what avails it now, that I
Could once to Christ my Lord draw nigh,
Knew He had borne my sins away,
And saw the dawning of His day!

385

That sudden flash of heavenly light
Which once broke in upon my night,
Has made my darkness visible,
And left me to a deeper hell.

Ah! what avail'd the short-lived power,
The triumph of one lucid hour!
Again enthrall'd, and doubly cursed
I am, and viler than at first.

My lusts have re-usurp'd the sway,
And forced my struggling soul to' obey;
My struggling soul in sin remains,
Indignant, as a king in chains.

O! how shall I the rebels shun,
Or whither for deliverance run?
I neither can resist nor fly:
O might I here sink down, and die!

Thou, Lord, who hast the keys of death,
Take back my miserable breath,
From all my fears, and sins release,
And bid me now depart in peace.

Before I all Thy people shame,
And bring reproach on Thy great name,
Redeem me from the foul offence,
And snatch—this moment snatch me hence.

One only good I here would have,
The blessing of a quiet grave;
All my requests are lost in one—
I ask for death, and death alone.

Eager I urge my sole request,
I cannot, no I cannot rest,
But evermore my wishes breathe,
And spend my soul in groans for death.

386

For this my streaming eyes o'erflow,
My bosom heaves with endless woe:
For this to Thee I ever cry,
Ah! Saviour, suffer me to die!

Receive my gasping spirit home,
Seize, snatch me from the ill to come,
Now, give me now my heart's desire,
And let me at Thy feet expire.

LIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Fallen from Thy pardoning grace]

Fallen from Thy pardoning grace
How shall I for mercy cry?
How presume to seek Thy face,
I, the deep revolter I!
Harden'd in my sins I am,
Conscience I, alas! have none,
Lost my sense of guilt and shame:
All my heart is turn'd to stone.

Now I sin without remorse,
Greedily my death drink down,
Now I as the headlong horse
Violently in sin rush on;
Shipwreck'd is my faith and hope,
All my pangs, I find, are o'er,
Doubly dead, and rooted up;
Godly sorrow is no more.

Once I could lament my state,
At the feet of Jesus cast,
Now my sins have lost their weight,
All that blessed grief is past.

387

Conscience sear'd no longer cries;
Senseless I of ruin near
See my doom with stony eyes,
Eyes that cannot drop a tear.

O that I at once had gone
Singly damn'd to my own place!
O that I had never known
Christ the way of righteousness!
Less my punishment had been,
Had His blood been ne'er applied,
Had I perish'd in my sin,
Unconcern'd in Egypt died.

Desperate soul, what must I do,
Damn'd I am while here I breathe:
Who shall now deliver? who
Can redeem me from this death?
Jesus, Thou art still the Way,
Now as yesterday the same,
Could I but for mercy pray,
Coming as at first I came.

Fallen as I am once more,
Friend of sinners, look on me,
To my lost estate restore,
Let me know my misery;
Let me now, even now begin,
As when first I sought Thy face,
Saw the sinfulness of sin,
Felt the want of pardoning grace.

Give me back my guilty load,
Give me back my earnest moans,
Restless thirstings after God,
Deep, unutterable groans,

388

Plaintive wailings, humble fears,
Griefs, which tongue could not declare,
All the eloquence of tears,
All the prevalence of prayer.

Saviour, Prince, enthroned on high,
Penitence and peace to give,
Cast, O cast a pitying eye,
Breathe, and these dry bones shall live.
I shall at Thy word repent,
Let but Thy good Spirit blow,
My hard heart shall then relent,
Water from the rock shall flow.

Look with that soul piercing look,
(Full of goodness as Thou art,)
Look, as when Thy pity broke
Poor unfaithful Peter's heart!
Kindly for my sin upbraid
Me who have my Lord denied,
Him, who suffer'd in my stead,
Him, who for His murderer died.

Jesus, Master, dying Lord,
Infinite Thy mercies are,
Let me be again restored,
Once again Thy blessing share.
And that I the grace may keep,
Never more my Lord deny,
Bid me now, this moment, weep,
Weep, believe, and love—and die!

389

LIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[Weary of my sad complaining]

Weary of my sad complaining
Must I with my Saviour part?
Yield, that sin should always reign in
This poor feeble wretched heart!
Must I give the contest over,
Must I sink beneath my load,
Calling on the earth to cover
A despairing sinner's blood?

No, I will not cease from crying,
Not till Tophet takes me in,
Still I pray, though sinking, dying,
Save me, save me, Lord, from sin,
Bring me through my sore temptation:
Or if I must see the pit,
Perish in Thine indignation,—
Let me perish at Thy feet.

LV. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[Saviour, cast a pitying eye]

Saviour, cast a pitying eye,
Bid my sins and sorrows end:
Whither should a sinner fly?
Art not Thou the sinner's Friend?
Rest in Thee I gasp to find,
Wretched I, and poor, and blind.

Swallow'd up in sad despair,
In the lowest deep I lie:
Wilt Thou, Lord, cast out my prayer?
Canst Thou disregard my cry?
Hear my lamentable moan,
Listen to my dying groan.

390

Didst Thou ever see a soul
More in need of help than mine?
Then refuse to make me whole,
Then withhold the balm Divine:
But if I do want Thee most,
Come, and seek, and save the lost.

Haste, O haste to my relief,
From the iron furnace take,
Rid me of my sin and grief,
For Thy own sweet mercy sake,
Set my heart at liberty,
Show forth all Thy power in me.

Me, the vilest of the race,
Most unholy, most unclean;
Me, the farthest from Thy face,
Sink of misery and sin;
Me with arms of love receive,
Me, of sinners chief, forgive.

Jesus, on Thy only name
For salvation I depend,
In Thy gracious hands I am,
Save me, save me to the end:
Let the utmost grace be given,
Save me quite from hell to heaven.

LVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[From the jaws of black despair]

From the jaws of black despair,
From the belly of this hell,
Lord, I send my mournful prayer;
If Thou canst my doom repeal,
If Thou canst, again forgive,
Speak, and bid the sinner live.

391

Thou hast long withdrawn Thy grace,
Thou hast punish'd sin by sin:
Ere Thine utmost wrath take place,
Ere the gulf is fix'd between,
Hear mine agonizing cry,
O forgive, and let me die!

Let my punishment be o'er,
Grant my wretched heart's desire,
Let me die, to sin no more,
Let me at Thy feet expire,
Now Thy pardoning love impart,
Sprinkle now, and break my heart.

Do not let me live to sin,
O remove the mountain load,
Quench the hell I feel within
By Thine all-atoning blood,
Bear me on the purple wave,
Waft me to the silent grave.

LVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 7.

[Wretch that I am, what help, or hope]

Wretch that I am, what help, or hope
Of rescue is for me!
Have I not fill'd the measure up
Of mine iniquity?

Have I not fought against my God,
(Alas no longer mine!)
Refused to hear the threatening rod,
And dared the wrath Divine?

From Him I farther still have stray'd,
Still more rebellious been,
Of faith a dreadful shipwreck made,
And added sin to sin.

392

Vilest of all the' apostate race
I have His love withstood,
And sinn'd against His pardoning grace,
And trampled on His blood.

That blood, which speaking once for me
My heart and conscience heard:
But harden'd now my heart I see,
My conscience now is sear'd.

More desperate in my damn'd estate,
And more enslaved I am,
Than when I by the fleshpots sat,
And wallow'd in my shame.

No power to stand against my sin,
No will, alas! have I;
But yield to every thought unclean,
And greedily comply.

Draughts of iniquity I drink,
From sin to sin I fall;
Whate'er I do, or speak, or think,
Or am, is evil all.

What shall I do? by guilt oppress'd,
Shall I in Egypt dwell?
Alas! in sinning to seek rest,
Is to seek rest in hell.

Shall I believe, Who made the eye
My folly doth not see,
“Sin in His own He passes by,
He winks at sin in me?”

Ah! no; my spirit's desperate wound
I cannot slightly heal;
No peace is for the wicked found,
The sea is troubled still.

393

The storm of sin can never cease,
The tumult in my breast,
Unless the Lord create my peace,
And speak me into rest.

This is my only hope, (might I
Presume to call it mine,)
My soul, though at the point to die,
Would live by grace Divine.

The grace I have abused, alone
Can help and comfort give,
Would Jesus hear my dying groan,
And bid the sinner live.

Ah! Lord, if I again may dare
For mercy to look up,
Snatch from the whirlpool of despair,
And give me back my hope.

Jesus, the forfeiture restore,
On me the grace bestow,
On even ground to stand once more
Against my mortal foe.

To-day, while it is call'd to-day,
My stubborn soul convert,
Strike the hard rock, and strike away
The stony from my heart.

O bid me look on Thee, and mourn
For all my follies past,
Or let me now to dust return,
And sin and breathe my last.

394

LVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 8.

[Cover'd with guilty shame]

Cover'd with guilty shame,
O whither shall I fly?
Full of the curse of sin I am,
With no deliverance nigh;
My punishment is now
Greater than I can bear,
Beneath the weight I faint, and bow,
And sink into despair.

Drunken, but not with wine,
I stagger to and fro,
The bitter cup of wrath Divine
Doth all my soul o'erflow;
Entangled in a net
As a wild bull I lie,
And struggle with my pain, and fret,
And wish in vain to die.

O who shall help afford,
Or ease my misery!
Full of the fury of the Lord,
O who can pity me!
The sin avenging rod
I every moment feel,
The arrows of Almighty God,
The antepast of hell.

I lift my weary eyes,
And drop their lids again,
No hope, no answer from the skies,
No respite of my pain!
For ever closed I see
The door of faith and prayer,
Nothing, alas! remains for me
But blackness of despair.

395

I throw mine eyes around
That witness huge dismay,
No secret place for me is found
From sin to 'scape away:
Ah! woe is me, constrain'd
With human fiends to dwell,
Held down, and horribly detain'd
Amidst the toils of hell.

O earth, earth, earth attend!
(Since heaven rejects my prayer)
Open thy mouth, and kindly end
My agony of despair,
Of guilt, and shame, and sin,
Of fear, and grief unknown;
Open thy mouth, and take me in,
And swallow up thine own.

Cover, O earth, my blood,
And never more disclose
A wretch that flies to thee, pursued
By human, hellish foes:
O that I could but fall,
And die out of their power,
Die into nothing now—die all—
And sin—and be no more!

LIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 9.

[Poor, wretched heart, by sin oppress'd]

Poor, wretched heart, by sin oppress'd,
And wilt thou never be at rest,
And must thou always grieve!
Ah! woe is me, I still complain,
And groan to bear my iron chain;
In sin, in hell I live.

396

Encompass'd by the dogs of hell,
Sin, only sin without I feel,
Sin only reigns within;
Sin always meets my blasted eyes,
Sin is the worm that never dies,
And all my soul is sin.

O'erwhelm'd with horrible affright,
I shudder at the monster's sight,
And know not where to fly;
O for Thy pity's sake remove,
Take, seize me, Saviour, from above,
And give me, now to die.

My vehement soul cries out for death!
Bury me in the depth beneath,
Air, earth, or sea, or fire!
But save me from the great offence,
And let me keep my innocence,
And without sin expire.

O that I could my soul resign,
And fairly lose whate'er is mine,
Step o'er the griefs between,
And snatch the death, for which I call,
Or let me into nothing fall,
To 'scape the hell of sin.

Struggles my soul, and gasps for ease
In more than mortal agonies,
A living death I bear:
I wish—I strive—but cannot die;
Still in the flames of sin I lie,
The Tophet of despair.

397

I need not fear the burning pool,
Already kindled in my soul
The wrath Divine I feel,
With not one drop of comfort nigh
To cool my tongue, I howl, and cry,
Tormented in this hell.

O hell of sin! thy fiery rage
Not many waters can assuage,
Not all the ocean's flood,
Thy flames would, spite of all, increase:
What then can make thy burnings cease?
A drop of Jesu's blood.

LX. THE SAME.

Hymn 10.

[O take away Thy rod]

O take away Thy rod,
A dying sinner spare!
My punishment, Almighty God,
Is more than I can bear:
I haste to my own place,
From sin to sin I fall,
Abandon'd by restraining grace;
Yet I deserve it all.

My just desert is more,
If more on earth can be,
My sin required it long before
That Thou shouldst cast off me,
Shouldst take my pardon back,
Cut short my gracious day,
Forget; and utterly forsake,
And cast me quite away.

398

Jesus—but O! at last
He shuts His mercy's door;
My doom is fix'd, my hour is past;
He answers me no more;
My days extinct, my hope
Cut off, my heart is stone,
The measure of my sin fill'd up,
And peace for ever gone.

The sin avenging God
His fiery wrath darts in,
Adds woe to woe, and load to load,
And chastens sin with sin:
The pangs of hell I taste,
The bitter trembling cup;
His arrows in my soul stick fast,
And drink my spirits up.

O horrid, horrid state!
O depth of hopeless woe!
Why do I in this torture wait,
And not the utmost know?
Why do I lingering stand,
And not myself relieve?—
It must be God that stops my hand,
And forces me to live.

But is it possible
That God should care for me!
Then may He yet my doom repeal,
And end my misery.
He may for Jesu's sake:
Jesus, the sinner's Peace,
Into Thy hands the matter take,
And all my griefs shall cease.

399

Save me! I ask not how;
But save me in this hour:
O snatch me from destruction now,
Nor let the foe devour:
I ask not instant rest,
But let me bear my load,
And find at last my Saviour's breast,
And sink into my God.

This is my utmost hope
(When all Thy wrath is past,
When I have drunk the poison up,)
To taste Thy love at last;
When I have borne my shame,
And suffer'd all my sin,
Open Thine arms, Thou lovely Lamb,
And take the sinner in.

If hope be in my end,
I all things else resign;
Yet on Thy sufferings I depend,
And not, O Lord, on mine.
But let me hide my face,
And sink into the dust,
Till Thou at last restore Thy grace,
And freely save the lost.

Be it a vale of tears
Where'er I live below,
Throughout my evil days, or years,
Still let mine eyes o'erflow.
But ere I end my race,
Bid me Thy mercy prove,
And let my latest breath be praise,
My latest passion love.

400

LXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 11.

[Why, (in the dust I ask,) O why]

Why, (in the dust I ask,) O why,
Good God, hast Thou my soul forsook?
Abandon'd me in sin to die,
Blotted my name out of Thy book,
Cast out my unavailing prayer,
And left me in the fowler's snare?

Did I not oft beseech Thee, Lord,
To take me from this evil day,
To slay me with Thy mercy's sword,
To sweep me far from earth away,
And hide me in the quiet tomb,
Where sin could never, never come!

Yet O! my enemy hath found,
And forced his slave again to yield;
My spirit feels the mortal wound,
And all my hopes of death are kill'd;
In sad despair of rest I grieve,
And still I sin, and still I live.

Why did I not resign my breath,
Before this last, this foul offence?
Sin hath defrauded me of death,
While God delay'd to snatch me hence;
O God of love, the doubt explain,
Why have I lived to sin again?

In judgment dost Thou here reprieve,
That I may all my sin fill up?
A monument of Thy justice live?—
Why am I then constrain'd to hope,
Why do I still for mercy groan,
And trembles still my heart of stone?

401

O this inexplicable doubt!
My prayer was heard, and yet I fell:
Thy judgments are past finding out,
Thy ways are all unsearchable!
This only do I know, 'tis mine
To sin; to pardon sin is Thine.

Assist me then to come once more,
And take the freely proffer'd grace,
Me to Thy favour, Lord, restore,
Me with Thine arms of love embrace,
And hear me in Thy bosom breathe
My passionate desires of death.

Still do I urge my sole request,
In horror of offending Thee,
Snatch me to my eternal rest,
Before the evil day I see,
Save from the more than mortal pain,
Nor let me live to sin again.

Wouldst Thou not rather have me fly
From earth, than stay to lose Thy love?
Die, and not sin, than sin and die?
O take me to Thy rest above,
Now, Lord, my struggling soul set free,
Renew, and bid me die in Thee.

LXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 12.

[O that my load were gone]

O that my load were gone,
That I my wish might have,
Be saved from sin, and then sink down
Into a quiet grave!

402

Where grief and guilty care
Can never more molest:
The wicked cease from troubling there,
The weary are at rest.

O that I now could find
A place to lay my head;
Be clean forgot, and out of mind,
And free among the dead!
O that the hour were come!
That I my head might bow,
And gain the harbour of the tomb,
And yield my spirit now!

Who that hath ever known
The bitterness of sin,
Would not for full redemption groan,
And die to be made clean?
But all in vain our hope
By death to be set free,
Unless we after God wake up,
And here His glory see.

How then dare I presume,
Unchanged, and unrenew'd,
To wish for death—to meet my doom
And perish in my blood!
Even now (but God denies
My foolish heart's desire)
I should be lifting up my eyes
In everlasting fire.

Ah! gracious Lord, forgive
My unbelieving haste;
My time is in Thy hand, I leave
It all to Thee at last:

403

I do at last comply,
My stubborn will resign;
Choose Thou for me to live, or die,
And let Thy choice be mine.

Still hide from me Thy face,
But give me strength to bear
The guilty load, the dire disgrace,
The sadness of despair:
Still let me groan beneath
A nature all unclean,
And drag the body of this death,
And feel this hell of sin.

Why should a man complain,
Beneath the vengeful rod!
'Tis all my due, the penal pain,
The absence of my God;
An heavier doom than this
My sin deserves to feel,
The darkness of the great abyss,
The hottest flames of hell.

With patience then I yield
To bear my lighter doom,
And wait till all my time's fulfill'd,
And my last change is come;
Only when all is past,
In pity think on me,
And save me as by fire at last,
And let me die in Thee.

404

LXIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 13.

O my God, no longer mine!
I have cast off His yoke,
Broke through all the threats Divine,
Through all the mercies broke:
I have turn'd to sin again,
The sin that claims me for its own;
Sin, and shame, and guilt, and pain,
And hell, and I are one.

Where is now my strife and care
And vows from sin to fly?
Where the answer of that prayer,
“O rather let me die!
Let me quit this wretched life,
And die, that I may sin no more”?—
I have sinn'd, and all my strife,
And all my hope is o'er.

Would to God, that I had died,
Ere I the deed had done,
Mock'd afresh, and crucified,
And trampled on His Son!
All in vain I wish, and pray,
It is, and cannot but have been:
Who can call back yesterday,
Or nullify my sin?

With a diamond's point it stands
Engraven on my heart,
Wrote by mine, and Satan's hands,
It mocks the' eraser's art:
Deep as hell's foundations driven
Into my soul the marks remain:
Is there dew in that fair heaven
To purge so foul a stain?

405

Dare I lift again mine eyes,
And ask the' atoning God,
What His speaking blood replies,
His sin expurging blood!
Is it all Thy blood can cleanse,
And melt so foul an heart of stone?
Mercy's whole omnipotence
May here be fully shown.

Me if Thou canst still restore,
Now, Lord, my doom repeal,
Bid me stand as heretofore,
As I had never fell:
If such power be in Thy blood,
Now, now repeat my sins forgiven,
Draw me through the cleansing flood,
And snatch me up to heaven.

LXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 14.

[Jesus, let Thy pitying eye]

Jesus, let Thy pitying eye
Call back a wandering sheep,
False to Thee like Peter I
Would fain like Peter weep:
Let me be by grace restored,
On me be all longsuffering shown;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

Saviour, Prince, enthroned above,
Repentance to impart,
Give me through Thy dying love
The humble contrite heart:

406

Give what I have long implored,
A portion of Thy grief unknown;
Turn, and look, &c.

In restoring love again,
O Jesus, visit me,
Give me back that pleasing pain,
That blessed misery:
Now Thy tendering grace afford,
And make me Thine afflicted one:
Turn, and look, &c.

Harder than the flinty rock
My stubborn heart remains,
Till I feel Thy mercy's stroke,
I only bite my chains,
Sinning on, though self-abhorr'd,
As devils in their chains I groan:
Turn, and look, &c.

For Thine own compassion's sake
The gracious wonder show,
Cast my sins behind Thy back,
And wash me white as snow;
If Thy bowels now are stirr'd,
If now I would myself bemoan,
Turn, and look, &c.

See me, Saviour, from above,
Nor suffer me to die;
Life, and happiness, and love
Drop from Thy gracious eye;
Speak the reconciling word,
And let Thy mercy melt me down;
Turn, and look, &c.

407

Look, as when Thine eye pursued
The first apostate man,
Saw him weltering in his blood,
And bade him rise again;
Speak my paradise restored,
Redeem me by Thy grace alone:
Turn, and look, &c.

Look, as when Thy pity saw
Thine own in a strange land,
Forced to' obey the tyrant's law,
And feel his heavy hand:
Speak the soul redeeming word,
And out of Egypt call Thy son;
Turn, and look, &c.

Look, as when Thy weeping eye
The bloody city view'd,
Those, who stoned and doom'd to die
The prophets, and their God:
I deserve their sad reward,
But this my gracious day I own:
Turn, and look, &c.

Look, as when Thy grace beheld
The harlot in distress,
Dried her tears, her pardon seal'd,
And bade her go in peace:
Foul like her, and self-abhorr'd,
I at Thy feet for mercy groan:
Turn, and look, &c.

Look, as when condemn'd for them
Thou didst Thy followers see,
“Daughters of Jerusalem,
Weep for yourselves, not Me!”

408

Am I by my God deplored,
And shall I not myself bemoan?
Turn, and look, &c.

Look, as when Thy languid eye
Was closed that we might live,
Father, (at the point to die
My Saviour gasp'd,) forgive!
Surely with that dying word
He turns, and looks, and cries, 'Tis done!
O my bleeding, loving Lord,
Thou break'st my heart of stone!

LXV. THE SAME.

Hymn 15.

[How happy are they]

PART I.

How happy are they,
Who the Saviour obey,
And have laid up their treasure above,
Tongue cannot express
The sweet comfort, and peace
Of a soul in its earliest love.

That comfort was mine,
When the favour Divine
I first found in the blood of the Lamb;
When my heart it believed,
What a joy it received,
What a heaven in Jesus's name!

'Twas an heaven below
My Saviour to know;
The angels could do nothing more
Than fall at His feet,
And the story repeat,
And the Lover of sinners adore.

409

Jesus all the day long
Was my joy and my song;
O that all His salvation may see!
He hath loved me, I cried,
He hath suffer'd, and died,
To redeem such a rebel as me.

On the wings of His love
I was carried above
All sin, and temptation, and pain;
I could not believe
That I ever should grieve,
That I ever should suffer again.

I rode on the sky,
(Freely justified I!)
Nor envied Elijah his seat;
My soul mounted higher
In a chariot of fire,
And the moon it was under my feet.

O the rapturous height
Of that holy delight,
Which I felt in the life-giving blood!
Of my Saviour possess'd
I was perfectly blest,
As if fill'd with the fulness of God.

PART II.

Ah, where am I now!
When was it, or how
That I fell from my heaven of grace!
I am brought into thrall,
I am stripp'd of my all,
I am banish'd from Jesus's face.

410

Hardly yet do I know
How I let my Lord go,
So insensibly starting aside,
When the tempter came in
With his own subtle sin,
And infected my spirit with pride.

But I felt it too soon,
That my Saviour was gone,
Swiftly vanishing out of my sight;
My triumph and boast
On a sudden were lost,
And my day it was turn'd into night.

Only pride could destroy
That innocent joy,
And make my Redeemer depart:
But whate'er was the cause,
I lament the sad loss,
For the veil is come over my heart.

Ah! wretch that I am!
I can only exclaim,
Like a devil tormented within,
My Saviour is gone,
And has left me alone
To the fury of Satan and sin.

Nothing now can relieve,
Without comfort I grieve,
I have lost all my peace and my power:
No access do I find
To the Friend of mankind;
I can ask for His mercy no more.

411

Tongue cannot declare
The torment I bear;
(While no end of my troubles I see;)
Only Adam could tell
On the day that he fell,
And was turn'd out of Eden like me.

Driven out from my God,
I wander abroad,
Through a desert of sorrows I rove;
And how great is my pain,
That I cannot regain
My Eden of Jesus's love!

I never shall rise
To my first paradise,
Or come my Redeemer to see:
But I feel a faint hope,
That at last He will stoop,
And His pity shall bring Him to me.

LXVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 16.

[O Jesus, my Hope]

O Jesus, my Hope,
When wilt Thou lift up
A lost sinner that lies at Thy feet?
If Thou cast out my prayer,
I shall die in despair,
And sink into the bottomless pit.

Thou know'st my sad case,
I am fallen from grace,
And possess'd by a spirit unclean;
I have lost all my power,
I am every hour
Dropping into the Tophet of sin.

412

How weak was my heart
With my Saviour to part,
Who had sprinkled me once with His blood!
Yet I threw off His yoke,
And presumptuously broke
From the arms of a merciful God.

Now I languish in vain
Thy love to regain,
But find for repentance no place:
Thou hast left me to mourn,
And I cannot return,
Or recover Thy forfeited grace.

Ah! what shall I say?
I have squander'd away
My portion of mercy Divine;
I have sinn'd in Thy sight,
I have done Thee despite,
And gone back to my husks, and my swine.

Nothing is there in me
Thy glory can see,
But the fulness of passion and pride;
My heart is unclean,
My whole nature is sin,
In the confines of hell I abide.

O how shall I move
Thy compassion and love
To consider my desperate grief?
I can only confess
My sin and distress,
And go out of myself for relief.

To the Fountain I go,
Which so freely did flow
In pardons from Jesus's side:

413

O my Saviour, and God,
Let the water and blood
Be again to my conscience applied.

Do not look upon me
But as ransom'd by Thee;
Remember, O Lord, what Thou art:
A mere sinner I am,
But I call on Thy name,
I appeal to Thy pitiful heart.

Now, now let me die,
At Thy feet while I lie,
Delight, if Thou canst, in my death,
But I surely shall feel,
Ere I fall into hell,
That the arms of Thy love are beneath.

LXVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 17.

[O wretched man of hopeless grief!]

O wretched man of hopeless grief!
What shall I do, or whither fly?
Shut up in sin, and unbelief,
Afraid to live, afraid to die,
In bitterness of soul I mourn,
And rue the day that I was born.

Is there no balm in Gilead found?
Is there no kind physician there,
To heal my spirit's desperate wound,
To mitigate my sad despair?
No word to' assuage my misery,
No promise of relief for me?

414

Where is the helpless sinner's Friend?
Where is the weary wanderer's rest?
Wilt Thou not bid my sorrows end?
Wilt Thou not calm my troubled breast,
And show forth all Thy gracious art,
And stamp forgiveness on my heart?

I know not how Thy love will deal
With such a poor, backsliding soul;
Yet let me hope Thy blood to feel,
Hope against hope to be made whole,
And humbly still Thy grace desire,
And weeping at Thy feet expire.

LXVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 18.

[O mercy Divine!]

O mercy Divine!
When shall it be mine!
'Tis mercy alone
Can ransom a soul so entirely undone!

So fallen from grace,
So far from His face
Who brought me to God,
And sprinkled me once with His life-giving blood!

Base wretch that I am!
With sorrow and shame
The sin I confess
Which robb'd me of all my sweet comfort and peace.

Ah, how could I grieve
His Spirit, and leave
A Saviour so kind,
Who labour'd so long a lost sinner to find?

415

I follow'd an heart
Ever prone to depart
From Jesus my Lord,
And threw off His yoke, and rejected His word.

I thwarted His will,
My own to fulfil,
To nature gave way,
And suffer'd my lusts to recover their sway.

I left my first zeal,
And insensibly fell,
And started aside,
Betray'd into passion by slackness and pride:

My folly return'd
To Egypt, and burn'd
For sensual delight,
And did my adorable Saviour despite.

Through selfish desire
I made Him retire,
(Though loath to depart,)
And leave a divided idolatrous heart.

He left me alone
In nature sunk down,
Till awaken'd again
I felt all the weight of mine enemy's chain.

I felt it; and still
My burden I feel,
My punishment bear,
And hardly to hope for forgiveness I dare.

So soon I abuse
His mercy, and lose
The tendering power,
Plunged deeper in sin and distress than before.

416

Ah! what shall I do?
He only must show
Whose pity can find
A cause in Himself to be gracious and kind.

Whose mercies exceed
My offences, and plead
Unwearied for me;
Whose love is a boundless and bottomless sea.

My refuge is this
Unexhausted abyss;
Forsaken of all,
Lord, into Thy ocean of mercy I fall.

Here, Jesu, am I
Determined to lie,
Thy goodness to prove,
And if I am lost, to be lost in Thy love.

LXIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 19.

[Jesu, I believe Thee near]

Jesu, I believe Thee near:
Now my fallen soul restore,
Now my guilty conscience clear,
Give me back my peace and power;
Stone to flesh again convert,
Write forgiveness on my heart.

I believe Thy pardoning grace
As at the beginning, free:
Open are Thy arms to' embrace
Me, the worst of rebels me;
All in me the hindrance lies,
Call'd, I still refuse to rise.

417

Still my carnal mind withstands,
Still I madly hug my chain,
Start from Thy extended hands,
Will not be received again,
Backwards cast my wishful eye,
Linger still from sin to fly.

Yet for Thy own mercy sake,
Patience with Thy rebel have,
Me Thy mercy's witness make,
Monument of Thy power to save,
Make me willing to be free,
Restless to be saved by Thee.

Now the gracious work begin,
Now for good some token give;
Give me now to feel my sin,
Give me now my sin to leave;
Bid me look on Thee, and mourn,
Bid me to Thy arms return.

Take this heart of stone away,
Melt me into gracious tears;
Grant me power to watch and pray,
Till Thy lovely face appears,
Till Thy favour I retrieve,
Till by faith again I live.

LXX. THE SAME.

Hymn 20.

[Still, O Lamb, to Thee I pray]

Still, O Lamb, to Thee I pray,
I, the vile backslider I,
Take, O take my sins away,
Haste Thy balmy blood to' apply,
Bid the power of sin depart,
Drop Thy blood upon my heart.

418

Weary, weary, and oppress'd
Shall I come to Thee in vain?
Wilt Thou, Lord, deny me rest,
Canst Thou leave me to my pain,
Crush'd by my own misery,
Perishing for want of Thee?

Lord, I cannot let Thee go,
Till Thou give me back my peace;
Wilt Thou not the grace bestow?
Wilt Thou not my sins dismiss?
From the guilt and power set free,
Justify the damn'd in me!

If Thou all compassion art,
If to me Thy bowels move,
Trouble, and make soft my heart,
Melt it by Thy pardoning love,
Now from all my sins release,
Loose, and bid me go in peace.

LXXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 21.

[How shall a lost sinner in pain]

How shall a lost sinner in pain
Recover his forfeited peace?
When brought into bondage again
What hope of a second release?
Will mercy itself be so kind
To spare such a rebel as me?
And O! can I possibly find
Such plenteous redemption in Thee?

O Jesus, of Thee I inquire
If still Thou art able to save,
The brand to pluck out of the fire
And ransom my soul from the grave?

419

The help of Thy Spirit restore,
And show me the life-giving blood,
And pardon a sinner once more,
And bring me again unto God.

O Jesus, in pity draw near,
Come quickly to help a lost soul,
To comfort a mourner appear,
And make a poor Lazarus whole:
The balm of Thy mercy apply,
(Thou seest the sore anguish I feel,)
Save, Lord, or I perish, I die,
O save, or I sink into hell!

I sink if Thou longer delay
Thy pardoning mercy to show;
Come quickly, and kindly display
The power of Thy passion below!
By all Thou hast done for my sake
One drop of Thy blood I implore:
Now, now let it touch me, and make
The sinner a sinner no more.

LXXII. THE SAME.

—Hymn 22.

[Turn, Thou Friend of sinners, turn]

Turn, Thou Friend of sinners, turn
On my soul Thy gracious eye,
Let me for Thy glory mourn,
For Thine injured honour cry:
Melt me by Thy pitying look,
Me who have my Lord forsook.

Come Thou greater than my heart,
Come, and now the stone remove,
Now the bitter grief impart,
Grief at having grieved Thy love,

420

Thee so faithlessly denied,
Thee so often crucified!

Worldly grief be far away,
Trouble at my sufferings here!
Huge affliction, sore dismay,
Burning shame, and racking fear,
These are but my lightest load:
I have sinn'd against my God.

O that this might swallow up
All my pains, and griefs, and fears!
I have made my God to stoop,
Made Thee lose Thy precious tears,
Made Thee shed Thy blood again,
Die ten thousand times in vain.

Help me, O Thou Man of woe,
Now to feel my misery:
Now the gracious token show,
Let me now lament for Thee,
Grieve for all that I have done,
Weep for Thy dear sake alone.

Hence let all my troubles rise,
Hence let all my sorrows flow,
Stream the fountains of my eyes,
Heave my breast with endless woe,
Feel my flesh the killing smart,
Fail my spirit, and break my heart!

LXXIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 23.

[O my God, my God forgive]

O my God, my God forgive:
All Thy wrath I cannot bear,
Cannot suffer on, and live:
If Thy purpose is to spare,

421

If Thou canst so greatly save,
Now redeem me from the grave.

See Thy creature most distress'd,
Stretch'd upon the rack of fears,
Mark the earthquake in my breast,
Mark the torrent of my tears;
All my pangs unspeakable
See, and O! vouchsafe to feel.

O Thou gracious Son of God,
O Thou loving Man of grief,
Lighten now my mountain load,
Now afford me some relief;
In my end if hope there be,
If Thou yet canst pardon me.

Quench this cruel hell of doubt,
All this unbelief remove:
Wilt Thou cast a sinner out,
One that hangs upon Thy love,
Feebly gasping after grace,
Canst Thou drive me from Thy face?

Break not off my weakest hold,
Do not to my haters leave,
To my fierce oppressors sold
Once again my soul retrieve;
For Thy truth, and mercy sake
Cast my sins behind Thy back.

Might I find Thy pardoning love,
Then I all things could sustain,
Glory (if my God approve)
In the frown of hostile man,
Bless the sacred infamy
Scorn'd by man and prized by Thee.

422

LXXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 24.

[O God Thy righteousness we own]

O God Thy righteousness we own,
Judgment is at Thy house begun!
With humblest awe Thy rod we hear,
And guilty in Thy sight appear;
We cannot in Thy judgment stand,
But sink beneath Thy mighty hand.

Our mouth as in the dust we lay,
And still for mercy, mercy pray;
Unworthy to behold Thy face,
Unfaithful stewards of Thy grace,
Our sin, and wickedness we own,
And deeply for acceptance groan.

We have not, Lord, Thy gifts improved,
But basely from Thy statutes roved,
And done Thy loving Spirit despite,
And sinn'd against the clearest light;
Brought back Thine agonizing pain,
And nail'd Thee to Thy cross again.

Yet do not drive us from Thy face,
A stiff-neck'd, and hard-hearted race;
But O! in tender mercy break
The iron sinew in our neck;
The softening power of love impart,
And melt the marble of our heart.

LXXV. THE SAME.

Hymn 25.

[What shall an helpless sinner do]

What shall an helpless sinner do
Who long from God have fell?
Satan, the world, and sin pursue,
And hunt me down to hell.

423

Entangled in the fowler's snare,
The toils of sin, I lie,
Bound with the fetters of despair,
And wish, and fear to die.

Out of the deep I cry, and mourn
In hopeless misery,
My breast with raging passions torn
Is all a troubled sea.

Whate'er a Christless soul can wound
I feel, I feel it here;
But not a fiend in hell is found
So fierce as guilty fear.

Abandon'd to the fury's will,
I prove her utmost power,
And twice ten thousand deaths I feel,
Yet live to suffer more.

With me the ghastly spectre walks
In every secret shade,
In all her horrid forms she stalks
Around my sleepless bed.

She seizes, holds, and weighs me down,
Strangles my infant hope,
Harrows me with her chilling frown,
And drinks my spirits up.

The world she sets in fierce array,
The murderers of my fame,
Anticipates the dreadful day,
And blazons all my shame.

My every weakness she bewrays,
And swells into a crime,
Torments me with severe disgrace,
Torments—before my time.

424

My poor despairing soul she racks
With agonizing smart,
Her whip of knotted vipers shakes,
And tears my bleeding heart.

She mocks my unavailing cry,
When crush'd beneath my load,
Where'er I look, where'er I fly,
Presents an angry God.

The burning pit she open throws,
The hellish misery,
And tells me, these eternal woes
Are all reserved for me.

My soul shrinks back—but O! to whom
Or whither shall I run?
Will God the Just reverse my doom,
And hear my latest groan?

His anger most of all I fear,
And dread to meet His eye,
Yet O! unless I find Him near,
I must for ever die.

See then I at Thy feet once more
My guilty spirit cast,
Here (if Thou wilt not yet restore)
Resolved to groan my last.

LXXVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 26.

[In trouble I seek Thee, O God]

In trouble I seek Thee, O God,
Compell'd by the burden I bear,
Constrain'd by the stroke of Thy rod
I pour out a penitent prayer:

425

Ah! do not abhor my sad moan,
Extorted, alas! by distress,
But hear, and with pity look down,
And send me an answer of peace.

What must a poor prodigal do
Thy forfeited grace to regain?
My trouble I only can show,
And tell Thee my sorrow and pain:
I only for mercy can cry,
And groan with the sense of my load.
Save, Lord, or I perish, I die,
I die in my sins, and my blood.

I own, I have sinn'd in Thy sight,
Have sinn'd against knowledge and love,
And done Thy good Spirit despite;
Yet look on my Surety above!
His passion alone is my plea,
His free inexhaustible grace:
My Advocate answer'd for me,
And Jesus hath died in my place.

O Father of mercies restore,
For Jesus's merits alone,
And heal a backslider once more,
And give me again to Thy Son:
If still Thou art able to spare,
If infinite mercy Thou art,
Reply to my penitent prayer,
And whisper Thy peace to my heart.

426

LXXVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 27.

[O that the love of God]

O that the love of God,
Which once I sweetly felt,
Again were shed abroad,
This stony heart to melt!
Love only can the conquest win,
My desperate soul restore,
And save me from the guilt of sin,
And save me from the power.

This base unworthy breast
I smite, alas! in vain,
But cannot find Thy rest,
But cannot love again,
Till Thou the Spirit of Holiness
The Loving Spirit send,
To heal my wounds, and seal my peace,
And bid my sorrows end.

Consider, gracious Lord,
How short my time below,
And now repeat the word,
And loose, and let me go;
From sin, the world, and Satan's chain
My struggling spirit free,
And let me find my peace again,
And live and die in Thee.

LXXVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 28.

[O that I could repent]

O that I could repent,
With all my idols part,
And to Thy gracious eye present
An humble contrite heart!

427

An heart with grief oppress'd
At having grieved my God,
A troubled heart that cannot rest
Till sprinkled with Thy blood!

Jesu, on me bestow
The penitent desire,
With true sincerity of woe,
My aching breast inspire;
With softening pity look,
And melt my hardness down,
Strike with Thy love's effectual stroke,
And break this heart of stone.

O for Thy glorious name
My flinty bosom move,
And let me feel my load of shame,
And groan my want of love:
Low in the deepest deep
My humbled spirit lay,
And give me there to cry, and weep
My pensive life away.

Absorb'd in ceaseless woe,
No interval I crave,
But softly all my days to go,
And mourning to the grave;
Till all my pains are past,
And Thou my soul require:—
But let me see Thy face at last,
And in Thy arms expire.

LXXIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 29.

[Gracious God, what shall I do?]

Gracious God, what shall I do?
Never will my heart prove true?

428

Never firm or constant prove,
Never keep Thy pardoning love?
All my vows are broke again,
All my purposes are vain,
Useless all my watchful fears,
Lost my unavailing tears.

How did I Thy help implore,
Beg that I might sin no more,
Strive in agony of prayer,
Death itself to sin prefer!
Yet my enemy hath found,
Dealt the oft-inflicted wound,
All my hopes again destroy'd,
Kill'd the tender life of God.

Deeper plunged in guilt and shame,
Whom, alas! have I to blame?
Can I, who to sin gave place,
Charge Thy insufficient grace?
No, Thy slighted grace I clear,
Thou to help wert always near,
But I ceased to watch and pray,
Slacken'd, sunk, and fell away.

Shall I then the strife give o'er,
Never sue for mercy more,
To my fearful doom submit,
Sink content into the pit?
No, Thy mercy answers, No!
Mercy will not let me go,
Still Thy yearning bowels cry,
“Wherefore wilt thou sin, and die?”

Lord, to Thee what shall I say?
Shall I promise still to' obey?

429

Aggravate my guilt and pain,
Make, to break my vows again?
Lord, I know not what to do!
Only Thou the way canst show:
When, and as Thou wilt restore,
Lift me up to fall no more.

Till that welcome day I see,
Let me sorrow after Thee;
Weeping at Thy footstool lie,
Still for mercy, mercy cry,
Cry,—or make my speechless moan,
Groan the spirit's deepest groan,
Gasp Thy favour to retrieve,
Die to see Thy face—and live!

LXXX. THE SAME.

Hymn 30.

[Father, I in Thy strength arise]

Father, I in Thy strength arise
From my dead sleep of sin,
And lift with shame my guilty eyes,
And groan to be made clean.

Unworthy to be call'd Thy son,
Yet a good hope I feel,
Thou never wilt Thyself disown,
Thou art my Father still.

The Father of my dying Lord,
And therefore mine Thou art;
Thy bowels are in Jesus stirr'd,
And full of love Thy heart.

That fulness of Thy pitying love
To me in Christ reveal,
Again my unbelief remove,
Again my pardon seal.

430

The word of reconciling grace
I long to feel applied:
O let me see Thy smiling face,
And know Thee pacified.

Thy prodigal in Christ receive,
The forfeiture restore,
Forgive, for Jesus' sake forgive,
And bid me sin no more.

LXXXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 31.

[O Jesus, full of truth and grace]

O Jesus, full of truth and grace,
Show forth Thy truth and grace on me,
On me let all Thy will take place;
Speak the kind word, and set me free
From sin and Satan's iron chain;
O give me back my peace again.

Would I not in Thy name believe?
Thy name is all I want to know:
Thou canst, Thou canst my sin forgive,
This moment touch me white as snow,
This moment my backslidings heal,
And speak the gracious word, “I will!”

Willing to save, I know, Thou art,
Thy love is equal to Thy power:
Why then dost Thou far off depart,
Why dost Thou let the foe devour,
My prayer cast out, my suit repel,
And leave me in the toils of hell!

Whate'er in me obstructs the way,
Art Thou not ready to remove?
My lusts and appetites to slay,
And crucify my creature love,

431

The sacred willingness to' infuse,
The power eternal life to choose?

Why am I then, ah! show me why
This weak, entangled, wretched thing?
Afraid to live, afraid to die?
Nor death nor life have lost their sting;
A living death, alas! I bear,
Cut off from hope, and from despair.

A mystery of grief, and sin,
Out of the deep I cry to Thee,
End, Jesus, end this war within,
Set my sad soul at liberty:
My groaning soul on Thee I cast,
Redeem, and let me groan my last.

LXXXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 32.

[O that I could revere]

O that I could revere
My much offended God!
O that I could but stand in fear
Of Thy afflicting rod!
The rod I long have borne;
O may I dread the pain,
And never more to folly turn,
And never sin again!

Remembering my distress,
The wormwood and the gall,
For help against my wickedness
On Thee I humbly call:
Whom mercy cannot draw
Thou by Thy threatenings move,
And keep an abject soul in awe,
That will not yield to love.

432

Show me the naked sword
Impendent o'er my head,
And let me tremble at Thy word,
And to my ways take heed:
With sacred horror fly
From every sinful snare,
Nor ever in my Judge's eye
My Judge's anger dare.

Thou great, tremendous God,
The conscious awe impart,
The grace be now on me bestow'd,
The tender fleshly heart:
For Jesu's sake alone
The stony heart remove,
And melt at last, O melt me down
Into the mould of love.

LXXXIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 33.

[All-good, Almighty God]

All-good, Almighty God,
How can Thy creature be
So long oppress'd beneath his load
Who groans for help to Thee?
My soul how canst Thou leave
To struggle with its chain,
To strive against my sin, and grieve,
And grieve and strive in vain?

Surely the hindrance lies
In me, in me alone;
Thee only just, and true, and wise,
And merciful I own:

433

Why then dost Thou delay
The hindrance to remove,
And kindly force my stubborn clay
To take the stamp of love?

Dost Thou, to break my pride,
Refuse to heal my wound,
And let me still in sin abide,
That grace may more abound?
Ah no! Thy purity
My sin would never choose,
Thou canst not, Lord, to humble me,
The help of Satan use.

Dost Thou refuse to hear
The object of Thy hate,
The vessel of Thy wrath severe,
The hopeless reprobate?
Why then am I withheld
From blasphemous despair?
Why am I thus again compell'd
To plead with Thee in prayer?

Righteous in all Thy ways,
Dost Thou Thy grace restrain,
To' avenge the quarrel of Thy grace,
By me received in vain?
But at my greatest need
Have I no friend above,
No advocate my cause to plead
Before the throne of love?

My Saviour prays for me,
Yet no relief I feel,
Fast bound in sin and misery,
Unsaved, unhappy still

434

Who shall the cause declare,
The secret bar reveal?
Past finding out Thy judgments are,
Thy ways unsearchable.

Here then I lay me down
In darkness, grief, and shame;
A sinner, O Thou God unknown,
But in Thy hands I am:
My sole Disposer Thou,
And what Thou dost with me,
And what my end, I know not now,
But leave it all to Thee.

LXXXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 34.

[O that I could repent]

O that I could repent,
O that I could believe!
Thou by Thy voice the marble rent,
The rock in sunder cleave;
Thou by Thy two-edged sword
My soul and spirit part;
Strike with the hammer of Thy word,
And break my stubborn heart.

Saviour and Prince of Peace,
The double grace bestow,
Unloose the bands of wickedness,
And let the captive go:
Grant me my sins to feel,
And then the load remove,
Wound, and pour in my wounds to heal,
The balm of pardoning love.

435

Or, if Thou wilt, keep back
That joyous sense of grace,
But let me now my sins forsake,
And hate all evil ways;
Hate with a perfect hate
Whatever thwarts Thy will,
And groan beneath my guilty weight,
And bear my burden still.

Do with me as Thou wilt,
But leave me not to' increase
My debt of old contracted guilt,
My load of wickedness:
Save me from farther sin,
From farther misery,
And fix a mighty gulf between
The cursed thing and me.

For Thy own mercy sake,
The cursed thing remove;
And into Thy protection take
The prisoner of Thy love:
In every trying hour
Stand by my feeble soul,
And screen me from my nature's power
Till Thou hast made me whole.

This is Thy will, I know,
That I should holy be,
Should let my sin this moment go,
This moment turn to Thee;
O might I now embrace
Thine all-sufficient power,
And never more to sin give place,
And never grieve Thee more

436

LXXXV. THE SAME.

Hymn 35.

[Alas, it must be so!]

Alas, it must be so!
I mournfully confess
The only cause of pain and woe
Is sin and wickedness:
Constrain'd at last I am
To yield my full belief,
And own “that vice engenders shame,
And folly broods o'er grief.”

The righteous God and true
Hath made His justice known;
Because His will I would not do,
He leaves me to my own.
His long rejected grace
At last He takes away,
And now I cannot seek His face,
And now I cannot pray.

Without a gracious thought,
Without a wish of good,
I only have the thing I sought,
And reap what first I sow'd:
Pain in its cause I chose,
The sorrow and distress,
And all the misery that flows
From wilful wickedness.

Why then should I complain
Beneath my penal load,
Or kick against the pricks in vain,
Or murmur against God?
To His vindictive will
At last I meekly stoop,
And eat the bitter roll, and fill
My mournful measure up.

437

The heaviness of soul,
The pining want of rest,
The thoughts that in my bosom roll,
And tear my troubled breast,
The temporal despair
That gnaws my heart within,
'Tis less than I deserve to bear,
'Tis all the fruit of sin.

Sorrow, and loss, and shame,
And soul-distracting fear
May justly now their captive claim,
And seize and keep me here:
My strugglings all are past,
My hopes of comfort cease—
But let them, Lord, revive at last,
But let me die in peace.

LXXXVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 36.

[Father, I seek Thy face]

Father, I seek Thy face,
Which once with joy I saw,
But quickly forfeited Thy grace,
And lost my filial awe:
By sin, alas, beguiled!
Beneath Thy frown I grieve;
Pity Thy most rebellious child,
And, if Thou canst, forgive.

I know Thy justice wills
That I should suffer here;
And lo! my troubled spirit feels
Thy righteous wrath severe:

438

Left to myself, I groan
In vain Thy face to see,
My penal want of grace bemoan,
My penal want of Thee.

In all my griefs below
The fatal cause I read,
Thy justice aims each vengeful blow
At my faint, guilty head;
In every touch of pain
I feel a stroke of Thine,
And chasten'd by the rod of men
Revere the rod Divine.

Thy awful righteousness
I in Thy plagues revere,
Stripp'd of my power, and joy, and peace,
And every comfort here:
The loss of friends, and fame,
The wormwood, and the gall,
The bitterness of grief and shame,
My sins procured it all.

Yet what is all I bear
To what my sins require,
That blackness of extreme despair,
That everlasting fire!
Lord, I with thanks receive
Whate'er on earth I feel,
'Tis mercy all that here I live,
A sinner—not in hell.

Here let me still remain
(If so Thy will decree)
In quiet grief, and silent pain,
And patient misery:

439

Let me my burden bear,
While in the vale beneath,
And die ten thousand times for fear
Of that eternal death.

Yet, O my God, at last
The worst of sinners save,
When all my penal woes are past,
Redeem me from the grave:
That grave of souls accurs'd
O may I never see,
But save in death the chief, the worst
Of sinners save in me.

LXXXVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 37.

[Love Divine for Thee I languish]

Love Divine for Thee I languish,
Only Thou canst heal my care,
Only Thou canst ease my anguish,
Mitigate my sad despair:
Nothing in this low creation
Can my wretchedness remove,
All is sorrow and vexation,
Anguish all but Jesu's love.

Restless grief, and pain unceasing
Justly now the sinner claim:
Sin hath cursed my every blessing,
Turn'd my glory into shame,
Poison'd my sincerest pleasure,
Fill'd my soul with hellish smart,
Robb'd me of my heavenly treasure,
Forced the Saviour from my heart.

440

O my much offended Saviour,
May I still implore Thy grace?
Hope again to' obtain Thy favour,
Hope again to see Thy face?
Never, Lord, shall I believe it,
Till Thou dost the power impart,
Force my conscience to receive it,
Pardon stamp'd upon my heart.

[AFTER A RECOVERY.]

LXXXVIII. AFTER A RECOVERY.

Hymn 1.

Why should the Lord a worm pursue
With endless offers of His love?
Not all Thy mercies can subdue,
Not all Thy benefits can move
The wretch from evil to depart,
Or melt my adamantine heart.

If now the stricken rock relents,
And waters of contrition flow,
My heart again to sin consents,
And closes with the tempting foe;
Open I tear my wounds, with pain—
I sin, repent, and sin again.

I cannot persevere in good,
I cannot persevere in ill:
Oft to repentance vain renew'd,
Constrain'd a short-lived power to feel,
I neither can despair, nor hope,
Nor keep my Lord, nor give Him up.

Even now the momentary grace
Inclines my vileness to return:
Unworthy to behold Thy face,
Low at Thy feet I fain would mourn;

441

In chains of penal darkness stay,
And weep a thousand lives away.

If Thou canst pardon me once more,
Once more so great compassion show,
My tears of love I still will pour,
And spend my life in sacred woe;
I never, Lord, will cease to grieve,
I never can myself forgive.

Gladness and joy far off remove,
To weep be all my calm relief,
To' indulge in honour of Thy love,
Mine utmost avarice of grief,
To vindicate Thine injured grace,
And die to see Thy smiling face.

O might I as the harlot lie
At those dear feet transfix'd for me,
Afraid to meet His pitying eye,
Ashamed the pardoning God to see!
The God, beneath whose love I fall,
Forgives my sin, yet knows it all.

His pardoning love my heart constrains,
He lets me kiss His bleeding feet;
(That blood hath wash'd away my stains;)
Still will I the dear task repeat,
His feet by sin no longer tear,
But wash and wipe them with my hair.

This only labour shall employ
My every moment here below;
To weep for Him be all my joy,
For Him whose blood for me did flow:
And He, who hath my sins forgiven,
Shall wipe away these tears in heaven.

442

LXXXIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Weary of wandering from my God]

Weary of wandering from my God,
And now made willing to return,
I hear, and bow me to the rod,
For Him, not without hope, I mourn:
I have an Advocate above,
A Friend before the throne of love.

O Jesu, full of pardoning grace,
More full of grace than I of sin;
Yet once again I seek Thy face,
Open Thine arms and take me in,
And freely my backslidings heal,
And love the faithless sinner still.

Thou know'st the way to bring me back,
My fallen spirit to restore;
O for Thy truth and mercy sake,
Forgive, and bid me sin no more,
The ruins of my soul repair,
And make my heart an house of prayer.

The stone to flesh again convert,
The veil of sin once more remove:
Sprinkle Thy blood upon my heart,
And melt it with Thy dying love:
This rebel heart by love subdue,
And make it soft and make it new.

Give to mine eyes refreshing tears,
And kindle my relentings now;
Fill all my soul with filial fears:
To Thy sweet yoke my spirit bow;
Bend by Thy grace, O bend, or break
The iron sinew in my neck.

443

Ah! give me, Lord, the tender heart,
That trembles at the' approach of sin;
A godly fear of sin impart,
Implant, and root it deep within;
That I may dread Thy gracious power,
And never dare offend Thee more.

XC. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[O my Advocate above]

O my Advocate above,
Feel I yet again Thy prayer?
Stop the torrent of Thy love—
Love beyond what I can bear!
Vilest of the rebel race
Dost Thou still my soul reprieve,
Still pursue me with Thy grace?
How shall I Thy grace receive!

Saviour, dost Thou bid me rise,
Dost Thou give me back my hope?
Can I lift my guilty eyes?
Dare I, after all, look up?
O depart from me, depart,
I am, Lord, a sinful man,
Leave me to my wretched heart,
Let me suffer all my pain.

What have fiends to do with Thee?
Leave me all my hell to bear,
Squander not Thy grace on me,
Give me over to despair:
No; Thou wilt not loose Thy hold,
No; Thou wilt not quit Thy claim;
Sold to sin, to Satan sold,
Lost, and damn'd—yet Thine I am.

444

Overwhelm'd with pardoning grace,
Jesus, at Thy feet I lie,
Dare not see Thy smiling face,
Tremble at Thy mercy nigh:
I, a child of wrath and hell,
How can I look up to heaven!
Lord, I faint Thy love to feel,
Blush, and die to be forgiven.

After all that I have done,
Saviour, art Thou pacified?
Whither shall my vileness run?
Hide me, earth, the sinner hide.
Let me sink into the dust,
Full of holy shame adore;
Jesus Christ, the good, the just,
Bids me go, and sin no more.

O confirm the gracious word,
Jesu, Son of God and man,
Let me never grieve Thee, Lord,
Never turn to sin again:
Till my all in all Thou art,
Till Thou bring Thy nature in,
Keep this feeble, trembling heart,
Save me, save me, Lord, from sin.

Do not suffer me to live,
To provoke Thy glorious eyes,
Thee by sin again to grieve,
Thy rich mercy to despise.
Rather now take back my breath,
Rather now my soul require,
Let me fly from sin to death,
Let me at Thy feet expire.

445

XCI. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O what an evil heart have I]

O what an evil heart have I,
So cold, and hard, and blind,
With sin so ready to comply,
And cast my God behind!

So apt His mercy to forget,
So soon dissolved in ease,
So false, so full of all deceit,
And desperate wickedness!

Long have I murmur'd to be clean
From all iniquity,
But knew not that I loved my sin,
And would not be set free.

Oft when the pleasing ill drew nigh,
And God foreshow'd my fall,
I would not from temptation fly,
Or heed the Spirit's call.

His warning voice I would not mind,
But turn'd mine ear away,
And lingering stood, till sin should find
And seize its willing prey.

Oft have I ask'd for help, afraid
Lest God my voice should hear,
While with deceitful lips I said
The' abominable prayer.

Oft, when He would not let me yield,
But stopp'd me by His grace,
I raged from sin to be withheld,
And burst from His embrace.

When after each foul sinful fall,
I would have all given up,
He would not let me give up all,
But forced me still to hope.

446

Infinite, unexhausted love!
Jesus and love are one:
If still to me Thy bowels move,
They are restrain'd to none.

If me, even me Thou yet canst spare,
Fury is not in Thee;
For all Thy tender mercies are,
If mercy is for me.

What shall I do my God to love?
My loving God to praise?
The length, and breadth, and height to prove,
And depth of sovereign grace?

Thy sovereign grace to all extends,
Immense and unconfined;
From age to age it never ends;
It reaches all mankind.

Throughout the world its breadth is known,
Wide as infinity!
So wide it never pass'd by one,
Or it had pass'd by me.

My trespass is grown up to heaven,
But far above the skies
In Christ abundantly forgiven
I see Thy mercies rise.

The depth of all-redeeming love
What angel tongue can tell?
O may I to the utmost prove
The gift unspeakable!

Deeper than hell, it pluck'd me thence;
Deeper than inbred sin,
Jesus's love my heart shall cleanse,
When Jesus enters in.

447

Come quickly then, my Lord, and take
Possession of Thine own;
My longing heart vouchsafe to make
Thine everlasting throne.

Assert Thy claim, receive Thy right,
Come quickly from above,
And sink me to perfection's height,
The depth of humble love.

XCII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[Father, and can it be]

Father, and can it be
That Thou shouldst still forbear,
Shouldst still reprieve and suffer me
Who all Thy threatenings dare?
Who all Thy mercies spurn,
A deep revolter I,
And ever to my vomit turn,
As resolute to die.

Soon as Thy slighted grace
Doth on Thy rebel call,
And yet again begin to raise
The sinner from his fall;
I weep, and watch, and pray:
And weary of the pain,
Forget my God, and sink away,
And plunge in sin again.

Yet O Thou wilt not quit
A wretch that flies from Thee,
Thee though I evermore forget,
Thou still rememberest me;

448

Ten thousand thousand times
Thou dost my sins pass by;
Thy mercies rise above my crimes,
And will not let me die.

O unexhausted grace,
O love unsearchable!
I am not gone to my own place,
I am not yet in hell!
Earth doth not open yet
My soul to swallow up;
And hanging o'er the yawning pit
I still am forced to hope.

I hope at last to find
The kingdom from above,
The settled peace, the constant mind,
The everlasting love;
The sanctifying grace
That makes me meet for home:
I hope to see Thy glorious face
Where sin shall never come.

What shall I do to keep
The blessed hope I feel?
Still let me pray, and watch, and weep,
And serve Thy pleasure still.
O never may I grieve
My kind longsuffering Lord,
But steadfastly to Jesus cleave,
And answer all Thy word.

Lord, if Thou hast bestow'd
On me this gracious fear,
This horror of offending God,
O keep it always here;

449

And that I never more
May from Thy ways depart,
Enter with all Thy mercy's power,
And dwell within my heart.

XCIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[Jesu, Shepherd of the sheep]

Jesu, Shepherd of the sheep,
Pity my unsettled soul;
Guide, and nourish me, and keep,
Till Thy love shall make me whole:
Give me, perfect soundness give,
Make me steadfastly believe.

Jesus, I behold Thee now;
But my ever roving eye
Loses Thee, I know not how,
Soon I faint, fall back, and die;
Doubt again my heart assails,
Unbelief again prevails.

I am never at one stay,
Changing every hour I am,
But Thou art, as yesterday,
Now, and evermore the same;
Constancy to me impart,
'Stablish with Thy grace my heart.

Lay Thy weighty cross on me,
All my unbelief control:
Till the rebel cease to be,
Keep him down within my soul:
That he never more may move,
Root, and ground me fast in love.

450

Give me faith to hold me up
Walking over life's rough sea;
Holy purifying hope
Still my soul's sure anchor be:
That I may be always Thine,
Perfect me in love Divine.

XCIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 7.

[O my old, my bosom foe]

O my old, my bosom foe,
Rejoice not over me!
Ofttimes thou hast laid me low,
And wounded mortally;
Yet thy prey thou couldst not keep,
Jesus, when I lowest fell,
Heard me cry out of the deep,
And brought me up from hell.

Foolish world, thy shouts forbear,
Till thou hast won the day:
Could thy wisdom keep me there,
When in thy hands I lay?
If my heart to thee incline,
Christ again shall set it free:
I am His, and He is mine
To all eternity.

Satan, cease thine empty boast,
And give thy triumphs o'er;
Still thou seest I am not lost,
While Jesus can restore:
Though through thy deceit I fall,
Surely I shall rise again;
Christ my King is over all,
And I with Him shall reign.

451

O my threefold enemy,
To whom I long did bow,
See your lawful captive see,
No more your captive now:
Now before my face ye fly,
More than conqueror now I am,
Sin, the world, and hell defy
In Jesu's powerful name.

XCV. THE BLOODY ISSUE CURED.

How shall a sinner come to God?
A fountain of polluted blood
For years my plague hath been;
From Adam the infection came,
My nature is with his the same,
The same with his my sin.

In me the stubborn evil reigns,
The poison spreads throughout my veins;
A loathsome sore disease
Makes all my soul, and life unclean,
My every word, work, thought is sin,
And desperate wickedness.

Long have I lived in grief and pain,
And suffer'd many things in vain,
And all physicians tried;
Nor men nor means my soul can heal,
The plague is still incurable,
The fountain is undried.

452

No help can I from these receive,
Nor men nor means can e'er relieve,
Or give my spirit ease;
Still worse and worse my case I find;
Here then I cast them all behind,
From all my works I cease.

I use, but trust in means no more,
Give my self-saving labours o'er,
The' unequal task forbear;
My strength is spent, my strife is past,
Hardly I give up all at last,
And yield to self-despair.

I find brought in a better hope,
Succour there is for me laid up,
For every helpless soul;
Salvation is in Jesu's name,
Could I but touch His garment's hem,
Even I should be made whole.

His body doth the cure dispense,
His garment is the ordinance
In which He deigns to' appear;
The word, the prayer, the broken bread,
Virtue from Him doth here proceed,
And I shall find Him here.

I follow'd with the thoughtless throng,
And press'd, and crowded Him too long,
And weigh'd Him down with sin;
But Him I did not hope to touch,
I never used the means as such,
Or look'd to be made clean.

453

The spirit of an healthful mind
I waited not in them to find,
The Bread that comes from heaven;
Beyond my form I did not go,
The power of godliness to know,
And feel my sins forgiven.

But now I seek to touch my Lord,
To hear His whisper in the word,
To feel His Spirit blow;
To catch the love of which I read,
To taste Him in the mystic bread,
And all His sweetness know.

'Tis here, in hope my God to find,
With humble awe I come behind,
And wait His grace to prove;
Before His face I dare not stand,
But faith puts forth a trembling hand,
To apprehend His love.

Surely His healing power is nigh;
I touch Him now! by faith ev'n I,
My Lord, lay hold on Thee:
Thy power is present now to heal,
I feel, through all my soul I feel
That Jesus died for me.

Issues from Thee a purer flood,
The poison'd fountain of my blood
Is in a moment dried;
The sovereign antidote takes place,
And I am freely saved by grace,
And I am justified.

454

I glory in redemption found:
Jesus, my Lord, and God, look round,
The conscious sinner see;
'Tis I have touch'd Thy clothes, and own
The miracle Thy grace hath done,
On such a worm as me.

Behold me prostrate at Thy feet,
And hear me thankfully repeat
The mercies of my God;
I felt from Thee the medicine flow,
I tell Thee all the truth, and show
The virtue of Thy blood.

With lowly reverential fear
I testify, that Thou art near
To all who seek Thy love;
Saviour of all I Thee proclaim;
The world may know Thy healing name,
And all its wonders prove.

Speak then once more, and tell my soul,
Sinner, thy faith hath made thee whole,
Thy plague of sin is o'er;
Be perfected in holiness,
Depart in everlasting peace,
Depart, and sin no more.

XCVI. THE TEMPEST.

And are our joys so quickly fled!
We who were fill'd with living bread,
With calm delight and peace,
Constrain'd into the ship we go,
And now the boisterous violence know
Of stormy winds and seas.

455

To shipwreck our weak faith and hope,
Satan hath stirr'd a tempest up,
Prince of the lower air;
The world he actuates and guides,
He in that troubled ocean rides,
And reigns despotic there.

The world obedient to their god,
Rage horribly, and storm aloud,
The waves around us roll;
But fiercer still the storm within,
While floods of wickedness and sin
O'erwhelm the tempted soul.

Even now the waves of passion rise,
And work, and swell, and touch the skies,
Or bear us down to hell;
Toss'd in a long tempestuous night,
While not one gleam of cheerful light,
Or ray of joy we feel.

But lo! in our distress we see
The Saviour walking on the sea!
Even now He passes by;
He silences our clamorous fear,
And mildly says, “Be of good cheer,
Be not afraid, 'tis I!”

“'Tis I who bought you with My blood,
'Tis I, who bring you wash'd to God,
'Tis I the sinner's Friend,
'Tis I, in whom ye pardon have,
Who speak in truth, mighty to save,
And love you to the end.”

456

Ah! Lord, if it be Thou indeed,
So near us in our time of need,
So good, so strong to save,
Speak the kind word of power to me,
Bid me believe, and come to Thee
Swift walking on the wave.

He bids me come! His voice I know,
And boldly on the water go,
To Him my God and Lord,
I walk on life's tempestuous sea:
For He who loved, and died for me,
Hath spoke the powerful word.

Secure on liquid waves I tread,
Nor all the storms of passion heed,
While to my Lord I look;
O'er every fierce temptation bound,
The billows yield a solid ground,
The wave is firm as rock.

But if from Him I turn mine eye,
And see the raging floods run high,
And feel my fears within,
My foes so strong, my flesh so frail,
Reason, and unbelief prevail,
And sink me into sin!

Sinking on Him for help I call,
Save, Lord, or into hell I fall,
O snatch me from my doom;
Stretch out Thy hand, and ask me why,
Why dost thou doubt, or fear, when I
Thy Lord have bid thee come?

457

Lord, I my unbelief confess,
My little spark of faith increase,
And I shall doubt no more;
But fix on Thee my steady eye,
And on Thine outstretch'd arm rely,
Till all the storm is o'er.

Jesu, in us Thyself reveal,
The winds are hush'd, the sea is still,
If in the ship Thou art;
O manifest Thy power Divine,
Enter this sinking church of Thine,
And dwell in every heart.

Come in, come in, Thou Prince of Peace,
And all the storms of sin shall cease,
And fall no more to rise;
We then, if Thou with us remain,
Our port shall in a moment gain,
And anchor in the skies.

XCVII. GLORIA PATRI.

Rejoice with us, ye angel host,
Your songs triumphant raise,
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Attribute equal praise.

Praise everlasting as His love
With you we soon shall give,
And seated on our thrones above
In heavenly glory live.

458

XCVIII. ABBA FATHER!

Lord, I know not how to pray,
Help mine infirmity,
Tell me, Father, what to say,
And I will speak to Thee:
Wretched, poor, and helpless I
Would fain be taken to Thy breast;
Abba Father, hear me cry,
And lull my soul to rest.

Ere I utter my complaint
My wants to Thee are known;
Need I tell Thee that I want
The Spirit of Thy Son?
Still, alas! for this I sigh,
Forlorn, forsaken, and distress'd:
Abba Father, &c.

Once I knew Thee reconciled,
And saw Thy smiling face,
Loving as a little child,
I lisp'd my Father's praise:
Now I cannot find Thee nigh,
By clouds of sin and grief oppress'd:
Abba Father, &c.

Ever hoping against hope,
I struggle to believe:
Till Thy mercy lift me up,
Contentedly I grieve;
Weeping at Thy feet I lie
That I have so my God displeased:
Abba Father, &c.

459

Though Thou seem to cast me out,
And leave me still to mourn,
Yet Thou wilt, (I dare not doubt,)
Thou wilt at last return:
Thou canst not Thyself deny,
Of Thee I shall be re-possess'd:
Abba Father, &c.

To chastise me for my pride
Thou hidest now Thy face:
When my will is crucified
I shall regain Thy grace;
Pain shall at Thy presence fly,
Again I shall in Thee be blest:
Abba Father, &c.

Let me from this moment give
My fond complainings o'er,
Unto Thee the matter leave,
And teach my God no more;
When, and as Thou wilt comply,
But grant, O grant me my request:
Abba Father, &c.

Perfect what Thou hast begun,
And love me to the end,
Send, because I am Thy son,
To me Thy Spirit send;
On the promise I rely,
Thy manner, and Thy time is best:
Abba Father, hear me cry,
And lull my soul to rest.

460

XCIX. FOR CONDEMNED MALEFACTORS.

“O let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before Thee: according to the greatness of Thy power, preserve Thou those that are appointed to die.” Psalm lxxix. 12. (P. B. V.)

O Thou that hangedst on the tree
Our curse and sufferings to remove,
Pity the souls that look to Thee,
And save us by Thy dying love.

Outcasts of men, to Thee we fly,
To Thee who wilt the worst receive;
Forgive, and make us fit to die;
Alas! we are not fit to live.

We own our punishment is just,
We suffer for our evil here,
But in Thy sufferings, Lord, we trust,
Thine, only Thine our souls can clear.

We have no outward righteousness,
No merits, or good works to plead;
We only can be saved by grace;
Thy grace will here be free indeed.

Save us by grace through faith alone,
A faith Thou must Thyself impart,
A faith that would by works be shown,
A faith that purifies the heart.

A faith that doth the mountains move,
A faith that shows our sins forgiven,
A faith that sweetly works by love,
And ascertains our claim to heaven.

461

This is the faith we humbly seek,
The faith in Thine all-cleansing blood;
That blood which doth for sinners plead
O let it speak us up to God!

Canst Thou reject our dying prayer,
Or cast us out who come to Thee?
Our sins ah! wherefore didst Thou bear!
Jesu, remember Calvary!

Number'd with the transgressors Thou,
Between the felons crucified,
Speak to our hearts, and tell us now
Wherefore hast Thou for sinners died!

For us wast Thou not lifted up,
For us a bleeding Victim made?
That we, the abjects we, might hope,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid.

O might we with our closing eyes
Thee in Thy bloody vesture see,
And cast us on Thy sacrifice:
Jesus, my Lord, remember me!

Thou art into Thy kingdom come:
I own Thee with my parting breath,
God of all grace, reverse my doom,
And save me from eternal death.

Hast Thou not wrought the sure belief
I feel this moment in Thy blood?
And am not I the dying thief?
And art not Thou my Lord, my God?

Thy blood to all our souls apply,
To them, to me Thy Spirit give,
And I, (let each cry out,) and I
With Thee in paradise shall live.

462

[IN TEMPTATION.]

C. IN TEMPTATION.

Hymn 1.

Jesu help! Thou Sinner's Friend,
On Thee for help I call,
Send me speedy succour, send,
Or into hell I fall;
Now, even now Thine aid afford,
In pity to a sinner's cries,
Save me, or I perish, Lord,
My soul for ever dies.

See me in my last distress,
And run to rescue me,
Speak to all my passions peace,
O calm the troubled sea;
All my sin's abyss is stirr'd,
And high as heaven the billows rise;
Save me, &c.

Yes, without Thy help I must
Be swallow'd up in sin,
Lost I am, undone, and lost,
I have my hell within;
Self-condemn'd and self-abhorr'd,
I sink in dying agonies;
Save me, &c.

Dies a never-dying death,
If Thou Thy help delay,
Yawns the fiery gulf beneath,
And hell expects its prey,
Tophet is my just reward,
And always meets my blasted eyes;
Save me, &c.

463

Jesu, save me through Thy name,
No other hope I have,
Damn'd, for ever damn'd I am,
If Thou refuse to save;
But my trust is in Thy word,
On that alone my soul relies;
Save me, &c.

Helper of the helpless Thou,
The friendless sinner's Friend,
Lord, on Thee I surely now,
On Thee alone depend.
Wilt Thou suffer me to die,
Abandon'd in my last distress?
Jesus, answer to my cry,
And bid me go in peace.

Wilt Thou bid a sinner seek
Thy lovely face in vain?
Speak, the word of comfort speak,
And look me out of pain:
Bring Thy great salvation nigh,
My soul from inbred sin release;
Jesu, answer to my cry,
And bid me go in peace.

Blest for ever be the name
Of my redeeming Lord!
Lifted up once more I am,
I hear the pardoning word;
He could not Himself deny,
He gives my burden'd conscience ease,
Jesus answers to my cry,
And bids me go in peace.

464

CI. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Jesu, go not far from me]

Jesu, go not far from me,
For sin is hard at hand,
I have none to help but Thee,
Enable me to stand.
Hear out of the deep my cry,
And help me now as heretofore;
Save me, save me, or I die,
I fall to rise no more.

God of my salvation, hear,
In this my time of need;
See the day of battle near,
And screen my naked head;
Send me succour from on high,
And hide me till the storm is o'er;
Save me, &c.

Thou hast oft my refuge been,
And Thou art still the same;
Snatch me from the jaws of sin,
O quench the violent flame,
Bring Thy great salvation nigh,
Stir up Thine interposing power,
Save me, &c.

Help on Thee, Thou mighty One,
For all mankind is laid;
Let it now on me be shown,
Be Thou my present aid,
O come quickly, and stand by
My soul throughout the trying hour;
Save me, &c.

465

Help me now, but let me still
My want of help confess,
Hang upon Thy arm, and feel
My utter helplessness;
Only this be all my cry,
Till Thou my ruin'd soul restore;
Save me, save me, or I die,
I fall to rise no more.

CII. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Help, O help, my great Creator]

Help, O help, my great Creator,
Love the soul Thyself hast made,
Burden'd with a sinful nature
Let me still on Thee be stay'd:
What I have to Thee commended,
Saviour, wilt Thou not secure,
Till the fiery trial's ended,
Till I as my God am pure?

Hear my earnest supplication,
Keep me in this evil day;
With me in my strong temptation
O my kind Protector, stay.
I have no one to deliver,
No one to defend I have,
Ruin'd, and undone for ever,
If my Lord refuse to save.

But it is Thy gracious pleasure
To redeem me from all sin;
Only let me wait Thy leisure,
Till Thou bring Thy kingdom in:

466

Pray, and serve Thee without ceasing,
Till the perfect grace I prove,
Bless'd with all the gospel blessing,
Fill'd with all the life of love.

Hear in this accepted hour,
Speak, and bid the sun stand still,
Give me now the constant power
Over my own carnal will;
Stronger wax Thy love and stronger,
Let my bosom sin give place,
Let the elder serve the younger,
Nature yield to sovereign grace.

CIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[Jesus, God of my salvation]

Jesus, God of my salvation,
Send the promised help I claim,
Bring me through my sore temptation,
Manifest Thy saving name:
Art Thou not the same for ever?
Do not I on Thee depend?
O continue to deliver,
Save me, save me to the end.

From Thy feeble helpless creature
Never, never, Lord, depart,
Show Thyself than Satan greater,
Greater than my evil heart:
If the fiend must vex me longer,
Buffet still my trembling soul,
Jesu, show Thyself the stronger,
Keep me, till Thou makest me whole.

467

Let me, while my faith is trying,
Rest in Thy atoning blood,
Always bear about the dying
Of my great redeeming God;
Till I all Thy life inherit,
Let me in Thy wounds abide,
Shelter there my weary spirit;
Save me, who for me hast died.

CIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[How oft shall I beseech Thee, Lord]

How oft shall I beseech Thee, Lord,
How oft in anguish pray,
Be mindful of Thy promise-word,
And take my sin away?

The thorn which in my flesh I feel,
O bid it hence depart,
This inbred messenger of hell
Command him from my heart.

These cruel buffetings of sin
I can no longer bear,
I sink beneath this war within,
And perish in despair.

O save me, save me from this hour,
The dying sinner save,
Nor let the greedy pit devour,
Nor let me see the grave.

The grave of hell stands open wide
To swallow up its prey;
Jesu, preserve my soul, and hide,
Throughout the evil day.

468

O send me from Thy holy place
The help laid up on Thee,
Assure me that Thy saving grace
Sufficient is for me.

Sufficient to restrain from sin,
While fierce temptations last,
To save me from the storm within,
Till all the storm is past.

Is not Thy power divinely shown
In man's infirmity?
Make all Thy great salvation known,
Perfect Thy strength in me.

A weaker worm did never yet
Thy promised aid implore,
O hide me from the storm and heat,
Till sin subsists no more.

Safe in the lions' den I lie,
If Thou their rage restrain;
I pass through floods, if Thou art nigh,
And in the flames remain.

Unhurt I bear the fiery test,
And in the furnace shine,
That upon me the power may rest,
The power of love Divine.

Surely I shall as gold come forth,
When Thou my faith hast tried,
Transform'd into my Saviour's worth,
And seven times purified.

A sinner now undone and lost
My misery I confess;
I own it all, yet gladly boast
Of my own helplessness.

469

The God who doth from sin restrain
Shall soon His arm display;
His presence shall with me remain,
The glorious Shechinah.

Jesus shall pitch His tent in me,
And never more remove,
And I shall as my Master be,
Renew'd in spotless love.

Sure as I now His cross sustain,
I soon His crown shall wear,
The glory of my Lord obtain,
And reign for ever there.

CV. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[O God, Thy faithfulness I plead]

O God, Thy faithfulness I plead,
My present help in time of need,
My great Deliverer Thou;
Haste to mine aid, Thine ear incline,
And rescue this poor soul of mine,
I claim the promise now.

Thou wilt not leave me in the snare,
Tempted above what I can bear,
With no salvation nigh:
I may escape, Thou say'st I may;
I need not fall the tempter's prey,
I need not sin, and die.

For Thy own truth, and mercy sake,
Thou wilt with the temptation make
A way to' escape the sin:
Thou wilt in danger's latest hour
Show forth the greatness of Thy power,
And bring Thy succours in.

470

Where is the way? Ah! show me where?
That I the mercy may declare,
The power that sets me free:
How can I my destruction shun?
How can I from my nature run?
Answer, O God, for me.

One only way the erring mind
Of man, short-sighted man, could find
From inbred sin to fly;
Stronger than love (I fondly thought)
Death, only death, must cut the knot
Which love could not untie.

But Thou, my Lord, art rich in grace,
Thy love can find a thousand ways,
To foolish man unknown;
My soul upon Thy love I cast,
I rest me, till the storm is past,
Upon Thy love alone.

Thy faithful, wise, and mighty love
Shall every obstacle remove,
And make an open way;
Thy love shall burst the shades of death,
And bear me from the gulf beneath
To everlasting day.

Lord, I believe Thee true and good,
My only trust is in Thy blood;
I hear it speak for me;
And if my soul is in Thy hands,
And if Thy word for ever stands,
I shall not fall from Thee.

471

CVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 7.

[To whom but Thee, Thou bleeding Lamb]

To whom but Thee, Thou bleeding Lamb,
Should I for help apply?
Still in the toils of death I am,
And sin is always nigh.

But Thou, my Lord, art nigher still
Throughout the fiery hour,
To rescue me from my own will,
Till I can sin no more.

O were Thy sufferings on the tree
Into my soul brought in!
O that Thy death might work in me
A perfect death to sin!

Me to Thy suffering self conform,
The mortal power impart,
Pity a poor, weak, labouring worm,
And wash my guilty heart.

Thou know'st on works, and means, and men,
No longer I rely,
I never, never can be clean
Till Thou Thy blood apply.

My only trust is in Thy blood,
Which purges every stain:
Bring in, O Lord, the purer flood,
Nor let me ask in vain.

Faith in Thy blood, Thou seest, I have,
For Thou the grace hast given;
Thy blood from all my sin shall save,
And speak me up to heaven.

472

Thy blood shall quench this fire of hell,
Which now I feel within,
Thy blood my sin-sick soul shall heal,
And wash out all my sin.

In hope believing against hope
Till then I look to Thee;
I see Thee, Saviour, lifted up
For all mankind and me.

Determined nothing else to know,
But Jesus crucified,
I cannot from my Jesus go,
Or leave Thy wounded side.

Thou wilt not let me hence depart,
Till all Thy death I prove,
Redeem'd from sin, and pure in heart,
And perfected in love.

The anchor of my steadfast hope
Within the veil I cast;
Thy dying love shall hold me up,
Till all the storms are past.

Only because Thou diedst for me
I trust on this alone,
And look in life and death to be
With Thee for ever one.

CVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 8.

[O God of love, to whom I pray]

O God of love, to whom I pray,
Wilt Thou let me fall away
And lose Thy mercies past?
Must I in vain for pardon cry,
And perish in my sins, and die,
Die, in my sins at last?

473

Were this Thy will concerning me,
Wherefore have I follow'd Thee,
And long'd Thy love to know?
Why hast Thou from my earliest days
Allured my soul to seek Thy face,
If made for endless woe?

Why did Thy providential power
Interpose in danger's hour,
And still the victim save?
So oft the mortal fever chide,
And turn the dart of death aside,
And mock the gaping grave?

Why didst Thou in my youthful age
Rescue me from passion's rage,
And every dire offence?
Why didst Thou hide from worldly cares,
And keep in twice ten thousand snares
My heedless innocence?

Why didst Thou gently draw me on,
Till I sunk despairing down
In legal misery?
And cried, by the commandment slain,
Ah! woe is me, a wretched man,
What hope of heaven for me!

Why didst Thou, Lord, my load remove,
Show me Thy forgiving love,
And speak me justified?
If Thou hast pleasure in my death,
I had long since resign'd my breath;
I had in Egypt died.

474

When I had forfeited my peace,
Why in my extreme distress
Was I so often heard?
Thou brought'st the timely succours in,
And savedst my tempted soul from sin,
The sin I loved, and fear'd.

Why hast Thou to Thy people join'd
Me, the vilest of mankind,
In cordial charity?
Why hast Thou heard Thy Spirit's groans
Entreating in Thy chosen ones
For me, O God, for me?

Wouldst Thou have stirr'd them up to pray
For an hopeless castaway,
If such, alas! I am?
If I must perish in my blood,
Wrestle for me they never could,
Or ask in Jesu's name.

A drop of love's eternal sea
Is their kind concern for me;
As such I must receive
This token of my Father's grace,
His heart o'erflows with tenderness,
And God would have me live.

Me, Lord, Thou never wilt forsake,
Never let my soul turn back,
To live the life of sense;
To bring dishonour on Thy name,
But save me first from all my shame,
And snatch my spirit hence.

475

I feel, I now divinely feel,
Thou, O Lord, art with me still,
And with me wilt abide:
Till life's extremest ills are past,
And I obtain a lot at last
With all the glorified.

CVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 9.

[Ah! tell me, Lord, for whom I pine]

Ah! tell me, Lord, for whom I pine,
And mourn in deep distress,
How long shall this weak heart incline
To its own wickedness?
How long shall I my nature fear,
Yet what I loathe desire,
And melt at the temptation near
As wax before the fire?

Thou know'st the undissembled pain
The real grief I feel,
While dark and trembling I remain
As on the verge of hell.
I groan to feel my heart relent,
By sin almost subdued,
And blush to find I could consent
To grieve my gracious God.

My gracious God, how shall I shun
This enemy within?
Out of myself I cannot run,
To' escape my bosom sin?
I fear in some unguarded hour
Lest it my soul betray,
And give me up to Satan's power
An unresisting prey.

476

O that Thou wouldst stretch out Thine hand;
By this weak, sinking soul,
In every close temptation stand,
And all my lusts control.
The strength of saving grace above
My nature's strength exert,
Thou God of all-victorious love,
Thou greater than my heart.

O that Thou wouldst root out the thorn,
Destroy the enmity,
Set me a time for Thy return,
And then remember me.
Contract, or lengthen out my years,
But till they all are past,
Preserve me from my sins and fears,
But fully save at last.

CIX. THE SAME.

Hymn 10.

[Help, Lord, to whom for help I fly]

Help, Lord, to whom for help I fly,
And still my tempted soul stand by,
Throughout this evil day;
The sacred watchfulness impart,
And keep the issues of my heart,
And stir me up to pray.

My soul with Thy whole armour arm,
In each approach of sin alarm,
And show the danger near;
Surround, sustain, and strengthen me,
And fill with godly jealousy,
And sanctifying fear.

477

Whene'er my feeble hands hang down,
O let me see Thy gathering frown,
And feel Thy warning eye;
And starting cry from ruin's brink,
Save, Jesus, or I yield, I sink,
O save me, or I die.

If near the pit I rashly stay,
Before I wholly fall away,
The keen conviction dart;
Recall me with that pitying look,
That kind upbraiding glance, which broke
Unfaithful Peter's heart.

In me Thine utmost mercy show,
And make me as Thyself below,
Unblamable in grace;
Ready prepared, and fitted here
By perfect holiness to' appear
Before Thy glorious face.

CX. THE SAME.

Hymn 11.

[O how shall a sinner perform]

O how shall a sinner perform
The vows he hath vow'd to the Lord?
A sinful and impotent worm,
How can I be true to my word?
I tremble at what I have done,
But look for my help from above,
The power that I never have known,
The virtue of Jesus's love.

My solemn engagements are vain,
My promises empty as air,
My vows I shall break them again,
And plunge in eternal despair;

478

Unless my omnipotent God
The sense of His goodness impart,
And shed by His Spirit abroad
That love of Himself in my heart.

O Lover of sinners, extend
To me the affectionate grace,
Appear my affliction to end,
Afford me a glimpse of Thy face:
The sight shall enkindle in me
A flame of reciprocal love,
And then I shall cleave unto Thee,
And then I shall never remove.

O come to a mourner in pain,
Thy peace to my conscience reveal,
And then I shall love Thee again,
And sing of the goodness I feel;
Constrain'd by the grace of my Lord,
My soul shall in all things obey,
And wait to be fully restored,
And long to be summon'd away.

CXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 12.

[Glory to the righteous God]

Glory to the righteous God,
Righteous, yet benign to me!
Still in His paternal rod
His paternal love I see:
Let Him tenderly chastise,
Let Him graciously reprove,
Father, all within me cries
All Thy ways are truth and love.

479

Humbled in the lowest deep,
Thee I for my sufferings bless;
Think of all Thy love, and weep
For my own unfaithfulness:
I have most rebellious been,
Thou hast laid Thine hand on me,
Kindly visited my sin,
Scourged the wanderer back to Thee.

Taught obedience to my God
By the things I have endured,
Meekly now I kiss the rod,
Wounded by the rod, and cured:
Good for me the grief and pain,
Let me but Thy grace adore,
Keep the pardon I regain,
Stand in awe, and sin no more.

CXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 13.

[But can it be, that I should prove]

But can it be, that I should prove
For ever faithful to Thy love,
From sin for ever cease?
I thank Thee for the blessed hope!
It lifts my drooping spirit up,
And gives me back my peace.

In Thee, O Lord, I put my trust,
Mighty, and merciful, and just,
Thy sacred word is past;
And I, who dare Thy word receive,
Without committing sin shall live,
Shall live to God at last.

480

No more shall sin its sway maintain,
No longer in my members reign,
Or captivate my heart,
Upheld by Thy victorious grace,
I walk henceforth in all Thy ways,
And never will depart.

I rest in Thine almighty power,
The name of Jesus is a tower
That hides my life above.
Thou canst, Thou wilt my Keeper be,
My confidence is all in Thee,
The faithful God of love.

While still to Thee for help I call,
Thou wilt not suffer me to fall,
Thou canst not let me sin:
And Thou shalt give me power to pray,
Till all my sins are purged away,
And all Thy mind brought in.

Wherefore in never-ceasing prayer
My soul to Thy continual care
I faithfully commend;
Assured that Thou through life shalt save,
And show Thyself beyond the grave
My everlasting Friend.

University of Virginia Library

HYMNS AND SACRED POEMS. IN TWO VOLUMES.

I. Vol. I.

I. PART I.

I. THE TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

PART II.

PART III.

II. ISAIAH XXVII. 1–6, &c.

III. THE FORTY-FOURTH CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

PART II.

IV. THE FIFTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

PART II.

PART III.

PART IV.

V. THE SIXTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

PART I.

PART II.

VI. THE SIXTY-SECOND CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.

VII. AN HYMN FOR SERIOUSNESS.

VIII. THE BEATITUDES.

Matthew v. 3–12.

[FOR ONE CONVINCED OF UNBELIEF.]

IX. FOR ONE CONVINCED OF UNBELIEF.

Hymn 1.

X. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Author of faith, to Thee I cry]

XI. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[Out of the iron furnace, Lord]

XII. THE SAME. AT WAKING.

Hymn 4.

XIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[What tongue alas! can tell]

XIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[How long, Thou hidden God unknown]

XV. THE SAME.

Hymn 7.

[Jesu, the promised strength supply]

XVI. THE SAME.

Hymn 8.

[O Thou hidden God unknown]

XVII. THE SAME.

Hymn 9.

[O Thou of whom I oft have heard]

XVIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 10.

[Peace, doubting heart! hath God begun]

[DESIRING TO LOVE.]

XIX. DESIRING TO LOVE.

Hymn 1.

XX. THE SAME.

Hymn 2.

[Thou lovely Lamb, who on the tree]

XXI. THE SAME.

Hymn 3.

[O Saviour, cast a pitying eye]

XXII. THE SAME.

Hymn 4.

[O Jesu, let me bless Thy name!]

XXIII. THE SAME.

Hymn 5.

[O Love Divine, how sweet Thou art!]

XXIV. THE SAME.

Hymn 6.

[O Thou, who hast redeem'd of old]

XXV. FOR A DYING UNCONVERTED SINNER.

XXVI. ANOTHER.

[And must thou perish in thy blood]

XXVII. FOR A SICK FRIEND IN DARKNESS.

XXVIII. ANOTHER.

[O Lord, our strength and righteousness]

[FOR ONE IN DOUBT.]

XXIX. FOR ONE IN DOUBT.

Hymn 1.