PSALM 17. (L. M.) The Sinner's Portion and Saint's Hope; or, the Heaven
of separate Souls, and the Resurrection.
I
Lord, I am thine; but thou wilt prove
My faith, my patience, and my love:
When men of spite against me join,
They are the sword, the hand is thine.
II
Their hope and portion lies below;
'Tis all the happiness they know,
'Tis all they seek; they take their shares,
And leave the rest among their heirs.
III
What sinners value, I resign;
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine;
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.
IV
This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world to which I go
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake, and find me there?
V
O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of the soul.
VI
My flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.
The sense of a great part of this psalm occurs so frequently in the
Book of Psalms, that I thought it necessary to translate no more than
these few verses of it; namely, ver. 3. Thou hast proved my heart,
thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing. Ver. 13. The wicked are
thy sword. Ver. 14. The men of the world have their portion in this
life, whose belly thou fillest: They leave the rest of their substance to
their babes. Ver. 15. I shall behold thy face in righteousness, I shall
be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
I confess I have indulged a large exposition here, but I could not
forbear to give my thoughts a loose upon this divine description of
complete blessedness in the 15th verse; this bright abridgment of
heaven.
From the word Awake, I have taken occasion to represent the
departing soul's awaking into the world of spirits, as well as the
body's awaking from the grave.
