PSALM 24. (L. M.) Saints dwell in Heaven; or, Christ's Ascension.
I
This spacious earth is all the Lord's,
And men, and worms, and beasts, and birds:
He rais'd the building on the seas,
And gave it for their dwelling-place.
II
But there's a brighter world on high,
Thy palace, Lord, above the sky:
Who shall ascend that blest abode,
And dwell so near his maker God?
III
He that abhors and fears to sin,
Whose heart is pure, whose hands are clean,
Him shall the Lord the Saviour bless,
And clothe his soul with righteousness.
IV
These are the men, the pious race
That seek the God of Jacob's face;
These shall enjoy the blissful sight,
And dwell in everlasting light.
V
Rejoice, ye shining worlds on high,
Behold the King of glory nigh!
Who can this King of glory be?
The mighty Lord, the Saviour's he.
VI
Ye heavenly gates, your leaves display
To make the Lord the Saviour way:
Laden with spoils from earth and hell,
The conqueror comes with God to dwell.
VII
Rais'd from the dead he goes before,
He opens heaven's eternal door,
To give his saints a blest abode
Near their Redeemer, and their God.
If this psalm was written at the ascent of the ark of God into
Zion the city of David, it is not unnatural to apply it to the presence
of Christ with his church in worship, as in the common metre; or
to the ascension of Christ to Heaven, as in this metre. In this, and
other parts of the psalm, I have endeavoured to make the connexion
plain and easy, which is very obscure in the text.
