Devotional Verses Founded on and Illustrative of select Texts of Scripture [by Bernard Barton] |
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THE UNPROFITABLENESS OF MAN'S GOODNESS TO HIS MAKER. |
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THE UNPROFITABLENESS OF MAN'S GOODNESS TO HIS MAKER.
“Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that thou makest thy way perfect?”
—Job, xxii. 3.
Think not that righteous acts of thine,
Done in thy might,
Can God delight;
The source of good is grace divine;
And thou must be
Content to see
Thy deeds with borrow'd lustre shine.
Done in thy might,
Can God delight;
The source of good is grace divine;
And thou must be
Content to see
Thy deeds with borrow'd lustre shine.
82
Imagine not, poor child of clay!
Without His grace
Thy skill can trace
A perfect path to endless day;
Or were it trod,
That gain to God
Could rise from man's most perfect way.
Without His grace
Thy skill can trace
A perfect path to endless day;
Or were it trod,
That gain to God
Could rise from man's most perfect way.
The proud, the impious thought disown:—
And know thou this,
When bale or bliss
Evil or good to thee have shown,
Thine still remain
The vice and pain,—
Good, and its joy, the Lord's alone.
And know thou this,
When bale or bliss
Evil or good to thee have shown,
Thine still remain
The vice and pain,—
Good, and its joy, the Lord's alone.
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