BOOK III

On the Rise, Progress, Changes, and Comforts of the Spiritual Life

Hymn 32

[III. viii]

THE SHINING LIGHT

My former hopes are fled,

My terror now begins;

I feel, alass! that I am dead

In trespasses and sins.

Ah, whither shall I fly?

I hear the thunder roar;

The law proclaims destruction nigh,

And vengeance at the door.

When I review my ways,

I dread impending doom;

But sure, a friendly whisper says,

‘Flee from the wrath to come.’

I see, or think I see,

A glimm’ring from afar;

A beam of day that shines for me,

To save me from despair.

Fore-runner of the sun,

It marks the Pilgrim’s way;

I’ll gaze upon it while I run,

And watch the rising day.

Hymn 33

[III.  x]

THE WAITING SOUL

[This hymn, which begins ‘Breathe from the gentle South, O Lord’, was composed by Newton.]

Hymn 34

[III. xiii]

SEEKING THE BELOVED

To those who know the LORD I speak,

Is my beloved near?

The bridegroom of my soul I seek,

Oh! when will he appear!

Tho’ once a man of grief and shame,

Yet now he fills a throne;

And bears the greatest, sweetest name,

That earth or heav’n have known.

Grace flies before, and love attends

His steps where’er he goes;

Tho’ none can see him but his friends,

And they were once his foes.

He speaks - obedient to his call

Our warm affections move;

Did he but shine alike on all,

Then all alike would love.

Then love in ev’ry heart would reign,

And war would cease to roar;

And cruel, and blood-thirsty men,

Would thirst for blood no more.

Such JESUS is, and such his grace,

Oh may he shine on you!

And tell him, when you see his face,

I long to see him too.

Hymn 35

[III. xv]

LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS

God moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform,

He plants his footsteps in the Sea,

And rides upon the Storm.

Deep in unfathomable Mines,

Of never failing Skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his Sovereign Will.

Ye fearfull Saints fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread,

Are big with Mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his Grace,

Behind a frowning Providence

He hides a Smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour,

The Bud may have a bitter taste,

But wait, to Smell the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain,

God is his own Interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

Hymn 36

[III. xvi]

WELCOME CROSS

’Tis my happiness below

Not to live without the cross;

But the Saviour's pow’r to know,

Sanctifying ev’ry loss:

Trials must and will befall;

But with humble faith to see

Love inscrib’d upon them all,

This is happiness to me.

GOD, in Israel, sows the seeds

Of affliction, pain, and toil;

These spring up, and choke the weeds

Which would else o’erspread the soil:

Trials make the promise sweet,

Trials give new life to pray’r;

Trials bring me to his feet,

Lay me low, and keep me there.

Did I meet no trials here,

No chastisement by the way;

Might I not, with reason, fear

I should prove a cast-away:

Bastards may escape the rod,

Sunk in earthly, vain delight;

But the true-born child of GOD,

Must not, would not, if he might.

Hymn 37

[III. xvii]

AFFLICTIONS SANCTIFIED BY THE WORD

O how I love thy holy word,

Thy gracious covenant, O LORD!

It guides me in the peaceful way,

I think upon it all the day.

What are the mines of shining wealth,

The strength of youth, the bloom of health!

What are all joys compar’d with those

Thine everlasting word bestows!

Long unafflicted, undismay’d,

In pleasure’s path secure I stray’d;

Thou mad’st me feel thy chastning rod,

And strait I turn’d unto my GOD.

What tho’ it pierc’d my fainting heart,

I bless thine hand that caus’d the smart;

It taught my tears awhile to flow,

But sav’d me from eternal woe.

Oh! hadst thou left me unchastis’d,

Thy precept I had still despis’d;

And still the snare in secret laid,

Had my unwary feet betray’d.

I love thee therefore O my GOD,

And breathe towards thy dear abode;

Where in thy presence fully blest,

Thy chosen saints for ever rest.

Hymn 38

[III. xviii]

TEMPTATION

The billows swell, the winds are high,

Clouds overcast my wintry sky;

Out of the depths to thee I call,

My fears are great, my strength is small.

O LORD, the pilot’s part perform,

And guide and guard me thro’ the storm;

Defend me from each threatning ill,

Controll the waves, say, ‘Peace, be still.’

Amidst the roaring of the sea,

My soul still hangs her hope on thee,

Thy constant love, thy faithful care,

Is all that saves me from despair.

Dangers of ev’ry shape and name

Attend the follow’rs of the Lamb,

Who leave the world’s deceitful shore,

And leave it to return no more.

Tho’ tempest-toss’d and half a wreck,

My Saviour thro’ the floods I seek;

Let neither winds nor stormy main,

Force back my shatter’d bark again.

Hymn 39

[III. xix]

LOOKING UPWARDS IN A STORM

GOD of my life, to thee I call,

Afflicted at thy feet I fall;

When the great water-floods prevail,

Leave not my trembling heart to fail!

Friend of the friendless, and the faint!

Where should I lodge my deep complaint?

Where but with thee, whose open door

Invites the helpless and the poor!

Did ever mourner plead with thee,

And thou refuse that mourner's plea?

Does not the word still fix’d remain,

That none shall seek thy face in vain?

That were a grief I could not bear,

Didst thou not hear and answer pray’r;

But a pray’r-hearing, answ’ring GOD,

Supports me under ev’ry load.

Fair is the lot that’s cast for me!

I have an advocate with thee;

They whom the world caresses most,

Have no such privilege to boast.

Poor tho’ I am, despis’d, forgot,

Yet GOD, my GOD, forgets me not;

And he is safe and must succeed,

For whom the LORD vouchsafes to plead.

Hymn 40

[III. xx]

THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH

My soul is sad and much dismay’d;

See, LORD, what legions of my foes,

With fierce Apollyon at their head,

My heav’nly pilgrimage oppose!

See, from the ever-burning lake

How like a smoky cloud they rise!

With horrid blasts my soul they shake,

With storms of blasphemies and lies.

Their fiery arrows reach the mark,

My throbbing heart with anguish tear;

Each lights upon a kindred spark,

And finds abundant fuel there.

I hate the thought that wrongs the LORD;

Oh, I would drive it from my breast,

With thy own sharp two-edged sword,

Far as the east is from the west.

Come then, and chase the cruel host,

Heal the deep wounds I have receiv’d!

Nor let the pow’rs of darkness boast

That I am foil’d, and thou art griev’d!

Hymn 4I

[III. xxiii]

PEACE AFTER A STORM

When darkness long has veil’d my mind,

And smiling day once more appears;

Then, my Redeemer, then I find

The folly of my doubts and fears.

Strait I upbraid my wand’ring heart,

And blush that I should ever be

Thus prone to act so base a part,

Or harbour one bad thought of thee!

Oh! let me then at length be taught

What I am still so slow to learn;

That GOD is love, and changes not,

Nor knows the shadow of a turn.

Sweet truth, and easy to repeat!

But when my faith is sharply try’d,

I find myself a learner yet,

Unskilful, weak, and apt to slide.

But, O my LORD, one look from thee

Subdues the disobedient will;

Drives doubt and discontent away,

And thy rebellious worm is still.

Thou art as ready to forgive,

As I am ready to repine;

Thou, therefore, all the praise receive,

Be shame, and self-abhorrence, mine.

Hymn 42

[III. xxiv]

MOURNING AND LONGING

The Saviour hides his face!

My spirit thirsts to prove

Renew’d supplies of pard’ning grace,

And never-fading love.

The favor’d souls who know

What glories shine in him,

Pant for his presence, as the roe

Pants for the living stream!

What trifles teaze me now!

They swarm like summer flies,

They cleave to ev’ry thing I do, .

And swim before my eyes.

How dull the sabbath day,

Without the sabbath’s LORD!

How toilsome then to sing and pray,

And wait upon the word!

Of all the truths I hear

How few delight my taste!

I glean a berry here and there,

But mourn the vintage past.

Yet let me (as I ought)

Still hope to be supply’d;

No pleasure else is worth a thought,

Nor shall I be deny’d.

Tho’ I am but a worm,

Unworthy of his care;

The LORD will my desire perform,

And grant me all my pray’r.

Hymn 43

[III. xxvi]

SELF-ACQUAINTANCE

Dear LORD accept a sinful heart,

Which of itself complains

And mourns, with much and frequent smart,

The evil it contains.

There fiery seeds of anger lurk,

Which often hurt my frame;

And wait but for the tempter’s work,

To fan them to a flame.

Legality holds out a bribe

To purchase life from thee;

And discontent would fain prescribe

How thou shalt deal with me.

While unbelief withstands thy grace,

And puts the mercy by;

Presumption, with a brow of brass,

Says, ‘Give me, or I die.’

How eager are my thoughts to roam

In quest of what they love!

But ah! when duty calls them home,

How heavily they move!

Oh, cleanse me in a Saviour’s blood,

Transform me by thy pow’r,

And make me thy belov’d abode,

And let me rove no more.

Hymn 44

[III. xxviii]

PRAYER FOR PATIENCE

Lord, who hast suffer’d all for me,

My peace and pardon to procure;

The lighter cross I bear for thee,

Help me with patience to endure.

The storm of loud repining hush,

I would in humble silence mourn;

Why should th’unburnt, tho’ burning bush,

Be angry as the crackling thorn?

Man should not faint at thy rebuke,

Like Joshua falling on his face,

When the curst thing that Achan took,

Brought Israel into just disgrace.

Perhaps some golden wedge suppress’d,

Some secret sin offends my GOD;

Perhaps that Babylonish vest

Self-righteousness, provokes the rod.

Ah! were I buffetted all day,

Mock’d, crown’d with thorns, and spit upon;

I yet should have no right to say,

My great distress is mine alone.

Let me not angrily declare

No pain was ever sharp like mine;

Nor murmur at the cross I bear,

But rather weep rememb’ring thine.

Hymn 45

[III. xxix]

SUBMISSION

O LORD, my best desire fulfill

And help me to resign,

Life, health and comfort to thy will,

And make thy pleasure mine.

Why should I shrink at thy command,

Whose love forbids my fears?

Or tremble at the gracious hand

That wipes away my tears?

No, let me rather freely yield

What most I prize to thee;

Who never hast a good withheld,

Or wilt withhold from me.

Thy favor, all my journey thro’,

Thou art engag’d to grant;

What else I want, or think I do,

’Tis better still to want.

Wisdom and mercy guide my way,

Shall I resist them both?

A poor blind creature of a day,

And crush’d before the moth!

But ah! my inward spirit cries,

Still bind me to thy sway;

Else the next cloud that vails my skies,

Drives all these thoughts away.

Hymn 46

[III. xliv]

BEHOLD 1 MAKE ALL THINGS NEW

How blest thy creature is, O God!

When with a single Eye,

He views the lustre of thy Word,

The day spring from on high.

Thro’ all the storms that vail the skies

And frown on earthly things;

The Sun of Righteousness he Eyes

With healing on his wings.

Struck by that light, the Human heart,

A barren soil no more,

Sends the sweet smell of Grace abroad,

Where Serpents lurk’d before.

The soul a dreary province once,

Of Satan's dark domain;

Feels a new empire form’d within,

And owns an heav’nly reign.

The glorious orb whose golden beams,

The fruitful year controul

Since first obedient to thy word,

He started from the Goal;

Has chear’d the nations with the joys

His orient rays impart,

But Jesus, ’tis thy light alone,

Can shine upon the heart.

Hymn 47

[III.  xlv]

RETIREMENT

Far from the World, O Lord I flee,

From strife, and tumult far,

From scenes, where Satan wages still

His most successful war.

The calm retreat, the silent shade,

With prayer, and praise agree;

And seem, by thy sweet bounty made,

For those, who follow Thee.

There, if thy Spirit touch the Soul,

And grace her mean abode;

O with what peace, and joy, and love,

She communes with her God!

There, like the Nightingale she pours

Her solitary lays;

Nor asks a witness of her song,

Nor thirsts, for human praise.

Author, and Guardian of my life,

Sweet fount of light divine!

And all endearing names, in One,

My Saviour - I am thine!

What thanks I owe thee, and what love,

A boundless, endless store;

Shall echo thro’ the realms above,

When time shall be no more.

Hymn 48

[III. xlvii]

THE HIDDEN LIFE

To tell the Saviour all my wants,

How pleasing is the task!

Nor less to praise him when he grants

Beyond what I can ask.

My lab’ring spirit vainly seeks

To tell but half the joy;

With how much tenderness he speaks,

And helps me to reply.

Nor were it wise, nor should I choose

Such secrets to declare;

Like precious wines their taste they lose

Expos’d to open air.

But this with boldness I proclaim,

Nor care if thousands hear;

Sweet is the ointment of his name,

Not life is half so dear.

And can you frown, my former friends,

Who knew what once I was;

And blame the song that thus commends

The man who bore the cross?

Trust me, I draw the likeness true,

And not as fancy paints;

Such honor may he give to you,

For such have all his saints.

Hymn 49

[III. xlviii]

JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING

Sometimes a light surprises

The christian while he sings;

It is the LORD who rises

With healing in his wings:

When comforts are declining,

He grants the soul again

A season of clear shining

To cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation,

We sweetly then pursue

The theme of GOD’S salvation,

And find it ever new:

Set free from present sorrow,

We cheerfully can say,

E’en let th’unknown to-morrow,

Bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing

But he will bear us thro’;

Who gives the lilies clothing

Will clothe his people too:

Beneath the spreading heavens,

No creature but is fed;

And he who feeds the ravens,

Will give his children bread.

Tho’ vine, nor fig-tree neither,

Their wonted fruit should bear,

Tho’ all the fields should wither,

Nor flocks, nor herds be there:

Yet GOD the same abiding,

His praise shall tune my voice;

For while in him confiding,

I cannot but rejoice.

Hymn 50

[III. xlix]

TRUE PLEASURES

LORD my soul with pleasure springs,

When JESUS’ name I hear;

And when GOD the Spirit brings

The word of promise near:

Beauties too, in holiness,

Still delighted I perceive;

Nor have words that can express

The joys thy precepts give.

Cloth’d in sanctity and grace,

How sweet it is to see

Those who love thee as they pass,

Or when they wait on thee:

Pleasant too, to sit and tell

What we owe to love divine;

Till our bosoms grateful swell,

And eyes begin to shine.

Those the comforts I possess,

Which GOD shall still increase,

All his ways are pleasantness,

And all his paths are peace:

Nothing JESUS did or spoke,

Henceforth let me ever slight;

For I love his easy yoke,

And find his burden light.

Hymn 51

[III. l]

THE CHRISTIAN

Honor and happiness unite

To make the christian’s name a praise;

How fair the scene, how clear the light,

That fills the remnant of his days!

A kingly character he bears,

No change his priestly office knows;

Unfading is the crown he wears,

His joys can never reach a close.

Adorn’d with glory from on high,

Salvation shines upon his face;

His robe is of th’etherial dye,

His steps are dignity and grace.

Inferior honors he disdains,

Nor stoops to take applause from earth;

The King of kings himself, maintains

Th’expences of his heav’nly birth.

The noblest creature seen below,

Ordain’d to fill a throne above;

GOD gives him all he can bestow,

His kingdom of eternal love!

My soul is ravish’d at the thought!

Methinks from earth I see him rise;

Angels congratulate his lot,

And shout him welcome to the skies!

Hymn 52

[II. li]

LIVELY HOPE, AND GRACIOUS FEAR

I was a groveling creature once,

And basely cleav’d to earth;

I wanted spirit to renounce

The clod that gave me birth.

But GOD has breath’d upon a worm,

And sent me, from above,

Wings, such as clothe an angel’s form,

The wings of joy and love.

With these to Pisgah’s top I fly,

And there delighted stand;

To view, beneath a shining sky,

The spacious promis’d land.

The LORD of all the vast domain,

Has promis’d it to me;

The length and breadth of all the plain,

As far as faith can see.

How glorious is my privilege!

To thee for help I call;

I stand upon a mountain's edge,

Oh save me, lest I fall!

Tho’ much exalted in the LORD,

My strength is not my own;

Then let me tremble at his word,

And none shall cast me down.

Hymn 53

[III.  lvii]

FOR THE POOR

When Hagar found the Bottle spent,

And wept o’er Ishmael,

An Angel of the Lord was sent,

To guide her to a Well.

Should not Elijah’s Cake and Cruse,

Convince us at this day

A gracious God will not refuse

Provision by the Way.

His Saints and Servants shall be fed,

The Promise is secure,

Bread shall be giv’n them, he has said,

Their Water shall be sure.

Delights far richer they shall prove

Than all Earth's Dainties are,

’Tis sweet to taste a Savior’s Love,

Tho’ in the meanest Fare.

To Jesus then your Troubles bring,

Nor murmur at your Lot,

Supply is sure while He is King,

You shall not be forgot.

Hymn 54

[III. lxi]

MY SOUL THIRSTETH FOR GOD

I thirst, but not as once I did,

The vain delights of earth to share;

Thy wounds, EMMANUEL, all forbid,

That I should seek my pleasures there.

It was the sight of thy dear cross,

First wean’d my soul from earthly things;

And taught me to esteem as dross,

The mirth of fools and pomp of kings.

I want that grace that springs from thee,

That quickens all things where it flows;

And makes a wretched thorn, like me,

Bloom as the myrtle, or the rose.

Dear fountain of delight unknown!

No longer sink below the brim;

But overflow, and pour me down

A living, and life-giving stream!

For sure, of all the plants that share

The notice of thy Father’s eye;

None proves less grateful to his care,

Or yields him meaner fruit than I.

Hymn 55

[III. lxii]

LOVE CONSTRAINING TO OBEDIENCE

No strength of nature can suffice

To serve the LORD aright;

And what she has, she misapplies,

For want of clearer light.

How long beneath the law I lay

In bondage and distress!

I toil’d the precept to obey,

But toil’d without success.

Then to abstain from outward sin

Was more than I could do;

Now, if I feel its pow’r within,

I feel I hate it too.

Then all my servile works were done

A righteousness to raise;

Now, freely chosen in the Son,

I freely choose his ways.

What shall I do, was then the word,

That I may worthier grow?

What shall I render to the LORD?

Is my enquiry now.

To see the Law by Christ fulfill’d,

And hear his pard’ning voice;

Changes a slave into a child,

And duty into choice.

Hymn 56

[III. lxiii]

THE HEART HEALED AND CHANGED BY

MERCY

Sin enslav’d me many years,

And led me bound and blind;

Till at length a thousand fears

Came swarming o’er my mind.

Where, I said in deep distress,

Will these sinful pleasures end?

How shall I secure my peace.

And make the LORD my friend?

Friends and ministers said much

The gospel to enforce;

But my blindness still was such,

I chose a legal course:

Much I fasted, watch’d and strove,

Scarce would shew my face abroad,

Fear’d, almost, to speak or move,

A stranger still to GOD.

Thus afraid to trust his grace,

Long time did I rebel;

Till, despairing of my case,

Down at his feet I fell:

Then my stubborn heart he broke,

And subdu’d me to his sway;

By a simple word he spoke,

‘Thy sins are done away.’

Hymn 57

[III. lxiv]

HATRED OF SIN

Holy LORD GOD!  I love thy truth,

Nor dare thy least commandment slight;

Yet pierc’d by sin, the serpent’s tooth,

I mourn the anguish of the bite.

But tho’ the poison lurks within,

Hope bids me still with patience wait;

Till death shall set me free from sin,

Free from the only thing I hate.

Had I a throne above the rest,

Where angels and archangels dwell;

One sin, unslain, within my breast,

Would make that heav’n as dark as hell.

The pris’ner, sent to breathe fresh air,

And bless’d with liberty again,

Would mourn, were he condemn’d to wear

One link of all his former chain.

But oh! no foe invades the bliss,

When glory crowns the christian’s head;

One view of JESUS as he is,

Will strike all sin for ever dead.

Hymn 58

[III. lxviii]

THE NEW CONVERT

The new-born child of gospel-grace,

Like some fair tree when summer’s nigh,

Beneath EMMANUEL’S shining face,

Lifts up his blooming branch on high.

No fears he feels, he sees no foes,

No conflict yet his faith employs,

Nor has he learnt to whom he owes,

The strength and peace his soul enjoys.

But sin soon darts its cruel sting,

And, comforts sinking day by day,

What seem’d his own, a self-fed spring,

Proves but a brook that glides away.

When Gideon arm’d his num’rous host,

The LORD soon made his numbers less;

And said, lest Israel vainly boast,

‘My arm procur’d me this success.’

Thus will he bring our spirits down,

And draw our ebbing comforts low;

That sav’d by grace, but not our own,

We may not claim the praise we owe.

Hymn 59

[III. lxix]

TRUE AND FALSE COMFORTS

O GOD, whose favorable eye

The sin-sick soul revives;

Holy and heav’nly is the joy

Thy shining presence gives.

Not such as hypocrites suppose,

Who with a graceless heart,

Taste not of thee, but drink a dose

Prepar’d by Satan's art.

Intoxicating joys are theirs,

Who while they boast their light,

And seem to soar above the stars,

Are plunging into night.

Lull’d in a soft and fatal sleep,

They sin, and yet rejoice;

Were they indeed the Saviour’s sheep,

Would they not hear his voice?

Be mine the comforts, that reclaim

The soul from Satan's pow’r;

That make me blush for what I am,

And hate my sin the more.

’Tis joy enough, my All in All,

At thy dear feet to lie;

Thou wilt not let me lower fall,

And none can higher fly.

Hymn 6o

[III. lxxi]

A LIVING AND A DEAD FAITH

The LORD receives his highest praise,

From humble minds and hearts sincere;

While all the loud professor says,

Offends the righteous Judge’s ear.

To walk as children of the day

To mark the precepts’ holy light;

To wage the warfare, watch and pray,

Shew who are pleasing in his sight.

Not words alone it cost the LORD,

To purchase pardon for his own;

Nor will a soul, by grace restor’d,

Return the Saviour words alone.

With golden bells, the priestly vest,

And rich pomegranates border’d round,

The need of holiness express’d,

And call’d for fruit, as well as sound.

Easy, indeed, it were to reach

A mansion in the courts above,

If swelling words, and fluent speech

Might serve, instead of faith and love.

But none shall gain the blissful place,

Or GOD’S unclouded glory see;

Who talks of free and sov’reign grace,

Unless that grace has made him free.

Hymn 61

[III. lxxii]

ANTINOMIANS

Too many Lord, abuse thy grace

In this Licentious Day,

And while they boast they see thy Face,

They turn their Own away.

Thy Book displays a gracious Light,

That can the Blind restore,

But These are dazzled by the Sight,

And Blinded still the more.

The Pardon such presume upon,

They do not Beg but Steal,

And when they plead it at thy Throne,

Oh, where’s the Gospel Seal?

Was it for This, ye Lawless Tribe,

The dear Redeemer Bled?

Is This the grace the Saints imbibe

From Christ the Living Head?

Oh Lord! We know thy Chosen Few,

Are fed with heav’nly Fare,

But These – the wretched Husks they chew,

Proclaim them what they are.

The Liberty our Hearts implore,

Is, not to Live in Sin,

But still to wait at Wisdom’s Door,

’Till Mercy calls us in.

Hymn 62

[III. lxxiii]

THE NARROW WAY

What thousands never knew the road!

What thousands hate it when ’tis known!

None but the chosen tribes of GOD,

Will seek or choose it for their own.

A thousand ways in ruin end,

One, only, leads to joys on high;

By that my willing steps ascend,

Pleas’d with a journey to the sky.

No more I ask, or hope to find,

Delight or happiness below;

Sorrow may well possess the mind

That feeds where thorns and thistles grow.

The joy that fades is not for me,

I seek immortal joys above;

There, glory without end, shall be

The bright reward of faith and love.

Cleave to the world ye sordid worms,

Contented lick your native dust;

But GOD shall fight, with all his storms,

Against the idol of your trust.

Hymn 63

[III. lxxiv]

DEPENDANCE

To keep the lamp alive

With oil we fill the bowl;

’Tis water makes the willow thrive,

And grace that feeds the soul.

The LORD’S unsparing hand

Supplies the living stream;

It is not at our own command,

But still deriv’d from him.

Beware of Peter’s word,

Nor confidently say,

‘I never will deny thee, LORD,’

But grant I never may.

Man’s wisdom is to seek

His strength in GOD alone;

And e’en an angel would be weak,

Who trusted in his own.

Retreat beneath his wings,

And in his grace confide;

This more exalts the King of kings

Than all your works beside.

In JESUS is our store,

Grace issues from his throne;

Whoever says, ‘I want no more,’

Confesses he has none.

Hymn 64

[III. lxxv]

NOT OF WORKS

Grace, triumphant in the throne,

Scorns a rival, reigns alone!

Come and bow beneath her sway,

Cast your idol works away:

Works of man, when made his plea,

Never shall accepted be;

Fruits of pride (vain-glorious worm)

Are the best he can perform.

Self, the god his soul adores,

Influences all his pow’rs;

JESUS is a slighted name,

Self-advancement all his aim:

But when GOD the Judge shall come,

To pronounce the final doom;

Then for rocks and hills to hide

All his works and all his pride.

Still the boasting heart replies,

What! the worthy and the wise.

Friends to temperance and peace,

Have not these a righteousness?

Banish ev’ry vain pretence

Built on human excellence;

Perish ev’ry thing in man,

But the grace that never can.

Hymn 65

[III. lxxx]

PRAISE FOR FAITH

Of all the gifts thine hand bestows,

Thou Giver of all good!

Not heav’n itself a richer knows,

Than my Redeemer’s blood.

Faith too, the blood-receiving grace,

From the same hand we gain;

Else, sweetly as it suits our case,

That gift had been in vain.

Till thou thy teaching pow’r apply,

Our hearts refuse to see;

And weak, as a distemper’d eye,

Shut out the view of thee.

Blind to the merits of thy Son,

What mis’ry we endure!

Yet fly that hand, from which alone,

We could expect a cure.

We praise thee, and would praise thee more,

To thee our all we owe;

The precious Saviour, and the pow’r

That makes him precious too.

Hymn 66

[III. lxxxi]

GRACE AND PROVIDENCE

Almighty King! whose wond’rous hand,

Supports the weight of sea and land;

Whose grace is such a boundless store,

No heart shall break that sighs for more.

Thy Providence supplies my food,

And ’tis thy blessing makes it good;

My soul is nourish’d by thy word,

Let soul and body praise the LORD.

My streams of outward comfort came

From him, who built this earthly frame;

Whate’er I want his bounty gives,

By whom my soul for ever lives.

Either his hand preserves from pain,

Or, if I feel it, heals again;

From Satan’s malice shields my breast,

Or overrules it for the best.

Forgive the song that falls so low

Beneath the gratitude I owe!

It means thy praise, however poor,

An angle’s song can do no more.

Hymn 67

[III. lxxxiii]

I WILL PRAISE THE LORD AT ALL TIMES

Winter has a joy for me,

While the Saviour’s charms I read,

Lowly, meek, from blemish free,

In the snow-drop’s pensive head.

Spring returns, and brings along

Life-invigorating suns:

Hark! the turtle’s plaintive song,

Seems to speak his dying grones!

Summer has a thousand charms,

All expressive of his worth;

’Tis his sun that lights and warms,

His the air that cools the earth.

What! has autumn left to say

Nothing, of a Saviour’s grace?

Yes, the beams of milder day

Tell me of his smiling face.

Light appears with early dawn;

While the sun makes haste to rise,

See his bleeding beauties, drawn

On the blushes of the skies.

Ev’ning, with a silent pace,

Slowly moving in the west,

Shews an emblem of his grace,

Points to an eternal rest.