poem – hymn 149

The offices of Christ. From several scriptures.

Join all the names of love and power
That ever men or angels bore,
All are too mean to speak his worth,
Or set lmmannel’s glory forth.

But O what condescending ways
He takes to teach his heav’nly grace
My eyes with joy and wonder see
What forms of love he bears for me.

[The Angel of the cov’nant stands
With his commission in his hands,
Sent from his Father’s milder throne,
To make the great salvation known.]

[Great Prophet! let me bless thy name;
By thee the joyful tidings came
Of wrath appeased, of sins forgiv’n,
Of hell subdued, and peace with heav’n.]

[My bright Example and my Guide,
I would be walking near thy side;
O let me never run astray,
Nor follow the forbidden way!]

[I love my Shepherd, he shall keep
My wand’ring soul among his sheep;
He feeds his flock, he calls their names,
And in his bosom bears the lambs.]

[My Surety undertakes my cause,
Answering his Father’s broken laws:
Behold my soul at freedom set,
My Surety paid the dreadful debt.]

[Jesus, my great High Priest, has died;
I seek no sacrifice beside;
His blood did once for all atone,
And now it pleads before the throne.]

[My Advocate appears on high,
The Father lays his thunder by;
Not all that earth or hell can say
Shall turn my Father’s heart away.]

[My Lord, my Conqueror, and my King!
Thy sceptre and thy sword I sing;
Thine is the vict’ry, and I sit
A joyful subject at thy feet.]

[Aspire, my soul, to glorious deeds,
The Captain of salvation leads;
March on, nor fear to win the day,
Though death and hell obstruct the way.]

[Should death, and hell, and powers unknown,
Put all their forms of mischief on,
I shall be safe; for Christ displays
Salvation in more sovereign ways.]

poem – psalm 45 part 2

Christ and his church.

The King of saints, how fair his face,
Adorned with majesty and grace!
He comes with blessings from above,
And wins the nations to his love.

At his right hand our eyes behold
The queen arrayed in purest gold;
The world admires her heav’nly dress,
Her robe of joy and righteousness.

He forms her beauties like his own;
He calls and seats her near his throne:
Fair stranger, let thine heart forget
The idols of thy native state.

So shall the King the more rejoice
In thee, the favorite of his choice;
Let him be loved, and yet adored,
For he’s thy Maker and thy Lord.

O happy hour, when thou shalt rise
To his fair palace in the skies,
And all thy sons (a numerous train)
Each like a prince in glory reign!

Let endless honors crown his head;
Let every age his praises spread;
While we with cheerful songs approve
The condescensions of his love.

poem – psalm 91 part 1

v.1-7
L. M.
Safety in public diseases and dangers.

He that hath made his refuge God
Shall find a most secure abode,
Shall walk all day beneath his shade,
And there at night shall rest his head.

Then will I say, “My God, thy power
Shall be my fortress and my tower;
I, that am formed of feeble dust,
Make thine almighty arm my trust.”

Thrice happy man! thy Maker’s care
Shall keep thee from the fowler’s snare;
Satan, the fowler, who betrays
Unguarded souls a thousand ways.

Just as a hen protects her brood
From birds of prey that seek their blood,
Under her feathers, so the Lord
Makes his own arm his people’s guard.

If burning beams of noon conspire
To dart a pestilential fire,
God is their life; his wings are spread
To shield them with a healthful shade.

If vapors with malignant breath
Rise thick, and scatter midnight death,
Isr’el is safe; the poisoned air
Grows pure, if Isr’el’s God be there.

PAUSE.

What though a thousand at thy side,
At thy right hand ten thousand died,
Thy God his chosen people saves
Amongst the dead, amidst the graves.

So when he sent his angel down
To make his wrath in Egypt known,
And slew their sons, his careful eye
Passed all the doors of Jacob by.

But if the fire, or plague, or sword,
Receive commission from the Lord
To strike his saints among the rest,
Their very pains and deaths are blest.

The sword, the pestilence, or fire,
Shall but fulfil their best desire;
From sins and sorrows set them free,
And bring thy children, Lord, to thee.

poem – psalm 77 part 1

Melancholy assaulting, and hope prevailing.

To God I cried with mournful voice,
I sought his gracious ear,
In the sad day when troubles rose,
And filled the night with fear.

Sad were my days, and dark my nights,
My soul refused relief;
I thought on God the just and wise,
But thoughts increased my grief.

Still I complained, and still oppressed,
My heart began to break;
My God, thy wrath forbade my rest,
And kept my eyes awake.

My overwhelming sorrows grew,
Till I could speak no more;
Then I within myself withdrew,
And called thy judgments o’er.

I called back years and ancient times
When I beheld thy face;
My spirit searched for secret crimes
That might withhold thy grace.

I called thy mercies to my mind
Which I enjoyed before;
And will the Lord no more be kind?
His face appear no more?

Will he for ever cast me off?
His promise ever fail?
Has he forgot his tender love?
Shall anger still prevail?

But I forbid this hopeless thought;
This dark, despairing frame,
Rememb’ring what thy hand hath wrought;
Thy hand is still the same.

I’ll think again of all thy ways,
And talk thy wonders o’er;
Thy wonders of recovering grace,
When flesh could hope no more.

Grace dwells with justice on the throne;
And men that love thy word
Have in thy sanctuary known
The counsels of the Lord.

poem – psalm 48 part 1

v.1-8
S. M.
The church is the honor and safety of a nation.

[Great is the Lord our God,
And let his praise be great;
He makes his churches his abode,
His most delightful seat.

These temples of his grace,
How beautiful they stand!
The honors of our native place,
And bulwarks of our land.]

In Zion God is known,
A refuge in distress;
How bright has his salvation shone
Through all her palaces!

When kings against her joined,
And saw the Lord was there,
In wild confusion of the mind
They fled with hasty fear.

When navies tall and proud
Attempt to spoil our peace,
He sends his tempests roaring loud,
And sinks them in the seas.

Oft have our fathers told,
Our eyes have often seen,
How well our God secures the fold
Where his own sheep have been.

In every new distress
We’ll to his house repair;
We’ll think upon his wondrous grace,
And seek deliv’rance there.

poem – psalm 33 part 2

Creatures vain, and God all-sufficient.

Blest is the nation where the Lord
Hath fixed his gracious throne,
Where he reveals his heav’nly word,
And calls their tribes his own.

His eye with infinite survey
Does the whole world behold;
He formed us all of equal clay,
And knows our feeble mold.

Kings are not rescued by the force
Of armies from the grave;
Nor speed nor courage of a horse
Can the bold rider save.

Vain is the strength of beasts or men,
To hope for safety thence;
But holy souls from God obtain
A strong and sure defence.

God is their fear, and God their trust;
When plagues or famine spread,
His watchful eye secures the just
Among ten thousand dead.

Lord, let our hearts in thee rejoice,
And bless us from thy throne;
For we have made thy word our choice,
And trust thy grace alone.

poem – psalm 129

Persecutors punished.

Up from my youth, may Isr’el say,
Have I been nursed in tears;
My griefs were constant as the day,
And tedious as the years.

Up from my youth I bore the rage
Of all the sons of strife;
Oft they assailed my riper age,
But not destroyed my life.

Their cruel plow had torn my flesh
With furrows long and deep;
Hourly they vexed my wounds afresh,
Nor let my sorrows sleep.

The Lord grew angry on his throne,
And, with impartial eye,
Measured the mischiefs they had done,
Then let his arrows fly.

How was their insolence surprised
To hear his thunders roll!
And all the foes of Zion seized
With horror to the soul!

Thus shall the men that hate the saints
Be blasted from the sky;
Their glory fades, their courage faints
And all their projects die.

[What though they flourish tall and fair,
They have no root beneath;
Their growth shall perish in despair,
And lie despised in death.]

[So corn that on the house-top stands
No hope of harvest gives;
The reaper ne’er shall fill his hands,
Nor binder fold the sheaves.

It springs and withers on the place;
No traveller bestows
A word of blessing on the grass,
Nor minds it as he goes.]

poem – hymn 30

Prayer for deliverance answered.

Isa. 26:12,20,21.

In thine own ways, O God of love,
We wait the visits of thy grace,
Our soul’s desire is to thy name,
And the remembrance of thy face.

My thoughts are searching, Lord, for thee
‘Mongst the black shades of lonesome night;
My earnest cries salute the skies
Before the dawn restore the light.

Look, how rebellious men deride
The tender patience of my God!
But they shall see thy lifted hand,
And feel the scourges of thy rod.

Hark! the Eternal rends the sky,
A mighty voice before him goes;
A voice of music to his friends,
But threat’ning thunder to his foes.

Come, children, to your Father’s arms,
Hide in the chambers of my grace,
Till the fierce storms be overblown,
And my revenging fury cease.

My sword shall boast its thousands slain,
And drink the blood of haughty kings,
While heav’nly peace around my flock
Stretches its soft and shady wings.

poem – hymn 42

Divine wrath and mercy.

Nah. 1:1-3; Heb. 12:29.

Adore and tremble, for our God
Is a consuming fire!
His jealous eyes his wrath inflame,
And raise his vengeance higher.

Almighty vengeance, how it burns!
How bright his fury glows!
Vast magazines of plagues and storms
Lie treasured for his foes.

Those heaps of wrath, by slow degrees,
Are forced into a flame;
But kindled, oh! how fierce they blaze!
And rend all nature’s frame.

At his approach the mountains flee,
And seek a wat’ry grave;
The frighted sea makes haste away,
And shrinks up every wave.

Through the wide air the weighty rocks
Are swift as hailstones hurled;
Who dares engage his fiery rage
That shakes the solid world?

Yet, mighty God, thy sovereign grace
Sits regent on the throne;
The refuge of thy chosen race
When wrath comes rushing down.

Thy hand shall on rebellious kings
A fiery tempest pour,
While we beneath thy shelt’ring wings
Thy just revenge adore.

poem – hymn 120

Faith of things unseen.

Heb. 11

Faith is the brightest evidence
Of things beyond our sight,
Breaks through the clouds of flesh and sense,
And dwells in heav’nly light.

It sets times past in present view,
Brings distant prospects home,
Of things a thousand years ago,
Or thousand years to come.

By faith we know the worlds were made
By God’s almighty word;
Abram, to unknown countries led,
By faith obeyed the Lord.

He sought a city fair and high,
Built by th’ eternal hands,
And faith assures us, though we die,
That heav’nly building stands.

poem – hymn 84

Salvation, righteousness, and strength in Christ.

Isa. 45:21-25.

Jehovah speaks! let Isr’el hear;
Let all the earth rejoice and fear,
While God’s eternal Son proclaims
His sovereign honors and his names.

“I am the last, and I the first,
The Savior God, and God the just;
There’s none beside pretends to show
Such justice and salvation too.

[“Ye that in shades of darkness dwell,
Just on the verge of death and hell,
Look up to me from distant lands;
Light, life, and heav’n are in my hands.

“I by my holy name have sworn,
Nor shall the word in vain return;
To me shall all things bend the knee,
And every tongue shall swear to me.]

“In me alone shall men confess
Lies all their strength and righteousness;
But such as dare despise my name,
I’ll clothe them with eternal shame.

“In me, the Lord, shall all the seed
Of Isr’el from their sins be freed;
And by their shining graces prove
Their int’rest in my pard’ning love.”

poem – hymn 131

The Pharisee and publican.

Luke 18:10ff.

Saints, at your heav’nly Father’s word
Give up your comforts to the Lord;
Behold how sinners disagree,
The publican and Pharisee!
One doth his righteousness proclaim,
The other owns his guilt and shame.

This man at humble distance stands,
And cries for grace with lifted hands
That boldly rises near the throne,
And talks of duties he has done.

The Lord their diff’rent language knows,
And diff’rent answers he bestows;
The humble soul with grace he crowns,
Whilst on the proud his anger frowns.

Dear Father! let me never be
Joined with the boasting Pharisee;
I have no merits of my own
But plead the suff’rings of thy Son.

Poem – The Promises of the Covenant of Grace

Hymn 9 

Isa. 55:1,2; Zech. 13:1; Mic. 7:19; Ezek. 36:25, etc.
In vain we lavish out our lives

To gather empty wind;

The choicest blessings earth can yield

Will starve a hungry mind.
Come, and the Lord shall feed our souls

With more substantial meat,

With such as saints in glory love,

With such as angels eat.
Our God will every want supply,

And fill our hearts with peace;

He gives by cov’nant and by oath

The riches of his grace.
Come, and he’ll cleanse our spotted souls,

And wash away our stains

In the dear fountain that his Son

Poured from his dying veins.
[Our guilt shall vanish all away,

Though black as hell before;

Our sins shall sink beneath the sea,

And shall be found no more.
And, lest pollution should o’erspread

Our inward powers again,

His Spirit shall bedew our souls,

Like purifying rain.]
Our heart, that flinty, stubborn thing,

That terrors cannot move,

That fears no threat’nings of his wrath,

Shall be dissolved by love.
Or he can take the flint away

That would not be refined;

And from the treasures of his grace

Bestow a softer mind.
There shall his sacred Spirit dwell,

And deep engrave his law,

And every motion of our souls

To swift obedience draw.
Thus will he pour salvation down,

And we shall render praise;

We the dear people of his love,

And he our God of grace. 

Poem – Youth and Judgment

Hymn 89

Eccl. 11:9. 
Ye sons of Adam, vain and young,

Indulge your eyes, indulge your tongue,

Taste the delights your souls desire,

And give a loose to all your fire;
Pursue the pleasures you design,

And cheer your hearts with songs and wine;

Enjoy the day of mirth, but know

There is a day of judgment too.
God from on high beholds your thoughts,

His book records your secret faults;

The works of darkness you have done

Must all appear before the sun.
The vengeance to your follies due

Should strike your hearts with terror through:

How will you stand before his face,

Or answer for his injured grace?
Almighty God! turn off their eyes

From these alluring vanities;

And let the thunder of thy word

Awake their souls to fear the Lord. 

Poem – Life The Day of Grace and Hope

Hymn 88

Eccl. 9:4-6,10. 
Life is the time to serve the Lord,

The time t’ insure the great reward;

And while the lamp holds out to burn,

The vilest sinner may return.
[Life is the hour that God has giv’n

To ‘scape from hell and fly to heav’n;

The day of grace, and mortals may

Secure the blessings of the day.]
The living know that they must die,

But all the dead forgotten lie;

Their mem’ry and their sense is gone,

Alike unknowing and unknown.
[Their hatred and their love is lost,

Their envy buried in the dust;

They have no share in all that’s done

Beneath the circuit of the sun.]
Then what my thoughts design to do,

My hands, with all your might pursue;

Since no device nor work is found,

Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground.
There are no acts of pardon passed

In the cold grave, to which we haste;

But darkness, death, and long despair,

Reign in eternal silence there. 

Psalm 18 Part 3 – Isaac Watts

v.30,31,34,35,46-50 L. M.

Rejoicing in God.
Just are thy ways, and true thy word,

Great Rock of my secure abode:

Who is a God beside the Lord?

Or where’s a refuge like our God?
‘Tis he that girds me with his might,

Gives me his holy sword to wield,

And while with sin and hell I fight,

Spreads his salvation for my shield.
He lives, and blessed be my Rock!

The God of my salvation lives:

The dark designs of hell are broke;

Sweet is the peace my Father gives.
Before the scoffers of the age

I will exalt my Father’s name,

Nor tremble at their mighty rage,

But meet reproach, and bear the shame.
To David and his royal seed

Thy grace for ever shall extend;

Thy love to saints in Christ their Head

Knows not a limit, nor an end. 

Psalm 18 Part 2 – Isaac Watts

v.20-26 L. M.

Sincerity proved and rewarded.
Lord, thou hast seen my soul sincere,

Hast made thy truth and love appear;

Before mine eyes I set thy laws,

And thou hast owned my righteous cause.
Since I have learned thy holy ways,

I’ve walked upright before thy face;

Or if my feet did e’er depart,

‘Twas never with a wicked heart.
What sore temptations broke my rest!

What wars and strugglings in my breast!

But through thy grace, that reigns within,

I guard against my darling sin:
That sin which close besets me still,

That works and strives against my will:

When shall thy Spirit’s sovereign power

Destroy it, that it rise no more?
[With an impartial hand, the Lord

Deals out to mortals their reward;

The kind and faithful souls shall find

A God as faithful and as kind.
The just and pure shall ever say,

Thou art more pure, more just than they;

And men that love revenge shall know

God hath an arm of vengeance too.] 

Psalm 18 Part 1 – Isaac Watts

v.1-6,15-18 L. M.

Deliverance from despair.
Thee will I love, O Lord, my strength,

My rock, my tower, my high defence:

Thy mighty arm shall be my trust,

For I have found salvation thence.
Death, and the terrors of the grave,

Stood round me with their dismal shade;

While floods of high temptations rose,

And made my sinking soul afraid.
I saw the op’ning gates of hell,

With endless pains and sorrows there,

Which none but they that feel can tell;

While I was hurried to despair.
In my distress I called my God,

When I could scarce believe him mine:

He bowed his ear to my complaint,

Then did his grace appear divine.
With speed he flew to my relief,

As on a cherub’s wing he rode;

Awful and bright as lightning shone

The face of my deliverer, God.
Temptations fled at his rebuke,

The blast of his almighty breath;

He sent salvation from on high,

And drew me from the deeps of death.
Great were my fears, my foes were great,

Much was their strength, and more their rage;

But Christ, my Lord, is conqueror still,

In all the wars that devils wage.
My song for ever shall record

That terrible, that joyful hour;

And give the glory to the Lord,

Due to his mercy and his power 

Psalm 17 – Isaac Watts

v.13-15 S. M.

Portion of saints and sinners.
Arise, my gracious God,

And make the wicked flee;

They are but thy chastising rod,

To drive thy saints to thee.
Behold, the sinner dies,

His haughty words are vain;

Here in this life his pleasure lies,

And all beyond is pain.
Then let his pride advance,

And boast of all his store;

The Lord is my inheritance,

My soul can wish no more.
I shall behold the face

Of my forgiving God;

And stand complete in righteousness,

Washed in my Savior’s blood.
There’s a new heav’n begun,

When I awake from death,

Dressed in the likeness of thy Son,

And draw immortal breath.

Psalm 16 Part 3 – Isaac Watts

Courage in death, and hope of the resurrection.
When God is nigh, my faith is strong;

His arm is my almighty prop:

Be glad, my heart; rejoice, my tongue;

My dying flesh shall rest in hope.
Though in the dust I lay my head,

Yet, gracious God, thou wilt not leave

My soul for ever with the dead,

Nor lose thy children in the grave.
My flesh shall thy first call obey,

Shake off the dust, and rise on high;

Then shalt thou lead the wondrous way

Up to thy throne above the sky.
There streams of endless pleasure flow;

And full discoveries of thy grace

(Which we but tasted here below)

Spread heav’nly joys through all the place. 

Poem – Against Lying – Isaac Watts

O ’tis a lovely thing for youth 

To early walk in wisdom’s way; 

To fear a lie, to speak the truth, 

That we may trust to all they say! 
But liars we can never trust, 

Even when they say what is true. 

And he who does one fault at first 

And lies to hide it, makes it two. 
Have we not known, nor heard, nor read 

How God does hate deceit and wrong? 

How Ananias was struck dead, 

Caught with a lie upon his tongue? 
So did his wife Sapphira die, 

When she came in, and grew so bold 

As to confirm that wicked lie, 

Which just before her husband told. 
The Lord delights in them that speak 

The words of truth; but every liar 

Must have his portion in the lake 

That burns with brimstone and with fire.

Poem -Against Evil Company – Isaac Watts

Why should I join with those in Play, 

In whom I’ve no delight, 

Who curse and swear, but never pray, 

Who call ill Names, and fight. 
I hate to hear a wanton Song, 

Their Words offend my Ears: 

I should not dare defile my Tongue 

With Language such as theirs. 
Away from Fools I’ll turn my Eyes, 

Nor with the Scoffers go; 

I would be walking with the Wise, 

That wiser I may grow. 
From one rude Boy that’s us’d to mock 

Ten learn the wicked Jest; 

One sickly Sheep infects the Flock, 

And poysons all the rest.