THE OLNEY HYMNS.

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I. WALKING WITH GOD.—Genesis v.24.

Oh! for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame;

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul-refreshing view

Of Jesus and his word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoy’d!

How sweet their memory still!

But they have left an aching void,

The world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return!

Sweet messenger of rest:

I hate the sins that made thee mourn,

And drove thee from my breast.

The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame:

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

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II. JEHOVAH-JIREH. THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.—Genesis xxii.14.

The saints should never be dismay’d,

Nor sink in hopeless fear;

For when they least expect his aid,

The Saviour will appear.

This Abraham found: he raised the knife;

God saw, and said, “Forbear!

Yon ram shall yield his meaner life;

Behold the victim there.”

Once David seem’d Saul’s certain prey;

But hark! the foe’s at hand;[1]

Saul turns his arms another way,

To save the invaded land.

When Jonah sunk beneath the wave,

He thought to rise no more;[2]

But God prepared a fish to save,

And bear him to the shore.

Blest proofs of power and grace divine,

That meet us in his word!

May every deep-felt care of mine

Be trusted with the Lord.

Wait for his seasonable aid,

And though it tarry, wait:

The promise may be long delay’d,

But cannot come too late.

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III. JEHOVAH-ROPHI. I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE.—Exodus xv.26.

Heal us, Emmanuel, here we are,

Waiting to feel thy touch:

Deep-wounded souls to thee repair,

And, Saviour, we are such.

Our faith is feeble, we confess,

We faintly trust thy word;

But wilt thou pity us the less?

Be that far from thee, Lord!

Remember him who once applied,

With trembling, for relief;

“Lord, I believe,” with tears he cried,[3]

”Oh, help my unbelief!”

She too, who touch’d thee in the press,

And healing virtue stole,

Was answer’d, “Daughter, go in peace,[4]

Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Conceal’d amid the gathering throng,

She would have shunn’d thy view;

And if her faith was firm and strong,

Had strong misgivings too.

Like her, with hopes and fears we come,

To touch thee, if we may;

Oh! send us not despairing home,

Send none unheal’d away.

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IV. JEHOVAH-NISSI. THE LORD MY BANNER.—Exodus xvii.15.

By whom was David taught

To aim the deadly blow,

When he Goliath fought,

And laid the Gittite low?

Nor sword nor spear the stripling took,

But chose a pebble from the brook.

‘Twas Israel’s God and King

Who sent him to the fight;

Who gave him strength to sling,

And skill to aim aright.

Ye feeble saints, your strength endures,

Because young David’s God is yours.

Who order’d Gideon forth,

To storm the invader’s camp,

With arms of little worth,

A pitcher and a lamp?[5]

The trumpets made his coming known,

And all the host was overthrown.

Oh! I have seen the day,

When, with a single word,

God helping me to say,

My trust is in the Lord,

My soul hath quell’d a thousand foes,

Fearless of all that could oppose.

But unbelief, self-will,

Self-righteousness, and pride,

How often do they steal

My weapon from my side!

Yet David’s Lord, and Gideon’s friend,

Will help his servant to the end.

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V. JEHOVAH-SHALOM. THE LORD SEND PEACE.—Judges vi.24.

Jesus, whose blood so freely stream’d,

To satisfy the law’s demand;

By thee from guilt and wrath redeem’d,

Before the Father’s face I stand.

To reconcile offending man,

Make Justice drop her angry rod;

What creature could have form’d the plan,

Or who fulfil it but a God?

No drop remains of all the curse,

For wretches who deserved the whole;

No arrows dipt in wrath to pierce

The guilty but returning soul.

Peace by such means so dearly bought,

What rebel could have hoped to see?

Peace, by his injured Sovereign wrought,

His Sovereign fasten’d to a tree.

Now, Lord, thy feeble worm prepare!

For strife with earth and hell begins;

Confirm and guard me for the war,

They hate the soul that hates his sins.

Let them in horrid league agree!

They may assault, they may distress;

But cannot quench thy love to me,

Nor rob me of the Lord, my peace.

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VI. WISDOM.—Proverbs viii.22-31.

Ere God had built the mountains,

Or raised the fruitful hills;

Before he fill’d the fountains

That feed the running rills;

In me, from everlasting,

The wonderful I AM,

Found pleasures never-wasting,

And Wisdom is my name.

When, like a tent to dwell in,

He spread the skies abroad,

And swathed about the swelling

Of Ocean’s mighty flood;

He wrought by weight and measure,

And I was with him then:

Myself the Father’s pleasure,

And mine, the sons of men,

Thus Wisdom’s words discover

Thy glory and thy grace,

Thou everlasting lover

Of our unworthy race!

Thy gracious eye survey’d us

Ere stars were seen above;

In wisdom thou hast made us,

And died for us in love.

And couldst thou be delighted

With creatures such as we,

Who, when we saw thee, slighted

And nail’d thee to a tree?

Unfathomable wonder,

And mystery divine!

The voice that speaks in thunder,

Says, “Sinner, I am thine!”

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VII. VANITY OF THE WORLD.

God gives his mercies to be spent;

Your hoard will do your soul no good;

Gold is a blessing only lent,

Repaid by giving others food.

The world’s esteem is but a bribe,

To buy their peace you sell your own;

The slave of a vain-glorious tribe,

Who hate you while they make you known.

The joy that vain amusements give,

Oh! sad conclusion that it brings!

The honey of a crowded hive,

Defended by a thousand stings.

‘Tis thus the world rewards the fools

That live upon her treacherous smiles:

She leads them blindfold by her rules,

And ruins all whom she beguiles.

God knows the thousands who go down

From pleasure into endless woe;

And with a long despairing groan

Blaspheme their Maker as they go.

O fearful thought! be timely wise:

Delight but in a Saviour’s charms,

And God shall take you to the skies,

Embraced in everlasting arms.

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VIII. O LORD, I WILL PRAISE THEE.—Isaiah xii.1.

I will praise thee every day,

Now thine anger’s turn’d away!

Comfortable thoughts arise

From the bleeding Sacrifice.

Here in the fair gospel-field,

Wells of free salvation yield

Streams of life, a plenteous store,

And my soul shall thirst no more.

Jesus is become at length

My salvation and my strength;

And his praises shall prolong,

While I live, my pleasant song.

Praise ye then his glorious name,

Publish his exalted fame!

Still his worth your praise exceeds,

Excellent are all his deeds.

Raise again the joyful sound,

Let the nations roll it round!

Zion, shout, for this is he,

God the Saviour dwells in thee!

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IX. THE CONTRITE HEART.—Isaiah lvii.15.

The Lord will happiness divine

On contrite hearts bestow;

Then tell me, gracious God, is mine

A contrite heart or no?

I hear, but seem to hear in vain,

Insensible as steel;

If aught is felt, ‘tis only pain

To find I cannot feel.

I sometimes think myself inclined

To love thee, if I could;

But often feel another mind,

Averse to all that’s good.

My best desires are faint and few,

I fain would strive for more:

But when I cry, “My strength renew,”

Seem weaker than before.

Thy saints are comforted, I know,

And love thy house of prayer;

I therefore go where others go,

But find no comfort there.

O make this heart rejoice or ache;

Decide this doubt for me;

And if it be not broken, break,

And heal it if it be.

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X. THE FUTURE PEACE AND GLORY OF THE CHURCH.—Isaiah ix.15-20.

Hear what God the Lord hath spoken,

“O my people, faint and few,

Comfortless, afflicted, broken,

Fair abodes I build for you;

Thorns of heart-felt tribulation

Shall no more perplex your ways:

You shall name your walls, Salvation,

And your gates shall all be praise.

“There, like streams that feed the garden,

Pleasures without end shall flow;

For the Lord, your faith rewarding,

All his bounty shall bestow;

Still in undisturb’d possession

Peace and righteousness shall reign;

Never shall you feel oppression,

Hear the voice of war again.

“Ye no more your suns descending,

Waning moons no more shall see;

But, your griefs for ever ending,

Find eternal noon in me;

God shall rise, and shining o’er you,

Change to day the gloom of night;

He, the Lord, shall be your glory,

God your everlasting light.”

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XI. JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.—Jeremiah xxiii.6.

My God, how perfect are thy ways!

But mine polluted are;

Sin twines itself about my praise,

And slides into my prayer.

When I would speak what thou hast done,

To save me from my sin,

I cannot make thy mercies known,

But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame

Thy grace creates in me;

Alas! impatience is its name,

When it returns to thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts,

How does it overflow!

While self upon the surface floats,

Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress

Of fancied merit shine;

The Lord shall be my righteousness,

The Lord for ever mine.

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XII. EPHRAIM REPENTING.—Jeremiah xxxi.18-20.

My God, till I received thy stroke,

How like a beast was I!

So unaccustom’d to the yoke,

So backward to comply.

With grief my just reproach I bear,

Shame fills me at the thought;

How frequent my rebellions were!

What wickedness I wrought!

Thy merciful restraint I scorn’d,

And left the pleasant road;

Yet turn me, and I shall be turn’d,

Thou art the Lord my God.

“Is Ephraim banish’d from my thoughts,

Or vile in my esteem?

No,” saith the Lord, “with all his faults,

I still remember him.

“Is he a dear and pleasant child?

Yes, dear and pleasant still;

Though sin his foolish heart beguiled,

And he withstood my will.

“My sharp rebuke has laid him low,

He seeks my face again;

My pity kindles at his woe,

He shall not seek in vain.”

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XIII. THE COVENANT.—Ezekiel xxxvi.25-28.

The Lord proclaims his grace abroad!

Behold, I change your hearts of stone;

Each shall renounce his idol-god,

And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone.

My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds

To wash your filthiness away;

Ye shall abhor your former deeds,

And learn my statutes to obey.

My truth the great design ensures,

I give myself away to you;

You shall be mine, I will be yours,

Your God unalterably true.

Yet not unsought, or unimplored,

The plenteous grace shall I confer;[6]

No—your whole hearts shall seek the Lord,

I’ll put a praying spirit there.

From the first breath of life divine,

Down to the last expiring hour,

The gracious work shall all be mine,

Begun and ended in my power.

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XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH.—Ezekiel xlviii.35.

As birds their infant brood protect,[7]

And spread their wings to shelter them,

Thus saith the Lord to his elect,

“So will I guard Jerusalem.”

And what then is Jerusalem,

This darling object of his care?

Where is its worth in God’s esteem?

Who built it, who inhabits there?

Jehovah founded it in blood,

The blood of his incarnate Son;

There dwell the saints, once foes to God,

The sinners whom he calls his own.

There, though besieged on every side,

Yet much beloved and guarded well,

From age to age they have defied

The utmost force of earth and hell.

Let earth repent, and hell despair,

This city has a sure defence;

Her name is call’d The Lord is there,

And who has power to drive him thence?

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XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED.—Zechariah xiii.1.

There is a fountain fill’d with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there have I, as vile as he,

Wash’d all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransom’d church of God

Be saved to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I’ll sing thy power to save;

When this poor lisping stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe thou hast prepared

(Unworthy though I be)

For me a blood-bought free reward,

A golden harp for me!

‘Tis strung, and tuned, for endless years,

And form’d by power divine,

To sound in God the Father’s ears

No other name but thine.

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XVI. THE SOWER.—Matthew xiii.3.

Ye sons of earth, prepare the plough,

Break up the fallow ground;

The sower is gone forth to sow,

And scatter blessings round.

The seed that finds a stony soil,

Shoots forth a hasty blade;

But ill repays the sower’s toil,

Soon wither’d, scorch’d, and dead.

The thorny ground is sure to balk

All hopes of harvest there;

We find a tall and sickly stalk,

But not the fruitful ear.

The beaten path and highway side

Receive the trust in vain;

The watchful birds the spoil divide,

And pick up all the grain.

But where the Lord of grace and power

Has bless’d the happy field,

How plenteous is the golden store

The deep-wrought furrows yield!

Father of mercies, we have need

Of thy preparing grace;

Let the same hand that gives the seed

Provide a fruitful place.

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XVII. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER.—Mark xi.17.

Thy mansion is the Christian’s heart,

O Lord, thy dwelling-place secure!

Bid the unruly throng depart,

And leave the consecrated door.

Devoted as it is to thee,

A thievish swarm frequents the place;

They steal away my joys from me,

And rob my Saviour of his praise.

There, too, a sharp designing trade

Sin, Satan, and the world maintain;

Nor cease to press me, and persuade

To part with ease, and purchase pain.

I know them, and I hate their din,

Am weary of the bustling crowd;

But while their voice is heard within,

I cannot serve thee as I would.

Oh for the joy thy presence gives,

What peace shall reign when thou art here!

Thy presence makes this den of thieves

A calm delightful house of prayer.

And if thou make thy temple shine,

Yet self-abased, will I adore;

The gold and silver are not mine,

I give thee what was thine before.

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XVIII. LOVEST THOU ME?—John xxi.16.

Hark, my soul! it is the Lord:

‘Tis thy Saviour, hear his word;

Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee:

“Say, poor sinner, lovest thou me?

“I deliver’d thee when bound,

And when bleeding, heal’d thy wound;

Sought thee wandering, set thee right,

Turn’d thy darkness into light.

“Can a woman’s tender care

Cease towards the child she bare?

Yes, she may forgetful be,

Yet will I remember thee.

“Mine is an unchanging love,

Higher than the heights above;

Deeper than the depths beneath,

Free and faithful, strong as death.

“Thou shalt see my glory soon,

When the work of grace is done;

Partner of my throne shalt be:—

Say, poor sinner, lovest thou me?”

Lord, it is my chief complaint,

That my love is weak and faint;

Yet I love thee and adore:

Oh for grace to love thee more!

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XIX. CONTENTMENT.—Philippians iv.11.

Fierce passions discompose the mind,

As tempests vex the sea:

But calm content and peace we find,

When, Lord, we turn to thee.

In vain by reason and by rule

We try to bend the will;

For none but in the Saviour’s school

Can learn the heavenly skill.

Since at his feet my soul has sat,

His gracious words to hear,

Contented with my present state,

I cast on him my care.

“Art thou a sinner, soul?” he said,

“Then how canst thou complain?

How light thy troubles here, if weigh’d

With everlasting pain!

“If thou of murmuring wouldst be cured,

Compare thy griefs with mine;

Think what my love for thee endured,

And thou wilt not repine.

“‘Tis I appoint thy daily lot,

And I do all things well;

Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot,

And rise with me to dwell.

“In life my grace shall strength supply,

Proportion’d to thy day;

At death thou still shalt find me nigh,

To wipe thy tears away.

Thus I, who once my wretched days

In vain repinings spent,

Taught in my Saviour’s school of grace,

Have learnt to be content.

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XX. OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL.—Hebrews iv.2.

Israel, in ancient days,

Not only had a view

Of Sinai in a blaze,

But learn’d the Gospel too;

The types and figures were a glass

In which they saw a Saviour’s face.

The paschal sacrifice,

And blood-besprinkled door,[8]

Seen with enlighten’d eyes,

And once applied with power,

Would teach the need of other blood,

To reconcile an angry God.

The Lamb, the Dove, set forth

His perfect innocence,[9]

Whose blood of matchless worth

Should be the soul’s defence;

For he who can for sin atone,

Must have no failings of his own.

The scape-goat on his head[10]

The people’s trespass bore,

And, to the desert led,

Was to be seen no more:

In him our Surety seem’d to say,

“Behold, I bear your sins away.”

Dipt in his fellow’s blood,

The living bird went free;[11]

The type, well understood,

Express’d the sinner’s plea;

Described a guilty soul enlarged,

And by a Saviour’s death discharged.

Jesus, I love to trace,

Throughout the sacred page,

The footsteps of thy grace,

The same in every age!

O grant that I may faithful be

To clearer light vouchsafed to me!

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XXI. SARDIS.—Revelation iii.1-6.

“Write to Sardis,” saith the Lord,

And write what he declares,

He whose Spirit, and whose word,

Upholds the seven stars:

“All thy works and ways I search,

Find thy zeal and love decay’d:

Thou art call’d a living church,

But thou art cold and dead.

“Watch, remember, seek, and strive,

Exert thy former pains;

Let thy timely care revive,

And strengthen what remains:

Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend

Former times to mind recall,

Lest my sudden stroke descend,

And smite thee once for all.

“Yet I number now in thee

A few that are upright;

These my Father’s face shall see,

And walk with me in white.

When in judgment I appear,

They for mine shall be confest;

Let my faithful servants hear,

And woe be to the rest!”

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XXII. PRAYER FOR A BLESSING ON THE YOUNG.

Bestow, dear Lord, upon our youth

The gift of saving grace;

And let the seed of sacred truth

Fall in a fruitful place.

Grace is a plant, where’er it grows,

Of pure and heavenly root;

But fairest in the youngest shows,

And yields the sweetest fruit.

Ye careless ones, O hear betimes

The voice of sovereign love!

Your youth is stain’d with many crimes,

But mercy reigns above.

True, you are young, but there’s a stone

Within the youngest breast;

Or half the crimes which you have done

Would rob you of your rest.

For you the public prayer is made,

Oh! join the public prayer!

For you the secret tear is shed,

Oh! shed yourselves a tear!

We pray that you may early prove

The Spirit’s power to teach;

You cannot be too young to love

That Jesus whom we preach.

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XXIII. PLEADING FOR AND WITH YOUTH.

Sin has undone our wretched race,

But Jesus has restored,

And brought the sinner face to face

With his forgiving Lord.

This we repeat, from year to year,

And press upon our youth;

Lord, give them an attentive ear,

Lord, save them by thy truth.

Blessings upon the rising race!

Make this a happy hour,

According to thy richest grace,

And thine almighty power.

We feel for your unhappy state

(May you regard it too),

And would awhile ourselves forge

To pour out prayer for you.

We see, though you perceive it not,

The approaching awful doom;

O tremble at the solemn thought,

And flee the wrath to come!

Dear Saviour, let this new-born year

Spread an alarm abroad;

And cry in every careless ear,

“Prepare to meet thy God!”

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XXIV. PRAYER FOR CHILDREN.

Gracious Lord, our children see,

By thy mercy we are free;

But shall these, alas! remain

Subjects still of Satan’s reign?

Israel’s young ones, when of old

Pharaoh threaten’d to withhold,[12]

Then thy messenger said, “No;

Let the children also go.”

When the angel of the Lord,

Drawing forth his dreadful sword,

Slew, with an avenging hand,

All the first-born of the land;[13]

Then thy people’s doors he pass’d,

Where the bloody sign was placed;

Hear us, now, upon our knees,

Plead the blood of Christ for these!

Lord, we tremble, for we know

How the fierce malicious foe,

Wheeling round his watchful flight,

Keeps them ever in his sight:

Spread thy pinions, King of kings!

Hide them safe beneath thy wings;

Lest the ravenous bird of prey

Stoop, and bear the brood away.

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XXV. JEHOVAH JESUS.

My song shall bless the Lord of all,

My praise shall climb to his abode;

Thee, Saviour, by that name I call,

The great Supreme, the mighty God.

Without beginning or decline,

Object of faith, and not of sense;

Eternal ages saw him shine,

He shines eternal ages hence.

As much, when in the manger laid,

Almighty ruler of the sky,

As when the six days’ works he made

Fill’d all the morning stars with joy.

Of all the crowns Jehovah bears,

Salvation is his dearest claim;

That gracious sound well pleased he hears,

And owns Emmanuel for his name.

A cheerful confidence I feel,

My well-placed hopes with joy I see;

My bosom glows with heavenly zeal,

To worship him who died for me.

As man, he pities my complaint,

His power and truth are all divine;

He will not fail, he cannot faint,

Salvation’s sure, and must be mine.

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XXVI. ON OPENING A PLACE FOR SOCIAL PRAYER.

Jesus! where’er thy people meet,

There they behold thy mercy seat;

Where’er thy seek thee, thou art found,

And every place is hallow’d ground.

For thou, within no walls confined,

Inhabitest the humble mind;

Such ever bring thee where they come,

And going, take thee to their home.

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!

Thy former mercies here renew;

Here to our waiting hearts proclaim

The sweetness of thy saving name.

Here may we prove the power of prayer,

To strengthen faith and sweeten care;

To teach our faint desires to rise,

And bring all heaven before our eyes.

Behold, at thy commanding word

We stretch the curtain and the cord;[14]

Come thou and fill this wider space,

And bless us with a large increase.

Lord, we are few, but thou art near;

Nor short thine arm, nor deaf thine ear;

Oh rend the heavens, come quickly down,

And make a thousand hearts thine own!

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XXVII. WELCOME TO THE TABLE.

This is the feast of heavenly wine,

And God invites to sup;

The juices of the living vine

Were press’d to fill the cup.

Oh! bless the Saviour, ye that eat,

With royal dainties fed;

Not heaven affords a costlier treat,

For Jesus is the bread.

The vile, the lost, he calls to them,

Ye trembling souls, appear!

The righteous in their own esteem

Have no acceptance here.

Approach, ye poor, nor dare refuse

The banquet spread for you;

Dear Saviour, this is welcome news,

Then I may venture too.

If guilt and sin afford a plea,

And may obtain a place,

Surely the Lord will welcome me,

And I shall see his face.

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XXVIII. JESUS HASTING TO SUFFER.

The Saviour, what a noble flame

Was kindled in his breast,

When hasting to Jerusalem,

He march’d before the rest.

Good-will to men and zeal for God

His every thought engross;

He longs to be baptized with blood,[15]

He pants to reach the cross!

With all his sufferings full in view,

And woes to us unknown,

Forth to the task his spirit flew;

‘Twas love that urged him on.

Lord, we return thee what we can:

Our hearts shall sound abroad

Salvation to the dying Man,

And to the rising God!

And while thy bleeding glories here

Engage our wondering eyes,

We learn our lighter cross to bear,

And hasten to the skies.

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XXIX. EXHORTATION TO PRAYER.

What various hindrances we meet

In coming to a mercy-seat!

Yet who that knows the worth of prayer,

But wishes to be often there?

Prayer makes the darken’d cloud withdraw,

Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw,

Gives exercise to faith and love,

Brings every blessing from above.

Restraining prayer, we cease to fight,

Prayer makes the Christian’s armour bright;

And Satan trembles when he sees

The weakest saint upon his knees.

While Moses stood with arms spread wide,

Success was found on Israel’s side;

But when through weariness they fail’d,

That moment Amalek prevail’d.[16]

Have you no words? Ah! think again,

Words flow apace when you complain,

And fill your fellow-creature’s ear

With the sad tale of all your care.

Were half the breath thus vainly spent

To Heaven in supplication sent,

Your cheerful song would oftener be,

“Hear what the Lord has done for me.”

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XXX. THE LIGHT AND GLORY OF THE WORD.

The Spirit breathes upon the Word,

And brings the truth to sight;

Precepts and promises afford

A sanctifying light.

A glory gilds the sacred page,

Majestic like the sun;

It gives a light to every age,

It gives, but borrows none.

The hand that gave it still supplies

The gracious light and heat:

His truths upon the nations rise,

They rise, but never set.

Let everlasting thanks be thine,

For such a bright display,

As makes a world of darkness shine

With beams of heavenly day.

My soul rejoices to pursue

The steps of him I love,

Till glory breaks upon my view

In brighter worlds above.

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XXXI. ON THE DEATH OF A MINISTER.

His master taken from his head,

Elisha saw him go;

And in desponding accents said,

“Ah, what must Israel do?”

But he forgot the Lord who lifts

The beggar to the throne;

Nor knew, that all Elijah’s gifts

Will soon be made his own.

What! when a Paul has run his course,

Or when Apollos dies,

Is Israel left without resource?

And have we no supplies?

Yes, while the dear Redeemer lives

We have a boundless store,

And shall be fed with what he gives,

Who lives for evermore.

__________

XXXII. THE SHINING LIGHT.

My former hopes are fled,

My terror now begins;

I feel, alas! 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 glimmering from afar;

A beam of day, that shines for me,

To save me from despair.

Forerunner of the sun,[17]

It marks the pilgrim’s way;

I’ll gaze upon it while I run,

And watch the rising day.

__________

XXXIII. 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?

Though once a man of grief and shame,

Yet now he fills a throne,

And bears the greatest, sweetest name,

That earth or heaven has known.

Grace flies before, and love attends

His steps where’er he goes;

Though 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 every heart would reign,

And war would cease to roar;

And cruel and bloodthirsty 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.[18]

__________

XXXIV. THE WAITING SOUL.

Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord,

And cheer me from the north;

Blow on the treasures of thy word,

And call the spices forth!

I wish, thou know’st, to be resign’d,

And wait with patient hope;

But hope delay’d fatigues the mind,

And drinks the spirit up.

Help me to reach the distant goal,

Confirm my feeble knee;

Pity the sickness of a soul

That faints for love of thee.

Cold as I feel this heart of mine,

Yet, since I feel it so,

It yields some hope of life divine

Within, however low.

I seem forsaken and alone,

I hear the lion roar;

And ev’ry door is shut but one,

And that is mercy’s door.

There, till the dear Deliv’rer come,

I’ll wait with humble pray’r;

An when he calls his exile home,

The Lord shall find me there.

__________

XXXV. WELCOME CROSS.

‘Tis my happiness below

Not to live without the cross,

But the Saviour’s power to know,

Sanctifying every loss:

Trials must and will befall;

But with humble faith to see

Love inscribed 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 prayer;

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 castaway?

Bastards may escape the rod,[19]

Sunk in earthly, vain delight;

But the true born child of God

Must not, would not, if he might.

__________

XXXVI. 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 compared with those

Thine everlasting word bestows!

Long unafflicted, undismay’d,

In pleasure’s path secure I stray’d;

Thou madest me feel thy chastening rod,[20]

And straight I turn’d unto my God.

What though it pierced my fainting heart,

I bless thine hand that caused the smart;

It taught my tears awhile to flow,

But saved me from eternal woe.

Oh! hadst thou left me unchastised,

Thy precept I had still despised;

And still the snare in secret laid,

Had my unwary feet betray’d.

I love thee, therefore, O my God,

And breathe to