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4 His word of promise is my food,
His Spirit is my guide;

Thus daily is my strength renew'd,
And all my wants supply'd*.

5 For him I count as gain each loss,
Disgrace, for him, renown;

Well may I glory in his cross,

While he prepares my crown!

6 Let worldlings then indulge their boast,
How much they gain or spend ;
Their joys must soon give up the ghost,
But mine shall know no end.

EZEKIEL.

LXX. Humbled and silenced by Mercy. Chap. xvi. 63..

1 ONCE perishing in blood I lay,
Creatures no help could give;
But Jesus pass'd me in the way,
He saw, and bid me live.

2 Though Satan still his rule maintain'd,
And all his arts employ'd ;

That mighty word his rage restrain'd,
I could not be destroy'd.

3 At length the time of love arriv'd

When I my Lord should know;
Then Satan, of his pow'r depriv'd,
Was forc'd to let me go.

O can I e'er that day forget,

When Jesus kindly spoke!

"Poor soul, my blood has paid thy debt, "And now I break thy yoke.

* Book, iii. Hymn 59.

5" Henceforth I take thee for my own, "And give myself to thee;

"Forsake the idols thou hast known,
"And yield thyself to me."

6 Ah, worthless heart! it promis'd fair,
And said it would be thine;
I little thought it e'er would dare
Again with idols join.

7 Lord, dost thou such backslidings heal,
And pardon all that's past?
Sure, if I am not made of steel,
Thou hast prevail'd at last.

8 My tongue, which rashly spoke before,
This mercy will restrain:
Surely I now shall boast no more,
Nor censure, nor complain..

LXXI. C. The Covenant. Chap. xxxvi. 25—28.

1 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.

2 My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
Ye shall abhor your former deeds,
And learn my statutes to obey.

3 My truth the great design ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.

4 Yet not unsought or unimplor'd,

The plenteous grace shall I confer*;
No-your whole hearts shall seek the Lord,
I'll put a praying spirit there.

5 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.

LXXII. C. Jehovah-Shammah. Chap. xlviii. 35.

1 As birds their infant brood protect†, And spread their wings to shelter them, Thus saith the Lord to his elect,

"So will I guard Jerusalem."

2 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?

3 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.

4 There, though besieg'd on ev'ry side,
Yet much belov'd and guarded well,
From age to age they have defy'd

The utmost force of earth and hell.

5 Let earth repent, and hell despair,
This city has a sure defence;

Her name is call'd, The Lord is there,
And who has pow'r to drive him thence?

* Ver 37.

VOL. III.

+ Isaiah xxxi. 5.

3 D

DANIEL.

LXXIII. The Power and Triumph of Faith.

Chap. iii. 6.

1 SUPPORTED by the word, Though in himself a worm, The servant of the Lord

Can wond'rous acts perform:
Without dismay he boldly treads
Where'er the path of duty leads.

2 The haughty king in vain,
With fury on his brow,
Believers would constrain
To golden gods to bow:

The furnace could not make them fear,
Because they knew the Lord was near.

3 As vain was the decree

Which charg'd them not to pray;
Daniel still bow'd his knee,

And worshipp'd thrice a day.
Trusting in God, he fear'd not men,
Though threaten'd with the lion's den.

4 Secure they might refuse Compliance with such laws; For what had they to lose,

When God espous'd their cause?
He made the hungry lions crouch;
Nor durst the fire his children touch.

5 The Lord is still the same,
A mighty shield and tow'r,
And they who trust his name
Are guarded by his pow'r;
He can the rage of lions tame,

And bear them harmless through the flame.

6 Yet we too often shrink

When trials are in view;
Expecting we must sink

And never can get through:
But could we once believe indeed,

From all these fears we should be freed.

LXXIV. Belshazzar. Chap. v. 5, 6.

1 POOR sinners! little do they think
With whom they have to do!
But stand securely on the brink
Of everlasting wo.

2 Belshazzar thus, profanely bold,
The Lord of hosts defy'd;
But vengeance soon his boasts controll'd,
And humbled all his pride.

3 He saw a hand upon the wall,

(And trembled on his throne,) Which wrote his sudden dreadful fall In characters unknown.

4 Why should he tremble at the view
Of what he could not read?
Foreboding conscience quickly knew
His ruin was decreed.

5 See him o'erwhelm'd with deep distress! His eyes with anguish roll;

His looks and loosen'd joints express
The terrors of his soul.

6 His pomp and music, guests and wine,
No more delight afford;

Oh, sinner! ere this case be thine,
Begin to seek the Lord.

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