Still in undisturb'd possession Peace and righteousness shall reign ; Never shall you feel oppression, Hear the voice of war again.
3 "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."
XI. JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.JER. Xxiii. 6.
1 My God, how perfect are thy ways! But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.
2 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.
3 Divine desire, that holy flame Thy grace creates in me; Alas! impatience is its name, When it returns to thee.
4 This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts, How does it overflow !
While self upon the surface floats, Still bubbling from below.
5 Let others in the gaudy dress Of fancied merit shine
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord for ever mine.
XII. EPHRAIM REPENTING.-JER. xxxi. 18-20.
1 My God, till I received thy stroke, How like a beast was I! So unaccustom'd to the yoke, So backward to comply.
2 With grief my just reproach I bear, Shame fills me at the thought; How frequent my rebellions were ! What wickedness I wrought!
3 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.
4 "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, Or vile in my esteem?
No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults, I still remember him.
5 "Is he a dear and pleasant child? Yes, dear and pleasant still; Though sin his foolish heart beguiled, And he withstood my will.
6 "My sharp rebuke has laid him low, He seeks my face again;
My pity kindles at his woe,
He shall not seek in vain."
XIII. THE COVENANT.-EZEK. 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 unimplored, The plenteous grace shall I confer ;1 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.
XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH.-EZEK. xlviii. 35.
1 As birds their infant brood protect,1 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 besieged on every side, Yet much beloved and guarded well, From age to age they have defied 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 power to drive him thence?
XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED.ZECH. xiii. 1.
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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been
And shall be till I die.
5 Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save; When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue Lies silent in the grave.
6 Lord, I believe thou hast prepared (Unworthy though I be)
For me a blood-bought free reward, A golden harp for me!
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