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.

VIII. O LORD, I WILL PRAise Thee
Isaiah xii. I

I WILL praise thee every day
Now thine anger's turned 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!

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.

Oh make this heart rejoice or ache;
Decide this doubt for me;

And, if it be not broken, break,-
And heal it, if it be.

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 heartfelt 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 undisturbed possession

Peace and righteousness shall reign;

Never shall you feel oppression,

Hear the voice of war again.

"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

"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."

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 called "The Lord is there," And who has power to drive him thence?

XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED

Zech. xiii. I

THERE is a fountain filled 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,
Washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed 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 formed by power divine,

To sound in God the Father's ears
No other name but thine.

XVI. THE SOWER

Matt. xiii. 3

YE sons of earth, prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow-ground;
The sower is gone forth to sow
And scatter blessing round.

The seed that finds a stony soil
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower's toil,

Soon withered, scorched, 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
Has blessed the happy field,
How plenteous is the golden store

power

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.

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.