3 Then to his new commands
Be strict obedience paid;
O'er all his Father's house he stands
The sovereign and the head.
1 Not to the terrors of the Lord,
The tempest, fire and smoke;
Not to the thunder of that word
Which God on Sinai spoke;
2 But we are come to Zion's hill,
The city of our God,
Where milder words declare his will,
And spread his love abroad.
3 Behold the innumerable host
Of angels, clothed in light!
Behold the spirits of the just,
Whose faith is turned to sight!
4 Behold the blest assembly there,
Whose names are writ in heaven;
And God, the Judge of all, declares
Their sins to be forgiven.
5 The saints on earth, and all the dead,
But one communion make;
All join in Christ, their living Head,
And of his grace partake.
6 In such society as this
My weary soul would rest:
The man that dwells where Jesus is,
Must be forever blest.
A blessed Gospel. Ps. 89.
1 BLEST are the souls that hear and know
The gospel's joyful sound;
Peace shall attend the paths they go,
And light their steps surround.
2 Their joy shall bear their spirits up,
Through their Redeemer's name;
His righteousness exalts their hope,
Nor dares the world condemn.
3 The Lord, our glory and defence,
Strength and salvation gives:
Israel, thy King forever reigns,
Thy God forever lives.
The Church's Safety and Triumph. Ps. 46.
1 GOD is the refuge of his saints,
When storms of sharp distress invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold him present with his aid.
2 Let mountains from their seats be hurled
Down to the deep, and buried there;
Convulsions shake the solid world,-
Our faith shall never yield to fear.
3 Loud may the troubled ocean roar;
In sacred peace our souls abide,
While every nation, every shore
Trembles and dreads the swelling tide.
4 There is a stream, whose gentle flow Supplies the city of our God;
Life, love, and joy still gliding through,
And watering our divine abode.
5 That sacred stream, thine holy word.
That all our raging fear controls:
Sweet peace thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.
6 Zion enjoys her Monarch's love,
Secure against a threatening hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on his truth, and armed with power.
260. 8 & 7s. M. J. NEWTON. The City of God.
1 GLORIOUS things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God!
He whose word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for his own abode.
2 On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
Thou mayst smile at all thy foes.
3 See! the streams of living waters,
Springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fear of want remove.
4 Who can faint while such a river
Ever flows their thirst to assuage? Grace, which, like the Lord the Giver, Never fails from age to age.
Future Peace and Glory of the Church.
1 HEAR What God, the Lord, hath spoken:
O my people, faint and few,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you:
Scenes of heartfelt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways;
You shall name your walls salvation,
And your gates shall all be praise.
2 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.
3 Ye, no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see;
But, your griefs forever 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.
Efficacy and Success of the Gospel.
1 MARK the soft-falling snow,
And the diffusive rain!
To heaven, from whence it fell,
It turns not back again;
But waters earth
Through every pore,
And calls forth all
Her secret store.
2 Arrayed in beauteous green,
The hills and valleys shine,
And man and beast are fed
By providence divine :
The harvest bows
Its golden ears,
The copious seed
Of future years.
3 "So," saith the God of
grace, "My gospel shall descend, Almighty to effect
The purpose I intend;
Millions of souls
Shall feel its power,
And bear it down
To millions more."
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