Christi blut und Gerechtigkeit. Phil. iii. 19.

87
Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress:
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Bold shall I stand in thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully through these absolved I am,
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

Naked from Satan did I flee

To thee, my Lord, and put on thee;
And thus adorned, I wait the word,
"He comes; arise, and meet thy Lord."

This spotless robe the same appears
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its constant hue;
The robe of Christ is ever new.

When from the dust of death I rise,
To claim my mansion in the skies,
E'en then, shall this be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died for me.
Oh, let the dead now hear thy voice!
Now bid thy banished ones rejoice!
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness."
88

SECOND PART.

L. M.

Jesus be endless praise to thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me-
For me and all thy hands have made,
An everlasting ransom paid.
The holy, meek unspotted Lamb,
Who from the Father's bosom came,
Who died for me, even me to atone,
Now for my Lord and God I own.
Lord, I believe the precious blood
Which at the mercy seat of God
Forever doth for sinners plead,
For me, even for my soul was shed.
Ah, give me now, all-gracious Lord,
With power to speak thy quickening word;
That all who to thy words will flee
May find eternal life in thee.

Then shall heaven's hosts with loud acclaim
Give praise and glory to the Lamb
Who bore our sins, and by his blood
Hath made us kings and priests to God.

N.L. Zinzendorf, ab. 1739. Tr. J. Wesley, 1740, ab.

Have mercy upon me, O God. Psalm li. 1.

87-91.

L. M.

Show pity, Lord; O Lord, forgive;
Let & repenting rebel live:
Are not thy mercies large and free?
May not a sinner trust in thee?
My crimes are great, but don't surpass
Great God, thy nature hath no bound,
The power and glory of thy grace;
So let thy pardoning love be found.
Oh, wash my soul from every sin,
And make my guilty conscience clean;
Here on my heart the burden lies,
And past offences pain my eyes.
My lips with shame my sins confess
Against thy law, against thy grace;
Lord, should thy judgment grow severe,
I am condemned, but thou art clear.
Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope, still hovering round thy word,
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair.

Broad is the way. Matt. vii. 13.

I. Watts, 1719, ab. L. M.

90
Broad is the road that leads to death,
And thousands walk together there;
But wisdom shows a narrow path,
With here and there a traveller.
"Deny thyself, and take thy cross,"
Is the Redeemer's great command!
Nature must count her gold but dross,
If she would gain this heavenly land.
The fearful soul that tires and faints,
And walks the ways of God no more,
Is but esteemed almost a saint,
And makes his own destruction sure.
Lord, let not all my hopes be vain,
Create my heart entirely new;
Which hypocrites could ne'er attain,
Which false apostates never knew.

I. Watts, 1709. L. M.

91
Worthy the Lamb of boundless sway,
In earth and heaven the Lord of all:
Let all the powers of earth obey,
And low before his footstool fall.
Higher, still higher, swell the strain;
Creation's voice the note prolong!
Jesus, the Lamb, shall ever reign:
Let hallelujahs crown the song!

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
Rev. v. 12.

Walter Shirley, d. 1867.

talk

all

thy truth at

night.

It is a good thing to give thanks. Psalm xcii. 1.

92
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest,
No mortal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound.
3 My heart shall triumph in my Lord,
And bless his works, and bless his word:
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels, how divine!
4 Fools never raise their thoughts so high;
Like brutes they live, like brutes they die;
Like grass they flourish, till thy breath
Blasts them in everlasting death.

5 But I shall share a glorious part,
When grace has well refined my heart;
And fresh supplies of joy are shed,
Like holy oil to cheer my head.
6 Sin, my worst enemy before,
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more,
My inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Satan break my peace again!

7 Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below;
And every power find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.

Isaac Watts, ab. 1718.

Come, sinners, to the gospel feast;
Let every soul be Jesus' guest;
Ye need not one be left behind,
For God hath bidden all mankind. {
Sent by my Lord, on you I call;
The invitation is to all:
Come, all the world; come, sinner, thou;
All things in Christ are ready now.
Come, all ye souls by sin opprest,
Ye restless wanderers after rest,
Ye poor, and maimed, and halt, and blind,
In Christ a hearty welcome find.
My message as from God receive;
Ye all may come to Christ, and live;
O let his love your hearts constrain,
Nor suffer him to die in vain!

See him set forth before your eyes,
That precious, bleeding Sacrifice!
His offered benefits embrace,
And freely now be saved by grace.
His love is mighty to compel;
His conquering love consent to feel;
Yield to his love's resistless power,
And fight against your God no more.

Charles Wesley, ab. 1747.

94

Compel them to come in. Luke xiv. 23.

Come and partake the gospel feast;
Be saved from sin; in Jesus rest;
All, all in Christ is freely given,
Pardon and holiness and heaven.
Do not begin to make excuse;
Ah, do not you his grace refuse!
Your worldly cares and pleasures leave,
And take what Jesus hath to give.
Yet must I, Lord, to thee complain,
The world hath made thy offers vain.
Too busy or too happy they,
They will not, Lord, thy call obey.
"Go then," my Lord indignant said,
"Since these on all my mercies tread,
Invite the rich and great no more,
But preach my gospel to the poor.
"Confer not thou with flesh and blood.
Go quickly forth, invite the crowd,
Search every lane and every street,
And bring in all the souls you meet."
'Tis done. My all-redeeming Lord,
I have gone forth and preached thy Word.
The sinners to thy feast are come,
And yet, O Saviour, there is room.
95
"Go then again," my Lord enjoined,
"And other wandering sinners find.
Go to the hedges and highways,
And offer all my pardoning grace."
Ye wandering souls, on you I call.
Oh, that my voice might reach you all!
Ye all are freely justified;

SECOND PART.

L. M.

Ye all may live, for Christ hath died.

Sinners my gracious Lord receives,
Harlots, and publicans, and thieves;
Monsters of daring wickedness,
The worst into this feast may press.

Ye who believe this record true
Shall sup with him and he with you.
Come to the feast, be saved from sin,
For Jesus waits to take you in.
This is the time; no more delay;
This is the acceptable day;
Come in, this moment, at his call,
And live for him who died for all.
Charles Wesley, ab. 1747.

Psalm lxxxiv. 11.

94-97.

L. M.

Great God, attend while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs.
To spend one day with Thee on earth
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth.

Might I enjoy the meanest place
Within thine house, O God of grace;
Not tents of ease, nor thrones of power,
Should tempt my feet to leave thy door.
God is our sun, he makes our day;
God is our shield, he guards our way
From all th' assaults of hell and sin;
From foes without and foes within.

All needful grace will God bestow,
And crown that grace with glory, too;
He gives us all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.

O God our King, whose sovereign sway
The glorious hosts of heaven obey;
And devils at thy presence flee;
Blest is the man that trusts in thee.
Isaac Watts, 1719.

All my springs are in thee. Psalm lxxxvii. 7.

L. M.

97
My God, in whom are all the springs
Of boundless love and grace unknown,
Hide me beneath thy spreading wings
Till the dark cloud is over-blown.

Up to the heavens I send my cry;
The Lord will my desires perform;
He sends his angels from the sky,
And saves me from the threatening storm.

My heart is fixed: my song shall raise
Immortal honors to thy name;
Awake, my tongue, to sound his praise-
My tongue, the glory of my frame.
High o'er the earth his mercy reigns,
And reaches to the utmost sky;
His truth to endless years remains,
When lower worlds dissolve and die. :

Be thou exalted, O my God,

Above the heavens where angels dwell, Thy power on earth be known abroad, And land to land thy wonders tell.

Isaac Watts, 1719.

98

While they beheld He was taken up. Acts i. 9.

A hymn of glory let us sing;

Let us worship and bow down. Psalm xcv. 6.

L. M.

By a new way none ever trod,
Christ mounteth to the throne of God.

The apostles on the mountain stand,-
The mystic mount, in Holy Land;
They, with the Virgin mother, see
Jesus ascend in majesty.

The angels say to the eleven:
"Why stand ye gazing into heaven?
This is the Saviour,-this is He!
Jesus hath triumphed gloriously!"

They said the Lord should come again,
As these beheld Him rising then,
Calm soaring through the radiant sky,
Mounting its dazzling summits high.
May our affections thither tend,
And thither constantly ascend,
Where, seated on the Father's throne,
Thee reigning in the heavens we own!

Be thou our present joy, O Lord!
Who wilt be ever our reward;
And, as the countless ages flee,
May all our glory be in thee.

Venerable Bede, cir. 672-735. Tr. Mrs. E. Charles, 1865.

For we our voices high should raise,
When our salvation's Rock we praise.

Into his presence let us haste,
To thank him for his favors past;
To him address in joyful songs
The praise that to his name belongs.
Oh, let us to his courts repair,
And bow with adoration there!
Down on our knees, devoutly, all
Before the Lord, our Maker, fall.
Tate and Brady, ab. 1696.
100
Bless the Lord, O my soul..
Psalms ciii. 1.
L. M.
My soul, with humble fervor raise
To God the voice of grateful praise,
And all my ransomed powers combine,
To bless his attributes divine.

Deep on my heart let memory trace
His acts of mercy and of grace,
Who, with a Father's tender care,
Saved me when sinking in despair;

Gave my repentant soul to prove
The joy of his forgiving love;
Poured balm into my bleeding breast,
And led my weary feet to rest.
John H. Livingstono, 1789.

Lo, He, on whom all power is laid,
Who sits at God's right hand on high,
To judge the living and the dead,
In fire and tempest draweth nigh.
Awake, thou careless world, awake;
Sinners, behold his countenance
In beauty terrible, and quake
Condemned beneath his piercing glance.
But ye, O faithful souls, shall see.
That morning rise in love and joy;
Your Saviour comes to set you free,
Your Judge shall all your bonds destroy.
His people, with a mighty hand,
He, from earth's conflict, then shall bring
Into their promised fatherland,
Where songs of victory they shall sing.

Arise, and let us haste to meet
The Bridegroom standing at the door,
That we may worship at his feet
With holy angels evermore.

102

German of John Rist, 1607-1667.

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
For him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown his head;
His name like sweet perfume, shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on his love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on his name.

Blessings abound where'er he reigns; The joyful prisoner bursts his chains; The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud Amen.

Isaac Watts. ab. 1718.

Put on the whole armor of God. Eph. vi. 11.

101-105.

?

L. M.

103
Oh, Israel, for the strife prepare:
Why thus secure on hostile ground?
Thy King commands thee to beware,
For many foes thy camp surround.

The trumpet gives a martial strain:
Oh, Israel, gird thee for the fight!
Arise, the combat to maintain,
And put thine enemies to flight.
Thou shouldst not sleep, as others do;
Awake; be vigilant; be brave!
The coward, and the sluggard too,
Must wear the fetters of the slave.
A nobler lot is cast for thee;
A crown awaits thee in the skies:
With such a hope, shall Israel flee,
Or yield, through weariness, the prize?
No; let a careless world repose,
And slumber on through life's short day,
While Israel to the conflict goes,
And bears the glorious prize away DOI

Thomas Kelly, 1806.