XI. "There, like streams that feed the garden, "Ye no more your suns descending, God shall rise, and shining o'er ye, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. My God, how perfect are thy ways! Sin twines itself about my praise, And slides into my prayer. Jer. xxiii. 6. When I would speak what thou hast done I cannot make thy mercies known, Divine desire, that holy flame Thy grace creates in me; This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts, 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. My God, till I received thy stroke, So unaccustom'd to the yoke, With grief my just reproach I bear; Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd, "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults, "Is he a dear and pleasant child? Yes, dear and pleasant still; "My sharp rebuke has laid him low, My pity kindles at his woe, XIII. THE COVENANT. Ezek. xxxvi. 25-28. THE Lord proclaims his grace abroad! Behold, I change your hearts of stone; And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone. My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds S. C.-5. E My truth the great design ensures, Yet not unsought, or unimplored, From the first breath of life divine, XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. Exek. xlviii. 35. As birds their infant brood protect', So will I guard Jerusalem. And what then is Jerusalem, This darling object of his care? Jehovah founded it in blood, The blood of his incarnate Son; There dwell the saints, once foes to God, There, though besieged on every side, Let earth repent, and hell despair, Her name is call'd, "The Lord is there," 6 Verse 37. 7 Isaiah, xxxi. 5. XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN OPENED. Zech. xiii. 1. THERE is a fountain fill'd with blood The dying thief rejoiced to see Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream Then in a nobler, sweeter song, When this poor lisping stammering tongue Lord, I believe thou hast prepared For me a blood-bought free reward, 'Tis strung and tuned for endless years, And form'd 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, The seed that finds a stony soil Soon wither'd, scorch'd, and dead, The thorny ground is sure to baulk The beaten path and highway side But where the Lord of grace and power The deep-wrought furrows yield! Father of mercies, we have need Of thy preparing grace; Let the same hand that gives the seed 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; |