I sometimes think myself inclined My best desires are faint and few, Thy saints are comforted, I know, O make this heart rejoice or ache; 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, "There, like streams that feed the garden, Pleasures without end shall flow; For the Lord, your faith rewarding, All his bounty shall bestow; "Ye no more your suns descending, God shall rise, and shining o'er you, XI. JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jer. xxiii. 6. My God, how perfect are thy ways! But mine polluted are; Sin twines itself about my praise, And slides into my prayer. When I would speak what thou hast done, I cannot make thy mercies known, But self-applause creeps in. Divine desire, that holy flame This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts, While self upon the surface floats, 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, How like a beast was I! So unaccustom❜d to the yoke, So backward to comply. With grief my just reproach I bear W Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd, Thou art the Lord my God. "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults, "Is he a dear and pleasant child? "My sharp rebuke has laid him low, My pity kindles at his woe, He shall not seek in vain." XIII. THE COVENANT. Ezek. xxxvi. 25—28. THE Lord proclaims his grace abroad! My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds My truth the great design ensures, Yet not unsought, or unimplored, From the first breath of life divine, 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, Jehovah founded it in blood, The blood of his incarnate Son; There, though besieged on every side, * Verse 57. + Isaiah xxxi. 5. |