Till we knew "the joyful sound,"
All was dark and waste around.
Mercy lightens all our crosses ;
Mercy mitigates our pains;
Makes amends for all our losses,
And gives worth to what remains
All our joys from mercy spring:
Let us then of mercy sing.
HYMN LIV.
Crown him Lord of all!
ALL hail! the power of Jesu's name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye martyrs of our God,
Who from his altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse's rod,
And crown him Lord of all.
Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
Ye ransom'd of the fall
Hail him! who saves you by his grace, And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him! ye heirs of David's line,
Whom David Lord did call; The God incarnate, man divine, And crown him Lord of all.
Sinners, whose love did ne'er forget,
The wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread your trophies at his feet,
And crown him Lord of all.
Let every kindred, every tribe,
On this terrestrial ball,
To him all majesty_ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all.
HYMN LV.
Prayer to Christ.
GLORY be to God on high,
God, whose glory fills the sky;
Peace on earth, and man forgiv'n,
Man, the well-belov'd of heav'n.
Christ our Lord and God we own,
Christ the Father's only Son,
Lamb of God, for sinners slain IM
Saviour of offending man.
Bow thine ear, in mercy bow,
Hear, the world's atonement thou,
Jesus, in thy name we pray,
Take, O, take our sins away.
Pow'rful advocate with God,
Justify us by thy blood;
Bow thine ear, in mercy bow,
Hear, the world's atonement thou!
HYMN LVI.
The excellency of religion.
HAPPY the man who finds the grace,
The blessing of God's chosen race;
The wisdom coming from above,
And faith which sweetly works by love.
Happy, beyond description, he,
Who knows, "The Saviour died for me,"
The gift unspeakable obtains,
And heav'nly understanding gains.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are paths of peace;
Wisdom to silver we prefer,
And gold is dross compar'd with her.
He finds, who wisdom apprehends,
A life begun that never ends;
The tree of life divine she is,
Set in the midst of Paradise.
Happy the man who wisdom gains,
In whose obedient heart she reigns;
He owns, and will for ever own,
Wisdom, and Christ, and heaven, are one.
HYMN LVII.
Affliction sanctified.
AFFLICTION is a stormy deep,
Where wave resounds to wave; Though o'er my head the billows roll, I know the Lord can save.
The hand that now withholds my joys,
Can reinstate my peace;
And he who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid that tempest cease.
In the dark watches of the night,
I'll count his mercies o'er !
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.
When darkness and when sorrows rose,
And press'd on every side,
The Lord has still sustain'd my steps,
And still has been my guide.
Here will I rest and build my hopes,
Nor murmur at his rod;
He's more than all the world to me,
My health, my life, my God!
The law a shadow of good things to come.
GRACE is my theme, and joy, and love!
Descend, ye blessings, from above,
And crown the song-eternal God,
Remove the terrors of thy rod!
The myst❜ry to the heart explain,
While the sublime, prophetic strain,
Points to the Saviour still, and shows
What course the sun of glory goes.
Here he ascends behind a cloud
Of incense; there he sets in blood;
Faith reads his labors and his names
In spicy smoke and bleeding lambs.
Rich are the graces which she draws
From types, and shades, and Jewish laws;
With thousand glories long foretold
To turn the future age to gold.
Himself he cannot save. Matt. xxvii. 42. "HIMSELF he cannot save!"
Insulting foe 'tis true;
The words a gracious meaning have,
Though meant in scorn by you.
"Himself he cannot save!"
This is his highest praise;
Himself for others' sake he gave,
And suffers in their place.
It were an easy part
For him the cross to fly;
But love to sinners fill'd his heart,
And made him choose to die.
'Tis love the cause unfolds,
The deep mysterious cause,
Why he who all the world upholds,
Hangs upon yonder cross.
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