I sometimes think myself inclined
To love thee, if I could;
But often feel another mind,
Averse to all that's good.

My best desires are faint and few,
I fain would strive for more;
But when I cry, "My strength renew,"
Seem weaker than before.

Thy saints are comforted, I know,
And love thy house of prayer;
I therefore go where others go,
But find no comfort there.

O make this heart rejoice or ache;
Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken, break,
And heal it if it be.

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,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you;
Thorns of heart-felt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways:
You shall name your walls, Salvation,
And your gates shall all be praise.

"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 undisturb'd possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again

"Ye no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see;
But, your griefs for ever 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."

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,

To save me from my sin,

I cannot make thy mercies known,

But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts,
How does it overflow !

While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.

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,
Shame fills me at the thought;
How frequent my rebellions were !
What wickedness I wrought!

Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd,
And left the pleasant road;
Yet turn me, and I shall be turn'd
Thou art the Lord my God.

"Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts,
Or vile in my esteem?

No," saith the Lord, "with all his faults,
I still remember him.

"Is he a dear and pleasant child?
Yes, dear and pleasant still;
Though sin his foolish heart beguiled,
And he withstood my will.

"My sharp rebuke has laid him low,
He seeks my face again;

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!
Behold, I change your hearts of stone;
Each shall renounce his idol-god,

And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone.

My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds
To wash your filthiness away;
Ye shall abhor your former deeas,
And learn my statutes to obey.

My truth the great design ensures,
I give myself away to you;
You shall be mine, I will be yours,
Your God unalterably true.

Yet not unsought, or unimplored,
The plenteous grace shall I confer ;*
No-your
whole hearts shall seek the Lord,
I'll put a praying spirit there.

From the first breath of life divine,
Down to the last expiring hour,
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,

This darling object of his care?

Where is its worth in God's esteem ?

Who built it, who inhabits there?

Jehovah founded it in blood,

The blood of his incarnate Son;

There dwell the saints, once foes to God,
The sinners whom he calls his own.

There, though besieged on every side,
Yet much beloved and guarded well,
From age to age they have defied
The utmost force of earth and hell.

* Verse 57.

+ Isaiah xxxi. 5.