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Good-will to men, and zeal for God,
His every thought engross;

He longs to be baptised with blood,*
He pants to reach the cross.

With all his sufferings full in view,
And woes to us unknown,
Forth to the task his spirit flew ;
'Twas love that urged him on.

Lord, we return thee what we can!
Our hearts shall sound abroad,
Salvation to the dying Man,
And to the rising God!

And while thy bleeding glories here
Engage our wondering eyes,
We learn our lighter cross to bear,

And hasten to the skies.

X.

[The influences of grace in sanctifying and interpreting gospel ordinances for the edification of the believer. The versification of this hymn possesses uncommon ease and suavity. The last verse is most exquisite, both in thought and language.]

THE Spirit breathes upon the word,

And brings the truth to sight;

Precepts and promises afford
A sanctifying light.

A glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic like the sun;

It gives a light to every age,
It gives, but borrows none.

The hand that gave thee still supplies

The gracious light and heat;
His truths upon the nations rise,

They rise, but never set.

* Luke, xii. 50.

Let everlasting thanks be thine,
For such a bright display,

As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.

My soul rejoices to pursue

The steps of him I love,
Till glory breaks upon my view
In brighter worlds above.

XI.

[Comforts of the gospel in sanctifying affliction. A composition peculiarly affecting, from its personal experiences and allusions. How can heavenly longing be more fervently expressed than in the beautiful close of this hymn?]

O HOW I love thy holy word,
Thy gracious covenant, O Lord!
It guides me in the peaceful way;
I think upon it all the day.

What are the mines of shining wealth,
The strength of youth, the bloom of health;
What are all joys compared with those
Thine everlasting word bestows!

Long unafflicted, undismay'd,
In pleasure's path secure I stray'd;
Thou madest me feel thy chastening rod,*
And straight I turn'd unto my God.

What though it pierced my fainting heart,
I bless'd thine hand that caused the smart :
It taught my tears awhile to flow,
But saved me from eternal woe.

Oh! hadst thou left me unchastised,
Thy precept I had still despised;
And still the snare in secret laid,
Had my unwary feet betray'd.

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I love thee, therefore, O my God,
And breathe towards thy dear abode;
Where, in thy presence fully blest,

Thy chosen saints for ever rest.

XII.

[The inward delights of the Christian in gospel meditation and fellowship. On this head how exquisitely touching is the second stanza! the more so that an actual incident in his life proves that here Cowper wrote, as he ever does on religion, from the heart.]

LORD, my soul with pleasure springs,
When Jesus' name I hear;
And when God the Spirit brings
The word of promise near :
Beauties, too, in holiness,

Still delighted I perceive;

Nor have words that can express
The joys thy precepts give.

Clothed in sanctity and grace,
How sweet it is to see

Those who love thee as they pass,

Or when they wait on thee!
Pleasant, too, to sit and tell

What we owe to love divine;
Till our bosoms grateful swell,
And eyes begin to shine.

Those the comforts I possess,
Which God shall still increase,
All his ways are pleasantness,*
And all his paths are peace.
Nothing Jesus did or spoke,
Henceforth let me ever slight;
For I love his easy yoke,†
And find his burden light.

* Prov. iii. 17.

t Matt. xi. 30.

XIII.

[The joy and peace of believing. It is difficult to say whether the opening lines of this hymn be more sweetly in accordance with the humble believer's experience, or more delightful in their application of images of earth to the dispensations of Heaven.] SOMETIMES a light surprises

The Christian while he sings;

It is the Lord who rises
With healing in his wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining,
To cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation,
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God's salvation,
And find it ever new.
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,

Even let the unknown to-morrow*
Bring with it what it may;

It can bring with it nothing,
But he will bear us through;
Who gives the lilies clothing,
Will clothe his people too;
Beneath the spreading heavens,
No creature but is fed ;
And he who feeds the ravens,
Will give his children bread.

Though vine nor fig-tree neither +
Their wonted fruit shall bear,
Though all the fields should wither,
Nor flocks nor herds be there:

Yet God the same abiding,

His praise shall tune my voice;
For, while in him confiding,

I cannot but rejoice.

*Matt. vi. 34.

+ Hab. iii. 17, 18.

XIV.

[Regeneration, and praise for spiritual blessings. Of this truly evangelical composition it has been remarked, "It presents a transformation, which, if found in Ovid, might have been extolled as the happiest of his fictions." Fictions of Ovid!-the Christian joys to know that here all is truth; while the man of taste, who is not ashamed to own his admiration, will prefer the beauty of this simple allegory to all the elaborated pomp of the Roman.

I WAS a grovelling creature once,

And basely cleaved to earth;

I wanted spirit to renounce

The clod that gave me birth.

But God has breathed upon a worm,
And sent me from above,
Wings such as clothe an angel's form,
The wings of joy and love.

With these to Pisgah's top I fly,
And there delighted stand,
To view beneath a shining sky
The spacious promised land.

The Lord of all the vast domain
Has promised it to me;

The length and breadth of all the plain,
As far as faith can see.

How glorious is my privilege!
To thee for help I call ;
I stand upon a mountain's edge,
O save me, lest I fall.

Though much exalted in the Lord,
My strength is not my own;
Then let me tremble at his word,
And none shall cast me down.

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