Good-will to men, and zeal for God, He longs to be baptised with blood,* With all his sufferings full in view, Lord, we return thee what we can! And while thy bleeding glories here 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 glory gilds the sacred page, It gives a light to every age, The hand that gave thee still supplies The gracious light and heat; They rise, but never set. * Luke, xii. 50. Let everlasting thanks be thine, As makes a world of darkness shine My soul rejoices to pursue The steps of him I love, 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, What are the mines of shining wealth, Long unafflicted, undismay'd, What though it pierced my fainting heart, Oh! hadst thou left me unchastised, I love thee, therefore, O my God, 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, Still delighted I perceive; Nor have words that can express Clothed in sanctity and grace, Those who love thee as they pass, Or when they wait on thee! What we owe to love divine; Those the comforts I possess, * 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 In holy contemplation, Even let the unknown to-morrow* It can bring with it nothing, Though vine nor fig-tree neither + Yet God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice; 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, With these to Pisgah's top I fly, The Lord of all the vast domain The length and breadth of all the plain, How glorious is my privilege! Though much exalted in the Lord, |