Soon as we draw our infant breath,
The seeds of sin grow up for death
Thy law demands a perfect heart ;
But we're defiled in every part.
Behold, I fall before Thy face;
My only refuge is Thy grace;
No outward forms can make me clean;
The leprosy lies deep within.
No bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast,
Nor hyssop branch, nor sprinkling priest,
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea,
Can wash the dismal stain away.
Jesus, my God, Thy blood alone
Hath power sufficient to atone ;
Thy blood can make me white as snow;
No Jewish types could cleanse me so.
While guilt disturbs and breaks my peace,
Nor flesh nor soul hath rest or ease;
Lord, let me hear Thy pardoning voice,
And make my broken bones rejoice.
PRAYER FOR QUICKENING GRACE.
Y soul lies cleaving to the dust;
Lord, give me life divine
From vain desires and every lust
Turn off these eyes of mine.
I need the influence of Thy grace
To speed me in Thy way,
Lest I should loiter in my race,
Or turn my feet astray.
When sore afflictions press me down,
I need Thy quickening powers;
Thy Word that I have rested on
Shall help my heaviest hours.
Are not Thy mercies sovereign still,
And Thou a faithful God?
Wilt Thou not grant me warmer zeal
To run the heavenly road?
Doth not my heart Thy precepts love,
And long to see Thy face?
And yet how slow my spirits move
Without enlivening grace.
Then shall I love Thy gospel more,
And ne'er forget Thy Word,
When I have felt its quickening power
To draw me near the Lord.
UT of the deeps of long distress,
The borders of despair,
I sent my cries to seek Thy grace,
My groans to move Thine ear.
Great God, should Thy severer eye,
And Thine impartial hand,
Mark and revenge iniquity,
No mortal flesh could stand.
But there are pardons with my God
For crimes of high degree;
Thy Son has bought them with His blood,
To draw us near to Thee.
I wait for Thy salvation, Lord,
With strong desires I wait;
My soul, invited by Thy Word,
Stands watching at Thy gate.
Just as the guards that keep the night
Long for the morning skies,
Watch the first beams of breaking light,
And meet them with their eyes:
So waits my soul to see Thy grace,
And more intent than they,
Meets the first openings of Thy face,
And finds a brighter day.
Then in the Lord let Israel trust,
Let Israel seek His face;
The Lord is good as well as just,
And plenteous is His grace.
There's full redemption at His throne
For sinners long enslaved;
The great Redeemer is His Son,
And Israel shall be saved.
HALL we go on to sin
Because Thy grace abounds,
Or crucify the Lord again,
And open all His wounds?
Forbid it, mighty God,
Nor let it e'er be said
That we, whose sins are crucified,
Should raise them from the dead.
We will be slaves no more,
Since Christ has made us free,
Has nailed our tyrants to His cross,
And bought our liberty.
SINS CONFESSED AND PARDONED.
BLESSED souls are they
Whose sins are covered o'er!
Divinely bless'd, to whom the Lord
Imputes their guilt no more.
They mourn their follies past,
And keep their hearts with care;
Their lips and lives, without deceit,
Shall prove their faith sincere.
While I concealed my guilt,
I felt the festering wound,
Till I confessed my sins to Thee,
And ready pardon found.
Let sinners learn to pray,
Let saints keep near the throne;
Our help, in times of deep distress,
Is found in God alone.
John iv. 24. SINCERITY IN WORSHIP.
OD is a Spirit just and wise,
He sees our inmost mind;
In vain to heaven we raise our cries,
And leave our souls behind.
Nothing but truth before His throne
With honour can appear;
The painted hypocrites are known
Through the disguise they wear.
Their lifted eyes salute the skies,
Their bending knees the ground;
But God abhors the sacrifice
Where not the heart is found.
Lord, search my thoughts, and try my ways,
And make my soul sincere ;
Then shall I stand before Thy face,
And find acceptance there.
ERE at Thy cross, my dying God,
I lay my soul beneath Thy love,
Beneath the droppings of Thy blood,
Jesus, nor shall it ever remove.
Not all that tyrants think or say,
With rage and lightning in their eyes,
Nor hell shall fright my heart away,
Should hell with all its legions rise.
Should worlds conspire to drive me thence,
Moveless and firm this heart should lie ;
Resolved, for that's my last defence,
If I must perish, there to die.
But speak, my Lord, and calm my fear;
Am I not safe beneath Thy shade?
Thy vengeance will not strike me here,
Nor Satan dare my soul invade.
Yes, I'm secure beneath Thy blood,
And all my foes shall lose their aim.
Hosanna to my dying God,
And my best honours to His name.
FEED ON CHRIST OUR SACRIFICE.
[OT all the blood of beasts
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.
But Christ the heavenly Lamb
Takes all our sins away,
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.
My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin!
My soul looks back to see
The burdens Thou didst bear,
When hanging on the cursed tree,
And hopes her guilt was there.
Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse remove;
We bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing His bleeding love.
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