HYMN

CCLXXXII.

IO Lord, confider my Distress,

And now with Speed fome Pity take; My Sins forgive, my Faults redress, Good Lord, for thy great Mercy's Sake. 2 Make new my Heart within my Breaft, And frame it to thy holy Will; And let thy Spirit in me reft,

Which may my Soul with Comfort fill.

HYMN

CCLXXXIII.

I BEGIN from firft, whereChrift encradled

was

In fimple cratch, wrapt in a wad of hay, Between the toylful oxe and humble ass, And in what rags, and in how base array, The glory of our heavenly riches lay,

When him the filly fhepherds came to fee, Whom greateft princes fought on lowestknee. 2 From thence read on the story of his life, His humble carriage, his unfaulty ways, His cancred foes, his fights, his toyl, his ftrife, His pains, his poverty, his tharp affays, Through which he paft his miferable days, Offending none, and doing good to all, Yet being malic'd both of great and small. 3 And lookat lait,how of moft wretched wights He taken was, betray'd, and falfe accused,

How

How with moft fcornful taunts, and fell

defpights He was revil'd, difgrac'd, and foul abused; How fcourg'd, how crown'd, how buffeted, how brufed; And, laftly, how'twixt robbers crucifide, With bitter wound through hands, through feet, and fide!

4 Then let thy flinty heart, that feels no pain,
Empierced be with pitiful remorse,
And let thy bowels bleed in every vein
At fight of his moft facred heavenly corfe,
So torn and mangled with malicious force;
And let thy foul, whofe fins his forrows

wrought,

Melt into tears,and grone in grieved thought. 5 Withsense whereof, whilft fo thy foftned spirit Is inly toucht, and humbled with meek zeal Through meditation of his endless merit, Lift up thy mind to th' author of thy weal, And to his foveraign mercy do appeal; Learn him to love that loved thee fo dear, And in thy breaft his bleffed image bear. 6 With all thy heart, with all thy foul andmind, Thoumufthim love, and hisbeheaft sembrace; All other loves, with which the world doth

blind

Weak fancies, and ftir up affections bafe, Thou must renownce and utterly difplace, And give thyfelf unto him full and free,

When

That full and freely gave himself for thee. 7 Then shalt thou feel the spirit fo poffeft, And ravifht with devouring great defire Of his dear felf, that fhall thy feeble breaft Inflame with love, and fet thee all on fire With burning zeal, through every part entire, That in no earthly thing thou fhalt delight, But in his sweet and amiable fight,

8 Thenceforthall world'sdefire will in thee die, And all earth's glory, on which men do gaze, Seem durt and drofs in thy pure fighted eye, Compar'd to that celestial beauty's blaze, Whose glorious beams all fleshly sense doth

daze

With admiration of their paffing fight, Blinding the eyes,and lumining the fpright.. 9 Then fhall thy ravifht foul infpired be With heavenly thoughts, far above humane fkill,

And thy bright radiant eyes fhall plainly fee Th' idee of his pure glory prefent ftill Before thy face, that all thy fpirits fhall fill With fweet enragement of celestial love, Kindled through fight of thofe fair things. above.

HYMN

GOD

CCLXXXIV.

OD of my Life, thy conftant Care,
With Bleffings crowns the op'ning Year,

This guilty Life doft thou prolong,
And wake anew mine annual Song.
2 How many precious Souls are fled.
To the vaft Regions of the Dead,
Since from this Day the changing Sun
Thro his last yearly Period run?
3 We yet furvive; but who can say,
Or thro' the Year, or Month, or Day,
I will retain this vital Breath,

Thus far at least in league with Death?
That Breath is thine, eternal God;
Tis thine to fix my Souls abode;
It holds its Life from thee alone,
On Earth, or in the World unknown.
5 To thee our Spirits we refign;

Make them and own them still as thine
So fhall they smile fecure from Fear,
Tho' Death should blast the rifing Year.
6 Thy Children eager to be gone,
Bid Time's impetuous Tide roll on,
And land them on that blooming Shore,
Where Years and Death are known-no more.

HY M N CCLXXXV..

I SALVATION doth to God belong;
His Pow'r and Grace fhall be our Song;
His Hand hath dealt a deadly Blow,
And Terror ftrikes the haughty Foe.

2 Praise

2. Praise to the Lord, who bows his Ear
Propitious to his People's Pray'r;
And, tho' Deliv'rance long delay,'
Answers in his well chofen Day.
3 O may thy Grace our Land engage,
Refcu'd from fierce tyrannic Rage,
The Tribute of its Love to bring
To thee, our Saviour, and our King.
4 Our Temples guarded from the Flame,
Shall echo thy triumphant Name;
And ev'ry peaceful private Home,
To thee a Temple thail become.
5 Still be it our fupreme Delight
To walk as in thy honour'd Sight;
Still in thy Precepts and thy Fear
To Life's laft Hour to perfevere.

HYMN CCLXXXVI.

KNOW'ST thou th' importance of a Soul

immortal?

Behold the midnight glory: worlds on worlds! Amazing pomp! redouble this amaze;

Ten thoufand add, and twice ten thousand more; Then weigh the whole; one foul outweighs them all,

And calls the astonishing magnificence
Of unintelligent creation poor.