With grief my just reproach I bear; Thy merciful restraint I scorn'd, "Is Ephraim banish'd from my thoughts, Or vile in my esteem? No," saith the Lord," with all his faults, “Is he a dear and pleasant child? '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! And serve, henceforth, the Lord alone. My grace, a flowing stream, proceeds My truth the great design ensures, You shall be mine, I will be yours, Yet not unsought, or unimplored, From the first breath of life divine, XIV. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH. Exek. 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? Jehovah founded it in blood, The blood of his incarnate Son; There dwell the saints, once foes to God, 6 Verse 37. 7 Isaiah, xxxi. 5. There, though besieged on every side, Let earth repent, and hell despair, Her name is call'd, "The Lord is there," XV. PRAISE FOR THE FOUNTAIN Opened. THERE is a fountain fill'd with blood The dying thief rejoiced to see Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream Then in a nobler, sweeter song, When this poor lisping stammering tongue Lord, I believe thou hast prepared For me a blood-bought free reward, 'Tis strung and tuned for endless years, XVI. THE SOWER. Matt. xiii. 3. YE sons of earth, prepare the plough, The sower is gone forth to sow, The seed that finds a stony soil Soon wither'd, scorch'd, and dead. The thorny ground is sure to baulk The beaten path and highway side S. C.-8. F But where the Lord of grace and power The deep-wrought furrows yield! Father of mercies, we have need Let the same hand that gives the seed XVII. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER. Mark, xi. 17. THY mansion is the Christian's heart, O Lord, thy dwelling-place secure! Bid the unruly throng depart, And leave the consecrated door. Devoted as it is to thee, A thievish swarm frequents the place; Sin, Satan, and the World maintain ; Oh! for the joy thy presence gives, What peace shall reign when thou art there! Thy presence makes this den of thieves A calm delightful house of prayer, |