Chapter L: M. 6 l

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the sinking flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When I shall launch to worlds unseen,
Oh, may I then be found in Him,
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Edward Mote, 1836.

307

C. M.

Lord, we confess our numerous faults,
How great our guilt has been:
Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,
And all our lives were sin.

2. But, O my soul, forever praise,
Forever love, His name,
Who turns thy feet from dangerous ways
Of folly, sin, and shame.

3. ’Tis not by works of righteousness
Which our own hands have done,
But we are saved by love and grace
Abounding through His Son.

4. ’Tis from the mercy of our God
That all our hopes begin;
’Tis by the Water and the Blood
Our souls are washed from sin.

5. ’Tis through the purchase of His death
Who hung upon the tree
The Spirit is sent down to breathe
On such dry bones as we.

6. Raised from the dead, we live anew;
And justified by grace,
We shall appear in glory too
And see our Father’s face.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

308

C. M.

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all my own;
All that I am, I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.

2. The evil of my former state
Was mine, and only mine;
The good in which I now rejoice
Is Thine, and only Thine.

3. The darkness of my former state,
The bondage, all was mine;
The light of life in which I walk,
The liberty, is Thine.

4. Thy grace first made me feel my sin,
It taught me to believe;
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live!

5. All that I am, e’en here on earth,
All that I hope to be
When Jesus comes and glory dawns,
I owe it, Lord, to Thee.

H. Bonar, 1853.

309

L. M.

Blest is the man, forever blest,
Whose guilt is pardoned by his God,
Whose sins with sorrow are confessed
And covered with his Savior’s blood.

2. Blest is the man to whom the Lord
Imputes not his iniquities;
He pleads no merit of reward
And not on works, but grace relies.

3. From guile his heart and lips are free,
His humble joy, his holy fear,
With deep repentance well agree
And join to prove his faith sincere.

4. How glorious is that righteousness
That hides and cancels all his sins,
While a bright evidence of grace
Through his whole life appears and shines!

Isaac Watts, 1719.

310

8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 8, 7

Dear Christians, one and all rejoice,
With exultation springing
And with united heart and voice
And holy rapture singing.
Tell how our God beheld our need
And sing His sweet and wondrous deed;
Right dearly it hath cost Him.

2. Fast bound in Satan’s chains I lay,
Death brooded darkly o’er me,
My sin oppressed me night and day,
Therein my mother bore me;
And ever deeper yet I fell,
Life had become a living hell,
So firmly sin possessed me.

3. My good works could avail me naught,
For they with sin were stainèd;
Free will against God’s judgment fought
And dead to good remainèd;
Grief drove me to despair, and I
Had nothing left me but to die,
To hell I fast was sinking.

4. Then God beheld my wretched state
With deep commiseration;
He thought upon His mercy great
And willed my soul’s salvation;
He turned to me a Father’s heart—
Not small the cost!—to heal my smart,
He gave His best and dearest.

5. He spake to His beloved Son:
“’Tis time to have compassion;
Then go, My heart’s most Precious One,
And bring to man salvation;
From sin and sorrow set him free,
Slay bitter death for him that he
May live with Thee forever.”

6. The Son His Father did obey,
And, born of virgin mother,
He came a while on earth to stay
That He might be my Brother.
His mighty power He hidden bore,
A servant’s form like mine He wore
To lead the devil captive.

7. He spake to me: “Hold fast by Me,
I am thy Rock and Castle;
I wholly give Myself for thee,
For thee I strive and wrestle;
For I am thine, and thou art Mine,
Henceforth My place is also thine;
The foe shall never part us.

8. “The foe shall shed My precious blood,
Me of My life bereaving.
All this I suffer for thy good;
Be steadfast and believing.
Life shall from death the victory win,
Mine innocence shall bear thy sin,
So art thou blest forever.

9. “Now to My Father I depart,
From earth to heaven ascending,
Thence heavenly wisdom to impart,
The Holy Spirit sending;
He shall in trouble comfort thee,
Teach thee to know and follow Me,
Into all truth shall guide thee.

10. “What I have done and taught do thou
To do and teach endeavor;
So shall My kingdom flourish now
And God be praised forever.
Take heed lest men with base alloy
The heavenly treasure should destroy;
This counsel I bequeath thee.”

Martin Luther, 1523.

311

9, 8, 9, 8, 8, 8

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless!
My heart, believ’st thou this or not?
Why tremblest thou with terror groundless?
Has Scripture e’er a falsehood taught?
Then this word also true must be:
By grace there is a crown for thee.

2. By grace! Our works are all rejected,
All claims of merit pass for naught;
The mighty Savior, long expected,
To us this blissful truth has brought,
That He by death redeems our race
And we are saved alone by grace.

3. By grace! Mark well these words’ true meaning,
When thou dost sorrow sin-opprest.
When Satan tempts with pride o’erweening,
When troubled conscience sighs for rest.
What reason cannot comprehend
It pleases God by grace to send.

4. By grace His Son, on earth appearing,
Vouchsafed beneath thy woe to bend;
Hadst thou, damnation justly fearing,
Done aught to render Him thy Friend?
Was’t not that He thy welfare sought
And but by grace deliverance wrought?

5. By grace! This ground of our salvation,
As long as God is true, endures;
What saints have penned by inspiration,
What God by His own Word assures,
What all our faith must rest upon,
Is grace, free grace, through His dear Son.

6. By grace! But think not, thou who livest
Securely on in godless ways,
That thou—though all are called—receivest
The promised rest that wakes our praise.
By grace none find in heaven a place
Who live in sin in hope of grace.

7. By grace! They who have heard this sentence
Must all hypocrisy forego;
For only after deep repentance
Can any soul this treasure know;
To sin free grace a trifle seems,
To faith it bright with glory beams.

8. By grace the timid hearts that languish
Find access to the Father’s heart,
When conflicts fierce and bitter anguish
Bid all their joy and hopes depart.
Where ofttimes should I strength obtain,
Did grace my anchor not remain!

9. By grace! On this in death I’ll rest me,
Rejoicing e’en though feeling naught;
I know my sin,—it oft oppressed me,—
But Him, too, who salvation brought.
My heart exults, grief flees apace,
Because my soul is saved by grace.

10. By grace! May sin and Satan hearken!
I bear my flag of faith in hand
And pass—for doubts my joy can’t darken—
The Red Sea to the Promised Land.
I cling to what my Savior taught
And trust it, whether felt or not.