Chapter XII (3)

"Now I complain, and groan, and die,
While sin and Satan reign;
Now raise my songs of triumph high,
For grace prevails again.

"So darkness struggles with the light,
Till perfect day arise;
Water and fire maintain the fight,
Until the weaker dies.

"Thus will the flesh and spirit strive,
And vex and break my peace;
But I shall quit this mortal life,
And sin for ever cease."

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"Join all the names of love and power
That ever men or angels bore;
All are too mean to speak his worth,
Or set Emmanuel's glory forth.

"But O, what condescending ways
He takes to teach his heavenly grace:
Mine eyes, with joy and wonder, see
What forms of love he bears for me.

"The Angel of the covenant stands,
With his commission in his hands;
Sent from his Father's milder throne,
To make his great salvation known.

"Great Prophet, let me bless thy name;
By thee the joyful tidings came,
Of wrath appeased and sins forgiven,
Of hell subdued, and peace with heaven.

"My bright Example, and my Guide,
I would be walking by thy side;
Oh, let me never run astray,
Nor follow the forbidden way.

"I love my Shepherd, he shall keep
My wandering soul among his sheep;
He feeds his flock, he tells their names,
And in his bosom bears the lambs.

"My Surety undertakes my cause,
Answering his Father's broken laws:
Behold my soul at freedom set,
My Surety paid the dreadful debt.

"Jesus, my great High-priest, has died,
I seek no sacrifice beside;
His blood did once for all atone,
And now it pleads before the throne.

"My Advocate appears on high,
The Father lays his thunders by;
Not all that earth or hell can say,
Shall turn my Father's heart away.

"My Lord, my Conqueror, and my King,
Thy sceptre and thy sword I sing;
Thine is the victory, and I sit
A joyful subject at thy feet.

"Aspire, my soul, to glorious deeds,
The Captain of salvation leads;
March on, nor fear to win the day,
Though death and hell obstruct thy way.

"Though death and hell, and powers unknown,
Put all their forms of mischief on,
I shall be safe, for Christ displays
Salvation in more sovereign ways."

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"Be this my one great business here,
With holy trembling, holy fear,
To make my calling sure;
Thine utmost counsel to fulfil,
And suffer all thy righteous will,
And to the end endure.

"Then, Saviour, then my soul receive,
Transported from this vale, to live,
And reign with thee above:
Where faith is sweetly lost in sight,
And hope in full supreme delight,
And everlasting love."

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"Hush, my distrustful heart,
And cease to flow, my tears;
For greater, Lord, thou art
Than all my doubts and fears.
Did Jesus once upon me shine?
Then Jesus is for ever mine.

"Unchangeable his will,
Whatever be my frame:
My Saviour's heart is still
Eternally the same.
My soul through many changes goes,
His love no variation knows.

"Thou, Lord, wilt carry on,
And perfectly perform,
The work thou hast begun
In me, vile sinful worm.
Mine own self-will brings grief and woe,
But Jesus will not let me go.

"The bowels of thy grace,
At first did freely move;
And still I see thy face,
And feel that God is love.
Into thine arms my soul I cast;
By sovereign mercy saved at last.

"The Priest and Ark now move
To Jordan's gulfy strand;
Come now in covenant love,
Take firm thy promised stand:
Only to me thy countenance show,
I ask no more the Jordan through."

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"Come, let us join our cheerful songs
With angels round the throne;
Ten thousand thousand are their tongues,
But all their joys are one.

"Worthy the Lamb that died, they cry,
To be exalted thus;
Worthy the Lamb, our souls reply,
For he was slain for us.

"Jesus is worthy to receive
Honor and power divine;
And blessings, more than we can give,
Be, Lord, for ever thine.

"The whole creation join in one,
To bless the sacred name
Of Him that sits upon the throne,
And to adore the Lamb."

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"Give me the wings of faith, to rise
Within the veil, and see
The saints above, how great their joys,
How bright their glories be.

"Once they were mourners here below,
And wet their couch with tears;
They wrestled hard, as we do now,
With sins, and doubts, and fears.

"I ask them whence their victory came:
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to his death.

"They marked the footsteps that he trod;
His zeal inspired their breast;
And following their incarnate God,
Possessed the promised rest.

"Our glorious Leader claims our praise,
For his own pattern given;
While the long cloud of witnesses
Show the same path to heaven."

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"With heart and hands, and lifted eyes,
I'll praise thee while I've life and breath;
And, while my loosened spirit flies,
I'll gasp thy praise in very death.

"Faith fain would say, in cheerful mood,
Thy name be glorified,
By leading through the swelling flood,
Or through the channel dried.

"If grace in time of need I have,
And strength as is my day,
I'll triumph through the foaming wave,
As through the side-walled way."

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"I'll praise my Maker while I've breath;
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my noblest powers;
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
"While life and thought and being last.
And immortality endures."

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"My God, indulge my humble claim;
Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest;
The glories that compose thy name
Stand all engaged to make me blest.

"Thou great and good, thou just and wise,
Thou art my Father and my God;
And I am thine by sacred ties,
Thy child, thy servant, bought with blood.

"With heart, and eyes, and lifted hands,
For thee I long, to thee I look;
As travellers in thirsty lands
Pant for the cooling water-brook."

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"Jesus, the weary wanderer's rest,
Give grace thy sovereign will to bear;
With steadfast patience arm my breast,
With holy love and lowly fear.

"Thankful, I take the cup from thee,
Prepared and mingled by thy skill;
Though bitter to the taste it be,
It has a sovereign power to heal.

"Be thou a Rock of ages nigh;
My savéd soul on thee alone
Shall safely rest, and fears shall fly,
As clouds before the mid-day sun.

"Speak to my troubled conscience peace;
Say to my trembling heart, Be still;
My power thy strength and fortress is.
Amen, to all thy sovereign will.

"O Death, where is thy sting? where now
Thy boasted victory, O grave?
Who shall contend with God, or who
Condemn whom he delights to save."

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"How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear:
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

"It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary, rest.

"Dear Name, the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and Hiding-place;
My never failing Treasury, filled
With boundless stores of grace:

"Jesus, my Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

"Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see thee as thou art,
I'll praise thee as I ought.

"Till then I would thy love proclaim
With every fleeting breath;
And may the music of thy name
Refresh my soul in death."

_______________

"Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me:
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved:
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

"Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
Already I have come:
'Twas grace that brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

"Yes, when this heart and flesh shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace."

A swelling Jordan rolls between--
A timid pilgrim, I;
But grace shall order all the scene,
And Christ himself be nigh.

He shall roll back the foaming wave,
Command the channel dry;
No sting has death, no victory grave?
With Jesus in my eye.

"Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of endless praise.

"Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it--
Mount of God's unchanging love.

"Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by thy help I'm come,
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

"Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to save my soul from danger,
Interposed with precious blood.

"Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be:
Let that grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it from thy courts above."

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Eternal God, I bless thy name,
The same thy power, thy grace the same;
The tokens of thy friendly care
Open and crown and close the year.

I mid ten thousand dangers stand,
Supported by thy gracious hand;
And see, when I survey thy ways,
Ten thousand monuments of grace.

Thus far thine arm has led me on;
Thus far I make thy mercy known;
And while I tread this desert land,
New mercies shall new songs demand.

My grateful soul on Jordan's shore
Shall raise one sacred pillar more;
Then bear, in thy bright courts above,
Inscriptions of immortal love.

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No works to rest upon have I,
No boast of moral dignity;
If e'er I lisp a song of praise,
Grace is the note my soul shall raise.

'Twas grace that quickened me when dead;
'Twas grace my soul to Jesus led,
Grace brings me pardon for my sin,
And grace subdues my lusts within.

'Tis grace that sweetens every cross,
'Tis grace supports in every loss;
In Jesus' grace my soul is strong,
Grace is my hope, and Christ my song.

Thus, 'tis alone of grace I boast,
And 'tis alone in grace I trust:
For all that's past, grace is my theme,
For what's to come 'tis still the same.

And when I come to Jordan's shore,
I'll raise one Ebenezer more;
Th' ark of the covenant in my view,
I'll sing of grace the Jordan through.

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"Is this the kind return,
Are these the thanks we owe--
Thus to abuse eternal love,
Whence all our blessings flow?

"To what a stubborn frame
Has sin reduced our mind!
What strange rebellious wretches we,
And God as strangely kind!

"Turn, turn us, mighty God!
And mould our souls afresh;
Break, sovereign grace, these hearts of stone,
And give us hearts of flesh.

"Let past ingratitude
Provoke our weeping eyes;
And hourly, as new mercies fall,
Let hourly thanks arise."

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"O the sweet wonders of that cross,
Where Christ my Saviour loved and died;
Her noblest life my spirit draws,
From his dear wounds and bleeding side.

"I would for ever speak his name,
In sounds to mortal ears unknown;
With angels join to praise the Lamb,
And worship at his Father's throne."

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"Jesus, the vision of thy face
Hath overpowering charms;
Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace,
If Christ be in my arms."

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"O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near and like my God;
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of my soul."

"When in death's gloomy vale I tread,
With joy e'en there I'll lift my head;
From fear and dread he'll keep me free,
His rod and staff shall comfort me."

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"Jesus, to thy dear faithful hand
My naked soul I trust;
My flesh but waits for thy command,
To drop into the dust."

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"Before we quite forsake our clay,
Or leave this dark abode,
The wings of love bear us away
To see our smiling God."

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"O make it true, my Saviour God;
Raise me all fears above;
And when I think on Jesus' blood,
Let my last pulse beat love."

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"O for an overcoming faith,
To cheer my dying hours;
To triumph o'er the monster Death,
And all his frightful powers.

"Joyful, with all the strength I have,
My quivering lips should sing,
'Where is thy boasted victory, Grave,
And where the monster's sting?'

"If sin be pardoned, I'm secure;
Death has no sting beside;
The law gives sin its damning power,
But Christ, my Ransom, died.

"Now to the God of victory,
Immortal thanks be paid;
Who makes us conquerors while we die,
Through Christ, our living Head."

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All mortal vanities be gone,
Nor tempt mine eyes, nor tire mine ears;
Behold, amidst the eternal throne,
A vision of the Lamb appears.

All the assembling saints around,
Fall worshipping before the Lamb;
And in new songs of gospel sound,
Address their honors to his name.

Our voices join the heavenly strain,
And with transporting pleasure sing,
Worthy the Lamb that once was slain,
Our blessed Prophet, Priest, and King.

Thou hast redeemed our souls from hell,
With thine invaluable blood;
And wretches, that did once rebel,
Are now made fav'rites of their God.

Worthy for ever is the Lord,
That died for treasons not his own,
By every tongue to be adored,
And dwell upon his Father's throne.

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THE NEW TESTAMENT IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.

"The promise of my Father's love,
Shall stand for ever good;
He said, and gave his soul to death,
And sealed it with his blood.

"To this dear covenant of thy word,
I set my worthless name;
I seal the engagement of the Lord,
And make my humble claim.

"The light, and strength, and pardoning grace,
And glory shall be mine;
My life and soul, my heart and flesh,
And all my powers are thine.

"I call that legacy mine own,
Which Jesus did bequeath;
'Twas purchased with a dying groan,
And ratified in death.

"Sweet is the memory of His name,
Who blessed us in his will:
And to his testament of love
Made his own life the seal.

"To him that washed me in his blood,
Be everlasting praise;
Salvation, honor, glory, power,
Eternal as his days."

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"Blest be the Father, and his love,
To which celestial source we owe
Rivers of endless joys above,
And rills of comfort here below.

"Glory to the great Son of God;
From his dear wounded body rolls
A precious stream of vital blood,
Pardon and life for dying souls.

"We give thee, sacred Spirit, praise,
Who in our hearts of sin and woe
Mak'st living springs of grace arise,
And into boundless glory flow.

"Thus God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, we adore;
The sea of life and love unknown,
Without a bottom or a shore."

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"Let me but hear my Saviour say,
Strength shall be equal to thy day;
Then I rejoice in deep distress,
Leaning on all-sufficient grace.

"I glory in infirmity,
That Christ's own power may rest on me:
When I am weak, then am I strong;
Grace is my shield, and Christ my song.

"I can do all things, or can bear
All sufferings, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While his strong hand my head sustains.

"Faith has an overcoming power,
It triumphs in the dying hour;
Christ is our life, our joy, our hope,
Nor can we sink with such a prop."

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"Jesus, I love thy charming name,
'Tis music to mine ear;
Fain would I sound it out so loud
That heaven and earth should hear.

"Yes, thou art precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
My Saviour, Shepherd, Husband, Friend,
No other good I boast.

"All my capacious powers can wish,
In thee doth richly meet;
Not to mine eye is light so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet.

"Thy grace still dwells upon my heart,
And sheds its fragrance there:
The noblest balm of all my wounds,
The cordial of my care.

"I'll speak the honors of thy name
With my last faltering breath;
Then speechless clasp thee in my arms,
The antidote of death."

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"Grace, 'tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to my ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.

"Grace first contrived the way
To save rebellious man;
And all the steps _that_ grace display,
Which drew the wondrous plan.

"Grace taught my wandering feet
To tread the heavenly road;
And new supplies each hour I meet,
While pressing on to God.

"Grace all the work shall crown,
Through everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise."

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"My God, the spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights,
The glory of my brightest days,
And comfort of my nights:

"In darkest shades, if thou appear,
My dawning is begun;
Thou art my soul's sweet Morning-star,
And thou my rising Sun.

"The opening heavens around me shine
With beams of sacred bliss,
While Jesus shows his heart is mine,
And whispers I am his.

"My soul would leave this heavy clay,
At that transporting word;
Run up with joy the shining way,
T' embrace my dearest Lord.

"Fearless of hell and ghastly death,
I'd break through every foe;
The wings of love, and arms of faith,
Should bear me conqueror through."

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"Backward with humble shame I look,
On my original;
How is my nature dashed and broke,
In our first father's fall.

"To all that's good averse and blind,
But prone to all that's ill;
What dreadful darkness veils my mind,
How obstinate my will.

"Conceived in sin: O wretched state;
Before I drew my breath,
My first young pulse began to beat
Iniquity and death.

"How strong in my degenerate blood
The old corruption reigns;
And mingling with the crooked flood,
Wanders through all my veins.

"Yet, mighty God, thy wondrous love
Can make my nature clean;
While Christ and grace prevail above
The tempter, death, and sin.

"The second Adam shall restore
The ruins of the first;
Hosanna to that sovereign power,
That new-creates our dust."

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JORDAN.*

Joshua 1:11, chapter 3; Psalm 23:4; 73:24.

*The three following effusions by Mrs. Graham, constituting a part of her "Provision," were found in a separate paper after her funeral sermon was preached. The hymn of Newton which she had annexed to the first, was selected by Dr. Mason and sung on that occasion; and the circumstances described at the beginning of the third, page 434, occurred at her death, as narrated in the memoir, though the existence of this paper was then unknown.

The solemn hour, my soul, draws near,
The holy ark and priests appear;
They forward move to Jordan's flood,
The type, thou knowest, thy covenant God.

The signal too to thee is known;
Obey, remove, and follow on;
The ark appears, thy hallowed guide;
Shrink not, but face the rolling tide.

The waves toss high their foaming heads,
But can'st thou perish? Jesus leads.
This way before I ne'er did pass,
But Jesus thy forerunner has.

When all its banks it overflowed,
All nature wrapt in midnight cloud;
While darkness held its awful power,
And all God's billows passed him o'er.

The waves for him must not divide,
Deep calls to deep on every side;
Around his head the surges roll,
And rush into his inmost soul.

He was the sufferer in my stead,
The curse for sin lay on his head;
The law's demands came like a flood,
My Surety met them with his blood.

Till every tittle had been paid,
Till due atonement had been made,
No beam appeared of heavenly grace,
A cloud concealed his Father's face.

From brim to bottom he drank up
Of wrath the deep mysterious cup;
This Jordan passed, he rose on high,
And captive led captivity.

Justice now fully satisfied,
The law now honored, magnified,
At God's right hand he takes his place,
Executor of covenant grace.

Crowned by Jehovah's firm decree
With universal sovereignty,
All nature owns his powerful sway--
He speaks, the elements obey.

The emblem then thou may'st pursue,
And safely pass this Jordan through;
The priests but touch the watery space,
When, lo, the floods desert their place.

They gather up upon a heap,
Leave dry the channel of the deep;
The ark and priests there take their stand,
And beckon thee to leave the land.

I come, my best Beloved, I come;
Now lead me to our Father's home;
On thy dear person fix mine eye,
And faith firm footing shall supply.

I fear no ill while thou art near;
But let thy voice salute my ear,
Should spirits faint and 'scape the sigh,
With these sweet words, "Fear not; 'tis I."

With courage fresh my soul shall tread
On faith's firm ground where thou dost lead;
While still upon thy gracious face
My steady eye maintains its place.

And now, my Joshua, choose, and lay
The stones in Jordan's middle way;
Let them o'ertop the flowing wave,
Memorial of thy power to save.

For, once a suit I did prefer,
With feeble hope and trembling fear,
That I might have a Pisgah view,
In Jordan's swells, of Canaan new.

Thy softened glory let me see,
Then cause thy face to shine on me;
And tune my heart, and tune my voice,
And language furnish to rejoice.

That all around may lend their tongue,
And sweetly join my dying song;
Then, Newton, saved by grace like me,
We'll sing of sovereign grace with thee.

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*"Let us love, and sing, and wonder,
Let us praise the Saviour's name;
He has hushed the law's loud thunder,
He has quenched mount Sinai's flame;
He has washed us in his blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

*Olney Hymns, 82, book 3.

"Let us love the Lord who bought us,
Pitied us when enemies;
Called us by his grace, and taught us;
Gave us ears, and gave us eyes:
He has wafted us in his blood,
He presents our souls to God.

"Let us sing, though strong temptation
Threaten hard to bear us down:
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqueror's crown,
He who washed us in his blood,
Soon shall bring us home to God.

"Let us wonder, grace and justice
Join and point to mercy's store;
When through grace, in Christ our trust is,
Justice smiles, and asks no more.
He who washed us in his blood,
Has secured our way to God.

"Let us praise, and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high;
Here they trusted him before us,
Now their praises fill the sky.
Thou hast washed us in thy blood,
Thou art worthy, Lamb of God.

"Hark, the name of Jesus sounded
Loud from golden harps above;
On that rock our hopes are founded;
Sovereign grace, and sovereign love.
We shall conquer through his blood,
Kings and priests be made to God."
NEWTON

HEAVEN.

To be where thou my Saviour art,
To see, and be conformed to thee,
Perfect in holiness this heart;
_This; this_ is heaven itself to me.

To see thee in thy glory, Lord,
Thy Father's glory and thy own;
The eternal, the incarnate Word,
Adored upon his Father's throne.

To see as seen, to know as known,
My Saviour in my flesh and blood;
To be made like him, with him one,
I in him, and he in God.

The holy, holy, holy One,
Who was, and is, and is to come,
The earth his footstool, heaven his throne,
The church his bride, he her Bridegroom.

Angels and elders, earth and heaven,
Are summoned to unseal the book;
But silent all, no answer given,
None worthy found therein to look.

But Judah's Lion, David's Son,
And David's Root, the great I AM,
Appears upon his Father's throne,
As slain for sacrifice, the Lamb.

He takes the book he can unseal;
He worthy is, and he has power
God's secret counsels to reveal,
And to fulfil each in its hour.

The heavenly host united fall
In humble worship at his feet;
One glorious theme inspires them all,
The joy is full, the concert sweet.

New odors to the throne ascend,
In accents new their praises soar;
Each finds in each a glowing friend,
And all the God of all adore.

And shall I join that prostrate throng,
In love's ecstatic heaven-taught lays,
With powers expanded, that new song
Hymn to the Lamb's exalted praise?

"Worthy art thou to take the book,
And loose the seals, and read therein,
God's holy mysteries to unlock;
Worthy art thou, for thou wast slain.

"Thou hast redeemed us with thy blood,
From every nation of the earth;
And made us kings and priests to God,
And sharers of a heavenly birth."

Myriads of angels stand around,
Uniting in the loud acclaim;
And fill the temple with the sound
Of our Redeemer's gentle name.

"Worthy the Lamb that once was slain,
A sacrifice for every sin,
All power and glory to obtain,
And universal empire win."

Heaven, earth, and sea shall swell the tone
Of fervent universal praise;
And grateful joy around the throne,
Its voice from age to age shall raise.

In all these myriads, is there one
Who had on earth so much forgiven?
And shall I reach their highest tone
Of love to Jesus? THIS IS HEAVEN.

And when this breast to heave shall cease,
And heart and lungs are hushed to peace,
Some friendly hand the eyelids close,
And leave the clay to short repose.

Still on your knees be thanks expressed,
According as the Lord has blessed;
This tongue, then mute, can now foretell
Jesus shall have done all things well.

Should the great Sovereign will it so,
That I in secret with him go,
'T will be enough that He stands by,
He all my wants will well supply.

Upon his dear, his faithful breast,
My heart and head shall safely rest;
The fluttering pulse and bursting sigh,
He'll soothe with, "Fear not; it is I."

Into his hands my spirit I'll breathe,
Inhaling life from him in death;
Though none should see, faith can foretell
My Jesus shall do all things well.

Though he deny my half-formed prayer,
Well may I cast on Him my care;
All things are mine, or life or death;
In praise of Him I'll spend my breath.

Be this my only wish beside,
That God's great name be glorified,
What me concerns faith can foretell,
My Jesus shall do all things well.

WIDOWHOOD.

WRITTEN IN THE ISLAND OF ANTIGUA
SHORTLY AFTER DR. GRAHAM'S DEATH.