Classic Poem

CHAPTER XV.

Men from her infancy have rose
 Disturbers of the church's peace,
The yoke of needless things to' impose,
 Of outward vain observances;
The gospel and the law to blend,
 Deny the power of grace unknown,
As sinners would His doctrine mend
 Nor suffer Christ to save alone.

Redeem'd through faith by blood Divine
 They tell us now we cannot be,
Unless our righteous actions join
 And Moses help to set us free:
The Judaizing teachers cry
 We must the grace through works receive,
We must ourselves the pardon buy
 Which Jesus cannot freely give.

O UGHT we to yield and condescend,
 When Pharisees the truth gainsay,
Or strenuous for the faith contend
 Which others silently betray?
The truth opposed we boldly own
That all are saved by grace alone.

Who but the' apostles of the Lamb
 Shall this important point decide?
They teach through faith in Jesus' name
 Sinners are freely justified;
And the whole church this doctrine calls
The truth by which she stands or falls.

O CCASION of great joy and praise,
 We to the church afford,
Who tell the miracles of grace,
 The goodness of our Lord:
His only goodness we declare,
 Who all the work hath done,
And humbly seek with jealous care
 To' exalt our God alone.

 F AITH , which when it comes, sets free
  And purifies the heart,
 Doth not perfect purity
  And light at once impart:
 Errors and mistakes remain,
And various prepossessions blind:
 Purged by Christ from every stain
  We know not all His mind.

 Justified through faith alone
  We may in Babel dwell,
 May in words the truth disown
  Which in our hearts we feel;
 Still as saved by works and grace
To Moses and his law incline,
 Add our human righteousness
  To righteousness Divine.

J ESUS their true and constant Guide
 Had promised with the church to stay,
In His unerring Spirit to' abide
 And lead them in the perfect way:
Yet dared they not the help refuse
 Which nature's God did first bestow,
Who will'd them all the light to use
 That reason sanctified could show.

H APPY the man by Jesus sent,
 Mercy's chosen instrument
  That sinners may receive
The gospel of redeeming grace,
Their Friend and Peacemaker embrace,
  And savingly believe.

Oh that the happiness were mine!
 Lamb immaculate Divine,
  I would Thy love proclaim,
Declare how full of grace Thou art,
ThaTheathens poor in life and heart
  May truly bear Thy name.

While at my mouth the outcasts hear
 Tidings of salvation near,
  Of present, endless rest,
Saviour, let faith by hearing come,
The weary prodigals bring home
  And lodge them in Thy breast.

The witness of the Lord is sure
 Who only can impart
The faith which makes a sinner pure,
 The love which fills his heart:
Proof incontestable He gives,
 And all may see and know
That every true believer lives
 As Jesus lived below.

By works of outward righteousness
 They show the root within,
The Spirit of sanctifying grace
 In all His fruits is seen;
His holy name and character
 In them the Father owns,
And all their spotless lives declare
 They are His genuine sons.

 G OD of grace, vouchsafe to me
  That Spirit of holiness,
 Sighs my heart for purity,
  And pants for perfect peace;
 Spirit of faith, the blood apply,
Which only can my filth remove,
 Fill my soul, and sanctify
  By Jesu's heavenly love

By Thy Spirit's inspiration
 Bid my evil thoughts depart,
All the filth of pride and passion,
 Purge out of my faithful heart:
Then I shall with joy embrace Thee,
 Meet to see Thy face above,
Then I worthily shall praise Thee,
 Then I perfectly shall love.

The unbelieving heart's unclean,
The faithful heart is purged by sin
  While Christ His blood applies,
Which cleanses us from every stain,
Sprinkles and washes us again,
  And daily purifies.

He will not first bestow on me
The faith and then the purity,
  But both at once impart;
And when His mercy He reveals,
In love Divine His Spirit seals
  My pardon on my heart.

My heart is set on things above,
Detach'd from every creature love;
  And more and more renew'd,
Closer and closer still I cleave
To Him, and grace for grace receive
  Through His atoning blood.

Lord, if Thou dost my faith approve
And Thee in some degree I love,
  My little faith increase;
So shall I know and love Thee more,
Till fill'd with all Thy Spirit's power,
  With all Thy holiness.

Contemplating Thy shining face
Reflected in the gospel glass,
  I too, like Thee, shall shine,
Shall put Thy brightest glories on,
Clothed with the uncreated Sun
  Of righteousness Divine.

Yet something still Thou know'st will be
Lacking in faith and purity
  Till Thou the want supply;
I then the crowning grace receive,
And Thou who giv'st me faith to live,
  Wilt give me faith to die.

M INE earnest expectation
 Is to its Author known;
I thirst for Thy salvation,
 I gasp for God alone.
I want the constant Witness
 Of my Redeemer's love,
The' anticipating fitness
 For all the joys above.

O might Thy hallowing Spirit
 My soul for heaven prepare,
And make me meet to' inherit
 The highest raptures there!
Not by a single blessing
 Or sudden stroke of grace,
But through Thine act unceasing
 I trust to see Thy face.

While on Thy blood relying
 My Saviour I adore,
Thy Spirit sanctifying
 Shall change me more and more
From glory into glory,
 Till quite mature I rise
Thy bliss untransitory
 To share in paradise.

I F God the Holy Ghost impart,
 The living faith bestow,
His Spirit purifies the heart,
 And makes us white as snow:
The heart that in His Son believes
 Is purged from every stain,
And he who still to Jesus cleaves
 Shall never sin again.

O would my gracious God confer
 The Spirit of faith on me,
A foul desponding sinner cheer
 By peace and purity!
Father in me reveal Thy love
 If reconciled Thou art,
And all the filth of sin remove,
 And keep my sprinkled heart.

The heart which in Thy Son confides
 No longer is unclean,
Where Purity Himself resides
 It must be pure from sin;
O may He dwell by faith in mine,
 And thus Himself explain,
The real Holiness Divine
 The perfect love in man!

W HAT but the Spirit of faith Divine
Can purify a heart like mine,
The seat of every noisome lust,
Unclean, unholy, and unjust,
The sink of pride and vanity,
As Satan's, contrary to Thee.

Yet if in me Thy Spirit dwell
The Pledge, the Witness, and the Seal,
My heart shall lose its inbred stain,
Holy, and just, and pure remain;
Free from concupiscence, and pride,
While God doth in His house reside.

Thy presence makes the hallow'd place,
And keeps the vessel of Thy grace;
Thy presence saves my soul from sin,
Which never more shall enter in,
When Thou art with Thy Father come
To fill Thine everlasting home.

W HO can the yoke of Moses bear?
It drives a sinner to despair;
Crushes the soul, but not relieves,
Commands, but no assistance gives,
Confounds, but not destroys our pride,
And lets us still in death abide.

The law our irksome duty shows,
But no obedient power bestows,
It brings us light and knowledge vain
More to increase our sin and pain,
It aggravates our heaviest load,
And leaves us to the curse of God.

But Jesus' death hath set us free
From sin and curse and penalty;
For us He purchased on the cross
A power to keep His righteous laws,
To bear His easy yoke, and prove
All His commands fulfill'd in love.

N OT by a legal righteousness,
 Or works ourselves have done,
But freely saved we are by grace
 Through faith in Christ alone:
Our God is pleased to justify
 Who in His Son believe;
And when we first on Him rely
 The pardon we receive.

Through faith we then are saved by grace
 From sin's oppressive power,
And pure in heart behold His face,
 And God in Christ adore;
Through faith we claim His whole desert,
 And in His image shine,
Created after His own heart
 In holiness Divine.

The power of efficacious love
 In each believing soul
Doth all remains of sin remove,
 And sanctify the whole:
And thus prepared with God to live
 We lay our bodies down,
And faith's triumphant end receive
 In an immortal crown.

W HO Jesus revere
To His servants give ear,
While we publish and show
The miraculous work of His mercy below;
His astonishing grace
To the reprobate race,
Who are saved and set free
By a sight of the Lamb, as He hangs on the tree.

They had nothing to plead,
Not a word, or a deed,
Not a truly good thought,
When His mercy appear'd with a pardon unsought
They were strangers to God,
An heathenish crowd,
They had nothing to pay,
When He wash'd all their sins in a moment away.

Freely pardon'd they were,
And to sinners declare,
Who all evil have done
May with them be absolved by His mercy alone;
By believing in Him
Ever near to redeem
A poor desperate race,
And to save the whole world by His wonderfulgrace.

TheE Jesus, and Thy church below
 In David and his house we see,
The souls which sin did once o'erthrow
 Shall they not rise restored by Thee?
Surely Thou wilt Thy house repair,
And fix Thy constant presence there.

We look for our returning Lord
 To raise the nations from their fall;
Thou wilt according to Thy word,
 In pardoning grace appear to all,
Visit the whole apostate race,
And stir them up to seek Thy face.

The Heathens still Thy creatures are,
 Blind children of a God unknown,
Thy work, their Maker's name they bear
 Whose blood did for their sins atone;
And those who bear the Christian sign,
Heathens baptized, are doubly Thine.

Come then, and claim Thy property,
 Thou Friend and lover of mankind,
Let every soul be found in Thee,
 In Thee his great Restorer find,
That all our ransom'd world may own
The saving work is all Thine own!

 N OTHING can escape Thine eye
  Who at a single view
 Past and future dost descry,
  And all Thy works look through:
 All Thy works at once are known,
And grasp'd by Thine immensity;
 Present, past, to come are one
  Eternal now with Thee!

 All Thy other works are wrought
  That Thy great work of grace
 May be to perfection brought
  In the peculiar race;
 Stands the world for this alone,
ThaThere prepared to reign with Thee,
 Saints may soon ascend Thy throne,
  And God for ever see!

The authors of their flock's distress
 Wise pastors will forbear to name,
Yet openly their mind express
 And all erroneous guides disclaim;
The faithful should the false deny,
 Though of their own community,
The zealots blind who preach a lie,
 And contradict our God's decree.
Full of a false misguided zeal
 The genuine gospel they debase,
Greatly withstand the men who tell
 Poor souls that they are saved by grace:
Poor souls unsettled they subvert,
 And from the gospel hope remove;
And nothing can repair the hurt
 But true, Divine, enlighten'd love.

H APPY church when all are join'd
In one spirit, heart, and mind,
In the truth's defence agree,
In the bond of charity
All at Jesus' glory aim,
All rejoice to speak the same!

None affects dominion there,
Challenges the' unerring chair;
None the hoodwink'd people guides,
Magisterially decides,
Bids the rest submit to him
Judge infallible, supreme.

On the common good intent
All conspire with one consent
Peace and concord to restore,
Saints aspire to nothing more;
Only seek by this to prove
Jesus and His church they love

U NWORTHY of the ministry
 Most unqualified is he
  Who doth not life despise,
For Jesus and His church below,
And freely to the mountain go
  Where his Redeemer dies.

Jesus, if Thou my Master art,
 Bless me with the martyr's heart,
  The ministerial grace;
I then Thy ready servant am,
And all the virtues of Thy name
  In life and death confess.

W HO then shall needless things impose
 Their own authority to prove,
Or make new laws to govern those
 That, subject to their Saviour's love,
Deny the Antichristian claim,
And bow to none but Jesus' name?

Authority in things Divine
 Belongs to God and God alone:
Whate'er His oracles enjoin
 Our only rule of life we own:
And rulers by His power are seal'd
To see the laws of Christ fulfill'd.

The solemn interdict of blood
 (In honour of the blood Divine
Which life on all mankind bestow'd)
 The Spirit did Himself enjoin;
The church by His direction led
 With cordial unanimity
The' original command obey'd,
 And ratified their Lord's decree.

From Noah's down to Moses' days
 From Moses to our God reveal'd,
Beyond the apostolic race
 The law continued unrepeal'd;
After a length of ages pass'd
 Who then so greatly could presume
To cancel the decree at last?
 The man of sin that reigns at Rome .

L ET teachers false their sentence close
With dire anathemas and woes,
Let the fierce partisans of Rome
To death and sure damnation doom;
The' apostles of the Lamb we see
With love confirm their mild decree;
Love is the truth's authentic seal,
And bids obedient souls Farewell.

I F one concise epistle read
 Did such abundant comfort give,
Such mighty joy administer'd,
 What may we not from all receive
By the inspiring Spirit given
That saints on earth may reign in heaven!

The sacred book on man bestow'd
 But one Divine epistle is,
Which teaches the whole mind of God,
 Which fills our hearts with heavenly bliss,
And makes unto salvation wise,
And gives us thrones above the skies.

J ESUS our Desire and Hope,
 All Thy church's wants supply,
Raise Thy preaching servants up,
 Send them forth to prophesy,
Fill their mouths with words of grace,
Fill their lives with righteousness.

Taught to teach Thy people here
 By the unction from above,
Blessings let them minister,
 Build us up in faith and love,
Execute Thy saving plan,
Bring us to a perfect man.

 G OD to apostolic men
  An holy freedom leaves,
 By some secret way unseen
  The true direction gives:
 Oft His servant's heart inclines
To that or this distinguish'd place,
 Answers thus His own designs,
  And manifests His grace.

D ISPENSERS of the gospel grace
Visit their flock in every place,
 The state of each to see;
To water what their hands had sow'd,
And mark their children's growth in good,
 In faith, and charity.

The church engrosses all their care;
Anxious how every soul may fare
 They every soul attend,
From place to place unwearied go,
Till all their faithful toils below
 In rest eternal end.

D ESERIERS willing to come back
 We should like Barnabas receive,
And yet of Paul example take
 Nor fugitives uncensured leave,
Lest others should embolden'd be
As hirelings from the flock to flee.

'Tis not a slight offence to start
 And quit the post by heaven assign'd;
If once from Jesus I depart,
 And cast the care of souls behind,
Whoe'er the penitent receive,
I never can myself forgive.

W HY were they left to disagree?
 Not to encourage sin,
Or prove the' impossibility
 Of constant peace within;
Not to confirm the daring lie
 'Gainst Christ the Finisher,
Or countenance the men who cry
 “There's no perfection here.”

The fault, if fault indeed there was,
 In one apostle stood,
Eagerly partial in the cause
 Of his own flesh and blood:
And God to teach us watchfulness
 Let the sharp contest rise,
That we may pray, and never cease
 Till harbour'd in the skies.

Saviour, by Thy permissive will
 The fellow-labourers part
The gracious counsels to fulfil
 Of Thy most loving heart;
They part to' advance the work Divine,
 To spread Thy victory,
And by the separation join
 Ten thousand more to Thee.

The pastor when his flock he leaves,
A parting benediction gives;
The flock his prosperous labours shares,
And helps the pastor by their prayers,
His fatherly concern approve
With piety of filial love.

To God each other they commend,
And showers of grace on both descend;
In body for a while they part,
Inseparable still in heart;
To earth's remotest corners driven,
They part below to meet in heaven.

H E lost his ancient colleague's aid,
 But Jesus left him not alone,
Himself with His apostle stay'd,
 His all-sufficient grace made known;
And lo, with double power endow'd
He flies to build the church of God.

Lord of the gospel-harvest, give
 Such labourers now Thy church to raise,
That saints entirely Thine may live,
 Stablish'd in truth and righteousness,
Strong in the faith which cannot move,
Sunk in the lowest depths of love.