Classic Poem

CHAPTER IX.

The wisdom of our God adore
 Who laughs to scorn the rage of man,
Lets loose the persecutor's power,
 Slackens the hellish murderer's chain,
But by their vain designs o'erthrown
He serves and stablishes His own

The sacrilegious power bestow'd
 By priestly hate on furious Saul ,
Marks out the instrument of God,
 Just ready for his second call;
The mission dire by Satan given
Conducts him to his Lord from heaven.

The war against Thy people dear
 Jesus, Thou turn'st into their peace,
And Satan's fiercest messenger
 Deserting doth their joy increase,
Their souls with stronger comforts bless'd,
With stronger tastes of glorious rest

 A H , whither will ye fly
  Ye sheep of Jesus' fold?
 The death approaching nigh,
  The slaughtering wolf behold:
He comes besmear'd with Stephen's blood
To martyr all the saints of God

 Now, now he ready is
  To spring upon his prey,
 The helpless flock to seize,
  And rend, and tear, and slay!
Lord what shall stop his headlong rage,
And save Thy wasted heritage?

 A word, a look from Thee
  Can make the savage tame,
 Disarm his cruelty
  And change him to a lamb,
Can strike opposers to the ground
And all Thy church's foes confound.

 Thou them in their distress
  Didst at Damascus save,
 That we when men oppress
  Full confidence may have,
Rest in the fold, and safe from harm
Depend on Thine unshorten'd arm.

 H E doth not seek the light,
 Or labour or inquire,
It shines into his deepest night
 Preventing his desire;
 Not waiting for his call
 It stops his mad career:
And thus the grace which ransoms all
 Doth once to all appear.

 It visits us unsought
 That first celestial ray,
Preventing every serious thought
 And every wish to pray;
 We no advances make
 To meet the God unknown,
Till mercy doth our souls attack
 And seizes for its own.

The members here and Head above,
United in the Spirit of love
 One mystic body make,
And Jesus, once a Man of woe
The sufferings of His saints below
 Doth still in heaven partake.

Oppress'd we in His Spirit groan;
Our sorrows He accounts His own,
 And answers sigh for sigh;
Fighting with God our foes are found,
And touching us, they madly wound
 The apple of His eye.

Hear this, thou persecutor hear,
And smote from heaven with sudden fear
 Before thy Smiter fall;
The madness of resistance find,
And know—the Saviour of mankind
 Is rich in grace for all.

Mine eyes are ever unto Thee,
Till open'd by Thy love they see:
Yet still Thou must Thy counsel show,
For still I know not what to do:
I would not see, but by Thy light;
I would not walk, but by Thy might;
Or work a work, or speak a word,
Or think a thought, without my Lord.

T HREE days he groans deprived of sight,
 And struggling in the Spirit's throes!
The shade of that exterior night
 The blindness of his nature shows,
The state his soul had long been in,
The night of unbelief within.

Three days he bears the' Egyptian load
 To' impress him with a deeper sense
Of Christ the persecuted God,
 Arm'd with Divine omnipotence
His thoughts from outward things to' avert
And turn them on his wretched heart.

The Pharisee was proud and blind
 Though learn'd in Moses ' law,
Nor knew the darkness of his mind,
 But thoughThe clearly saw;
Who many a tedious form had made
 And read them o'er and o'er,
A thousand times his prayers he said
 But never pray'd before.

A zealot of the straitest sect
 May thus himself deceive,
And till he his own light reject,
 He never can believe.
But struck, and suddenly cast down,
 By one celestial ray
Compell'd his unbelief to own
 He then begins to pray.

P OOR , and ignorant, and blind,
Hope in Thee, O Lord, I find;
Though Thou dost Thy gifts defer,
Thee I feel in darkness near:
Thou shalt lay Thy hand on me,
Give me eyes Thy love to see,
Faith and peace at once impart,
Cure the blindness of my heart.

Warn'd of Thy approach I wait,
Dark, but not disconsolate,
Wait according to Thy word
For the coming of my Lord:
Thou wilt soon the cloud dispel,
Pardon in my soul reveal,
Then I feel the sprinkled blood,
Then I know my Lord, my God!

 By nature we incline
 To reason against Thee,
And measure with our scanty line
 Thy love's immensity;
 Ignorant of Thy ways
 Unable to conceive
That Thou the God of boundless grace
 So greatly canst forgive.

 B UT our High Priest above
 With His commission sent
The chosen vessel of His love,
 And alter'd Saul's intent;
 Before his hands he laid
 On those who Christ adored
Saul is himself stopp'd short, and made
 The prisoner of the Lord.

F ORTH against all the world he goes
 Whom Christ vouchsafes to choose,
The Gentile ignorance to' oppose,
 The stubbornness of Jews ,
War with the rich he dares proclaim,
 On pride and grandeur fall,
And through the power of Jesu's name
 He more than conquers all

Master, if me Thou canst employ
 Thy poorest messenger,
Even I the tidings of great joy
 Before the world declare;
The name which sure salvation brings
 I live to testify
To Heathens, Pharisees , and kings,
 And in the service die.

G REAT things ordain'd for Thee to do,
 Thou dost our souls prepare
By labouring strength, and patience too
 Great things for Thee to bear;
Afflictions with Thy grace abound,
 And make Thy favourites known,
And those who suffer most are found
 The nearest to Thy throne.

 H IS sighThe first receives:
 And thus the will Divine
Sometimes to humbled sinners gives
 The grace without the sign:
 Baptized, he then obeys,
 And shows it just and fit
That all who have obtain'd the grace
 Should to the sign submit.

 E AGER to repair the wrong
  He to the church had done,
 ChrisThe spreads before the throng
  And makes his Saviour known;
 Jesu's love his heart constrains,
And all who know the precious grace
 Spend their utmost strength and pains
  To save the sinful race

 Jesu's love I cannot feel
  And hide it in my heart;
 No: I must the secret tell,
  I must to all impart,
 Publish God's eternal Son—
Sinner, He bought us on the tree,
 Tasted death for every one,
  And offers life to Thee!

W HO Jesus to the world confess
 And preach before His foes,
Our labour doth our strength increase,
 Our grace by using grows;
Our talents more and more abound,
 Who Christ proclaim aloud,
And prove (His haters to confound)
 This is the' eternal God.

W HO lately shed the martyrs' blood
Is now himself to death pursued,
 By day and night beset;
But ChrisThe confidently knows
Will rescue him from all his foes,
 And break the hellish net.

Yet conscious of his Lord's design,
He will not human means decline
 The threaten'd death to flee;
To ways most humbling he submits,
And by a basket's help defeats
 The dire conspiracy

G OD will not needlessly be seen,
But lets the work be done by men
 Which may by man be done,
His saints to common ways He leaves,
And in due time occasion gives
 To make His wonders known.

Others He finds our faith to tell,
Our sights of Christ, and prosperous zeal
 In publishing the word,
That saints acknowledging our grace
With joy may know, with love embrace,
 Their brethren in the Lord.

W HERE first by us it came, we there
Should chiefly the offence repair,
 A better pattern give,
And show the unconverted race
How sinful men transform'd by grace
 How real Christians live.

N OT the advice of flesh and blood,
But love for souls, and zeal for God
 Lead the apostle on,
To preach Him in his native place,
That those by nature join'd, by grace
 Might live for ever one.

O THAT now the church were bless'd
 With faith and faith's increase!
Grant us, Lord, the outward rest,
 And true internal peace:
 Build us up in holy love,
And let us walk with God below,
 Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
  And all Thy comfort know

 With the humble filial fear
  Be mix'd the joy of grace,
 While we gladly persevere
  In all Thy righteous ways:
 Thus let each in Thee abide,
Let each improve the blessing given,
 Till Thy church is multiplied
  Beyond the stars of heaven.

N OT for the sake of health alone
 Jesus His healing power displays,
But that the sin-sick kind may own
 His mightier miracles of grace
He works to make our pardon sure;
 His arm omnipotent reveals,
And by a single body's cure
 Ten thousand helpless souls He heals!

W HEN I have run my earthly race,
 Lord, I want no greater praise
  If Thy true worshippers
Their momentary loss deplore,
And widows desolate and poor
  Embalm me with their tears.

Till then I would my hands employ
 Serving them with humblest joy,
  And warmest charity;
For taught of God I surely know
That ministering to saints below
  I clothe and cherish Thee.

 The poor afflicted saints
 Their common loss bemoan,
And God regards in their complaints
 The Spirit of His Son:
 Who gave the Son of man,
 He lets the servant go
Out of His arms to earth again
 And tend His church below.

 WhaTheart can e'er conceive
 How great the soul's surprise
When sent again in flesh to live
 She here lifts up her eyes!
 Did noTher eyes o'erflow
 This weeping vale to see,
These scenes of wretchedness and woe,
 Of sinful misery?

 The poor might well embrace
 With joy their friend restored,
The church their powerful Saviour praise
 Who thus confirm'd His word:
 But could a saint return
 To dwell beneath the skies,
And not with deepest sorrow mourn
 Her twice-lost paradise?

 From spirits glorified
 As soon as she withdrew,
Oblivion's veil was drawn to hide
 The vision from her view:
 She then with double zeal
 Employ'd her added days,
To do the Saviour's perfect will,
 To' improve His utmost grace

 Superior joys above
 For lengthen'd toils prepared,
And richer stores of heavenly love
 Enhanced her vast reward;
 Call'd to a happier state
 When all her work was done
She found a more exceeding weight
 Of glory in her crown!