Now behold my arms outstretched
To receive you to my heart.
IV
“Well may shame and joy and wonder
All your inward passions move;
I could crush thee with my thunder,
But I speak to thee in love:
See! your sins are all forgiven—
I have paid the countless sum!
Now my death has open’d heaven,
Thither you shall shortly come.”
V
Dearest Saviour, we adore thee
For thy precious life and death;
Melt each stubborn heart before thee,
Give us all the eye of faith:
From the law’s condemning sentence,
To thy mercy we appeal;
Thou alone canst give repentance,
Thou alone our souls canst heal.
62
The Good Physician
By Newton
I
How lost was my condition
Till Jesus made me whole!
There is but one Physician
Can cure a sin-sick soul!
Next door to death he found me,
And snatch’d me from the grave
To tell to all around me
His wondrous power to save.
II
The worst of all diseases
Is light compared with sin;
On every part it seizes,
But rages most within:
’Tis palsy, dropsy, fever,
And madness—all combined;
And none but a believer
The least relief can find.
III
From men great skill professing
I thought a cure to gain;
But this proved more distressing,
And added to my pain:
Some said that nothing ail’d me,
Some gave me up for lost;
Thus every refuge fail’d me,
And all my hopes were cross’d.
IV
At length this great Physician,
How matchless is his grace!
Accepted my petition,
And undertook my case;
First gave me sight to view him,
For sin my sight had seal’d,
Then bid me look unto him—
I look’d, and I was heal’d.
V
A dying, risen Jesus,
Seen by the eye of faith,
At once from anguish frees us,
And saves the soul from death:
Come then to this Physician,
His help he’ll freely give,
He makes no hard condition,
’Tis only—look and live.
63
To the Afflicted, Tossed with Tempests, and Not Comforted
By Newton
Isaiah 44:5–11.
I
Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what Christ the Saviour says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise:
Yes, he speaks, and speaks to thee,
May he help thee to believe!
Then thou presently wilt see,
Thou hast little cause to grieve.
II
“Fear thou not, nor be ashamed,
All thy sorrows soon shall end:
I who heaven and earth have framed
Am thy Husband and thy Friend:
I the High and Holy One,
Isr’el’s God by all adored,
As thy Saviour will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.
III
For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was fill’d with pain;
But my mercies I’ll renew—
Thou shalt soon rejoice again:
Though I seem to hide my face,
Yery soon my wrath shall cease;
’Tis but for a moment’s space,
Ending in eternal peace.
IV
When my peaceful bow appears,
Painted on the wat’ry cloud;
’Tis to dissipate thy fears,
Lest the earth should be o’erflow’d:
’Tis an emblem too of grace,
Of my cov’nant love a sign;
Though the mountains leave their place,
Thou shalt be for ever mine.
V
Though afflicted, tempest-toss’d.
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou canst be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart:
All thy wastes I will repair,
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear
What a God of love can do.
64
The Contrite Heart
By Cowper
Isaiah 57:15.
I
The Lord will happiness divine
On contrite hearts bestow:
Then tell me, gracious God, is mine
A contrite heart or no?
II
I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
Insensible as steel;
If aught is felt, ’tis only pain
To find I cannot feel.
III
I sometimes think myself inclined
To love thee, if I could;
But often feel another mind,
Averse to all that’s good.
IV
My best desires are faint and few,
I fain would strive for more;
But when I cry, “My strength renew,”
Seem weaker than before.
V
Thy saints are comforted, I know,
And love thy house of prayer;
I therefore go where others go,
But find no comfort there.
VI
O make this heart rejoice or ache,
Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken break,
And heal it if it be.
65
The Future Peace and Glory of the Church
By Cowper
Isaiah 60:15–20.
I
Hear what God the Lord hath spoken:
“O my people, faint and few,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you;
Thorns of heart-felt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways;
You shall name your walls Salvation,
And your gates shall all be Praise.
II
There, like streams that feed the garden,
Pleasures without end shall flow;
For the Lord, your faith rewarding,
All his bounty shall bestow:
Still in undisturb’d possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression—
Hear the voice of war again.
III
Ye no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see;
But, your griefs for ever ending,
Find eternal noon in me:
God shall rise, and shining o’er you,
Change to day the gloom of night;
He the Lord, shall be your glory,
God your everlasting light.”
66
The Trust of the Wicked and the Righteous Compared
By Newton
Jeremiah 17:5–8.
I
As parched in the barren sands,
Beneath a burning sky,
The worthless bramble with’ring stands,
And only grows to die;
II
Such is the sinner’s awful case,
Who makes the world his trust,
And dares his confidence to place
In vanity and dust.
III
A secret curse destroys his root,
And dries his moisture up;
He lives awhile, but bears no fruit,
Then dies without a hope.
IV
But happy he whose hopes depend
Upon the Lord alone;
The soul that trusts in such a Friend
Can ne’er be overthrown.
V
Though gourds should wither, cisterns break.
And creature-comforts die,
No change his solid hope can shake,
Or stop his sure supply.
VI
So thrives and blooms the tree whose roots
By constant streams are fed;
Array’d in green, and rich in fruits,
It rears its branching head.
VII
It thrives though rain should be denied,
And drought around prevail;
’Tis planted by a river side
Whose waters cannot fail.
67
Jehovah Our Righteousness
By Cowper
Jeremiah 23:6.
I
My
