The Work of Grace as a Whole

230 All Mercies traced to electing Love.

1 INDULGENT God! how kind Are all Thy ways to me, Whose dark benighted mind Was enmity with Thee;

Yet now, subdued by sovereign grace, My spirit longs for Thine embrace.

2 How precious are Thy thoughts, That o'er my bosom roll;

They swell beyond my faults, And captivate my soul;

How great their sum, how high they rise, Can ne'er be known beneath the skies.

3 Preserved in Jesus, when My feet made haste to hell; And there should I have gone, But Thou dost all things well;

Thy love was great, Thy mercy free, Which from the pit deliver'd me.

4 Before Thy hands had made The sun to rule the day, Or earth's foundation laid, Or fashion'd Adam's clay, What thoughts of peace and mercy flow'd In Thy dear bosom, O my God!

5 Oh! fathomless abyss, Where hidden mysteries lie: The seraph finds his bliss, Within the same to pry;

Lord, what is man, Thy desperate foe, That Thou shouldst bless and love him so?

6 A monument of grace, A sinner saved by blood: The streams of love I trace Up to the Fountain, God; And in His sacred bosom see Eternal thoughts of love to me.

John Kent, 1803.

231 Eternal Love exalted

1 SAVED from the damning power of sin, The law's tremendous curse, We'll now the sacred song begin Where God began with us.

2 We'll sing the vast unmeasured grace Which, from the days of old, Did all the chosen sons embrace, As sheep within the fold.

3 The basis of eternal love Shall mercy's frame sustain;

Earth, hell, or sin, the same to move, Shall all conspire in vain.

4 Sing, O ye sinners bought with blood, Hail the Great Three in One;

Tell how secure the covenant stood Ere time its race begun.

5 Ne'er had ye felt the guilt of sin, Nor sweets of pardoning love, Unless your worthless names had been Enroll'd to life above.

6 Oh what a sweet exulting song Shall rend the vaulted skies, When, shouting grace, the blood-wash'd throng Shall see the Top Stone rise.

John Kent, 1803.

232 The Love that God hath to us.

1 OH, love beyond the reach of thought, That form'd the sovereign plan, Ere Adam had our ruin wrought, Of saving fallen man!

2 God had so loved our rebel race As His own Son to give, That whoso will amazing grace! May look to Him and live.

3 Chosen in Christ, His ransom'd flock Th' eternal purpose prove: By nature of a sinful stock, Made blameless now in love.

4 Ransom'd by price, by blood redeem'd, Restored by power divine, Though lightly by the world esteem'd, They as the stars shall shine.

5 Bless'd be the Father of our Lord, From whom all blessings spring; And bless'd be the Incarnate Word, Our Saviour and our King!

6 We know and have believed the love Which God through Christ displays: And when we see His face above, We'll nobler anthems raise.

Josiah Conder, 1856.

233 "Grace reigns."

1 GRACE! 'tis a charming sound!

Harmonious to the ear!

Heaven with the echo shall resound, And all the earth shall hear.

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

3 Grace first inscribed my name In God's eternal book:

'Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb, Who all my sorrows took.

4 Grace led my roving feet To tread the heavenly road; And new supplies each hour I meet While pressing on to God.

5 Grace taught my soul to pray, And made my eyes o'erflow;

'Twas grace that kept me to this day, And will not let me go.

6 Grace all the work shall crown, Through everlasting days;

It lays in heaven the topmost stone, And well deserves the praise.

Philip Doddridge, 1755;

Augustus M. Toplady, 1776.

234 Grace most free.

1 NOT to myself I owe That I, O Lord, am Thine;

Free grace hath all the shades broke through, And caused the light to shine.

2 Me Thou hast willing made Thy offers to receive;

Call'd by the voice that wakes the dead, I come to Thee and live.

3 Because Thy sovereign love Was bent the worst to save;

Jesus who reigns enthroned above, The free salvation gave.

Augustus M Toplady, 1759.

235 All due to Grace

1 ALL that I was, my sin, my guilt, My death, was all mine 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 that 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.

Horatius Bonar, 1856

236 Salvation by Grace in Christ.

1 NOW to the power of God supreme Be everlasting honours given;

He saves from hell (we bless His name), He calls our wand'ring feet to heaven.

2 Not for our duties or deserts, But of His own abounding grace, He works salvation in our hearts, And forms a people for His praise.

3 'Twas His own purpose that begun To rescue rebels doom'd to die;

He gave us grace in Christ His Son Before He spread the starry sky.

4 Jesus the Lord appears at last, And makes His Father's counsels known;

Declares the great transactions past, And brings immortal blessings down.

5 He dies; and in that dreadful night Did all the powers of hell destroy;

Rising, He brought our heaven to light, And took possession of the joy.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

237 Grace claims the Glory

1 NOT for the works which we have done, Or shall hereafter do, Hath God decreed on sinful worms Salvation to bestow.

2 The glory, Lord, from first to last, Is due to Thee alone:

Aught to ourselves we dare not take, Or rob Thee of Thy crown.

3 Our glorious Surety undertook To satisfy for man, And grace was given us in Him Before the world began.

4 This is Thy will, that in Thy love We ever should abide; And lo, we earth and hell defy To make Thy counsel void.

5 Not one of all the chosen race But shall to heaven attain;

Partake on earth the purposed grace, And then with Jesus reign.

6 Of Father, Son, and Spirit, we Extol the threefold care; Whose love, whose merit, and whose power Unite to lift us there.

Augustus M. Toplady, 1774.

238 Sin subdued by Grace

1 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! for ever praise, For ever 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 sovereign 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 wash'd 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 Bee our Father's face.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

239

Salvation

1 SALVATION! oh, the Joyful sound!

'Tis pleasure to our ears; A sovereign balm for every wound, A cordial for our fears.

2 Buried in sorrow and in sin, At hell's dark door we lay; But we arise by grace divine. To see a heavenly day.

3 Salvation! let the echo fly The spacious earth around, While all the armies of the sky Conspire to raise the sound.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

240 The Unspeakable Gift

1 COME, happy souls, approach your God With new melodious songs;

Come, render to almighty grace The tribute of your tongues.

2 So strange, so boundless was the love That pitied dying men, The Father sent His equal Son To give them life again.

3 Thy hands, dear Jesus, were not arm'd With an avenging rod, No hard commission to perform, The vengeance of a God.

4 But all was mercy, all was mild, And wrath forsook the throne, When Christ on the kind errand came, And brought salvation down.

5 Here, sinners, you may heal your wounds, And wipe your sorrows dry;

Trust in the mighty Saviour's name, And you shall never die.

6 See, dearest Lord, our willing souls Accept Thine offer'd grace;

We bless the great Redeemer's love, And give the Father praise.

Isaac Watts, 1709

241 The Messenger of Grace

1 RAISE your triumphant songs To an immortal tune;

Let the wide earth resound the deeds Celestial grace has done.

2 Sing how eternal love Its chief Beloved chose, And bid Him raise our wretched race From their abyss of woes.

3 His hand no thunder bears, Nor terror clothes His brow: No bolts to drive our guilty souls To fiercer flames below.

4 'Twas mercy fill'd the throne, And wrath stood silent by, When Christ was sent with pardons down To rebels doom'd to die.

5 Now, sinners, dry your tears, Let hopeless sorrows cease;

Bow to the sceptre of His love, And take the offer'd peace.

6 Lord, we obey Thy call:

We lay an humble claim To the salvation Thou hast brought, And love and praise Thy name.

Isaac Watts, 1709.

242 "We will rejoice in His Salvation."

1 GOD of salvation, we adore Thy saving love, Thy saving power; And to our utmost stretch of thought, Hail the redemption Thou hast wrought.

2 We love the stroke that breaks our chain, The sword by which our sins are slain; And while abased in dust we bow, We sing the grace that lays us low.

3 Perish each thought of human pride, Let God alone be magnified; His glory let the heavens resound, Shouted from earth's remotest bound.

4 Saints, who His full salvation know, Saints who but taste it here below, Join with the angelic choir to raise Transporting songs of deathless praise.

Philip Doddridge, 1755.

243 Grace Immutable.

1 O MY distrustful heart, How small thy faith appears! But greater, Lord, Thou art Than all my doubts and fears: Did Jesus once upon me shine?

Then Jesus is for ever mine.

2 Unchangeable His will, Whatever be my frame; His loving heart is still Eternally the same: My soul through many changes goes, His love no variation knows.

3 Thou, Lord, wilt carry on, And perfectly perform, The work Thou hast begun In me a sinful worm:

'Midst all my fears, and sin, and woe, Thy Spirit will not let me go.

4 The bowels of Thy grace At first did freely move:

I still shall see Thy face, And feel that God is love: My soul into Thine arms I cast, I know I shall be saved at last.

William Hammond, 1745.

244

Grace enjoyed

1 ARISE, my soul, my joyful powers, And triumph in my God;

Awake, my voice, and loud proclaim His glorious grace abroad.

2 He raised me from the deeps of sin, The gates of gaping hell, And fix'd my standing more secure Thau 'twas before I fell.

3 The arms of everlasting love Beneath my soul He placed; And on the Rock of Ages set My slippery footsteps fast.

4 The city of my bless'd abode Is wall'd around with grace;

Salvation for a bulwark stands To shield the sacred place.

5 Satan may vent his sharpest spite, And all his legions roar;

Almighty mercy guards my life, And bounds his raging power.

6 Arise, my soul, awake, my voice, And tunes of pleasure sing;

Loud hallelujahs shall address My Saviour and my King.

Isaac Watts, 1709

245 Grace completing its Work

1 TO God the only wise, Our Saviour and our King, Let all the saints below the skies Their humble praises bring.

2 His tried almighty love, His counsel and His care, Preserve us safe from sin and death, And every hurtful snare.

3 He will present our souls Unblemish'd and complete Before the glory of His face, With joys divinely great.

4 Then all the chosen seed Shall meet around the throne, Shall bless the conduct of His grace, And make His wonders known.

5 To our Redeemer God Wisdom and power belong, Immortal crowns of majesty, And everlasting song.

Isaac Watts, 1709, a.

246

Love Unfailing

1 NOW shall my inward joys arise, And burst into a song;

Almighty love inspires my heart, And pleasure tunes my tongue.

2 God on His thirsty Sion-hill Some mercy drops has thrown, And solemn oaths have bound His love To shower salvation down.

3 Why do we then indulge our fears, Suspicions and complaints? Is He a God, and shall His grace Grow weary of His saints?

4 Can a kind woman e'er forget The infant of her womb, And 'mongst a thousand tender thoughts, Her suckling have no room?

5 "Yet" saith the Lord, "should nature change And mothers monsters prove, Sion still dwells upon the heart Of everlasting love.

6 "Deep on the palms of both My hands I have engraved her name; My hands shall raise her ruin'd walls, And build her broken frame."

Isaac Watts, 1709.

247 Grace acknowledged

1 WHEN I stand before the throne Dress'd in beauty not my own, When I see Thee as Thou art, Love Thee with unsinning heart, Then, Lord, shall I fully know- Not till then—how much I owe.

2 Chosen not for good in me, Waken'd up from wrath to flee, Hidden in the Saviour's side, By the Spirit sanctified, Teach me, Lord, on earth to show, By my love, how much I owe.

3 Oft I walk beneath the cloud, Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud;

But, when fear is at the height, Jesus comes, and all is light;

Blessed Jesus! bid me show Doubting saints how much I owe.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne, 1837.

248 Grace causing Love

1 WE love Thee, Lord, because when we Had err'd and gone astray, Thou didst recall our wandering souls Into the heavenward way.

2 When helpless, hopeless, we were lost In sin and sorrow's night, Thou didst send forth a guiding ray Of Thy benignant light.

3 Because when we forsook Thy ways, Nor kept Thy holy will, Thou wert not the avenging Judge, But gracious Father still:

4 Because we have forgot Thee, Lord, But Thou hast not forgot;

Because we have forsaken Thee, But Thou forsakest not:

5 Because, O Lord, Thou lovedst us With everlasting love;

Because Thou send'st Thy Son to die, That we might live above:

6 Because, when we were heirs of wrath, Thou gav'st us hope of heaven;

We love because we much have sinn'd, And much have been forgiven.

Julia Anne Elliott, 1835.