This fountain in vain has never been try'd,
It takes out all stain, whenever apply'd:
The water flows sweetly with virtue divine,
To cleanse souls completely, tho' leprous as
mine.
105. The Pearl of great Price.
YE glittering toys of earth, adieu,
A nobler choice be mine:
A real prize attracts my view,
A treasure all divine.
Be gone, unworthy of my cares,
Ye specious baits of sense;
Inestimable worth appears,
The Pearl of price immense!
Jesus, to multitudes unknown,
O name divinely sweet!
Jesus, in thee, in thee alone,
Wealth, honour, pleasure meet.
Should both the Indies, at my call,
Their boasted stores resign,
With joy I would renounce them all
For leave to call thee mine,
Should earth's vain treasures all depart,
Of this dear gift possess'd,
I'd clasp it to my joyful heart, w
And be for ever bless'd.
Dear sov'teign of my soul's desires,
Thy love is bliss divine;
Accept the wish that love inspires,
And bid me call thee mine.
Christ the Saviour.
THE Saviour! O what endless charms
Dwell in the blisful sound!
Its influence ev'ry fear disarms,
And spreads sweet comfort round.
Th' almighty Former of the skies
Stoop'd to our vile abode,
While angels view'd with wond'ring eyes,
And hail'd th' incarnate God.
O the rich depths of love divine!
Of joy a boundless store:
Dear Saviour, let me call thee mine;
I cannot wish for more.
On thee alone my hope relies,
Beneath thy cross I fall:
My righteousness and sacrifice,
My Saviour, and my all.
107. Jesus the Shepherd of Israel.
THOU Shepherd of Israel divine,
Thou joy of the upright in heart,
For closer communion I pine,
I wish to reside where thou art:
The pasture, O when shall I find,
Where all who their Shepherd obey
Are fed, on thy bosom reclin'd,
And screen'd from the heat of the day? H
O shew me that happiest place,
That place of thy people's abode,
Where saints in an extacy gaze,
And hang on a crucify d God! ·
Thy merit and suff'rings declare,
Thy passion and death on the tree:
My spirit to calvary bear,
Where pardon was purchas'd for me.
'Tis there with the lambs of thy flock,
There only I covet to rest,
To lie at the foot of the rock,
Or rise to be hid in thy breast.
There, there I would ever abide,
Nor thence for a moment depart,
Conceal'd in the cleft of thy side,
Eternally held in thy heart.
108. Jesus the good Shepherd. WHEN my Saviour, my Shepherd, is near, How quickly my sorrows depart! New beauties around me appear, New spirits enliven my heart: His presence gives peace to my soul, And Satan assaults me in vain, While my Shepherd his pow'r controls, I think I no more shall complain.
But, alas! what a chi nge do I find
When my Shephe d withdraws from my
My fears all return to my mind,
[sight! My day is soon chang'd into night:
Then Satan his efforts renews
To vex and ensnare me again;
All my pleasing enjoyments I lose,
And can only lament and complain.
By these changes I often pass through
I am taught my own weakness to know,
I am taught what my Shepherd can do,
And how much to his mercy I owe:
It is he that supports me thro' all;
When I faint he revives me again;
He attends to my pray'r when I call,
And bids me no longer complain.
Wherefore then should I murmur and grieve,
Since my Shepherd is always the same,
And has promis'd he never will leave
The soul that confides in his name;
To relieve me from all that I fear,
He was buffeted, tempted, and slain,
And at length he will surely appear,
Tho' he leaves me a while to complain.
While I dwell in an enemy's land,
Can I hope to be always in peace?
'Tis enough that my Shepherd's at hand,
And that shortly this warfare will cease;
For ere long he will bid me remove
From this region of sorrow and pain,
To abide in his presence above,
And then I no more shall complain.
109. Jesus the good Shepherd. O THOU Saviour and Shepherd divine, Who hast laid down thy life for the Sheep:
Do thou take and preserve me as thine,
And my soul in prosperity keep;
With the lambs of thy fold may I feed,
Tho' the world may their portion disdain;
If the Lord be my Shepherd indeed,
Then my soul has no cause to complain.
What a source of delight and of bliss
Doth the smile of my Shepherd afford!
While to pastures he leads me, as his,
To enjoy the rich food of his word;
While I lean on his arm, I'm secure,
And my foes shew their malice in vain;
All my trials I gladly endure;
No, I cannot repine, or complain.
But how mournful the change that takes place
When this source of my comfort is fled;
When my Shepherd concealeth his face,
And refuseth his graces to shed;
Then my foes and my follies surround,
And my glory seems turned to shame,
Then the tempter my soul doth confound;
I can only lament and complain!
May I bear in my mind the glad day
When my sins shall for ever depart;
When my sorrows shall vanish away,
And my Shepherd be Lord of my heart;
When my soul in some mansion shall rest
Near my Shept erd, with all his glad train,
With his love and his smiles ever blest!
Then, O then, I no more shall complain.
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