3 Now he persuades, How easy 'tis
To walk the road to heaven;
Anon he swells our sins, and cries,
They cannot be forgiv'n.

4 (He bids young sinners, Yet forbear
To think of God or death;
For prayer and grave devotion are
But melancholy breath.

5 He tells the aged, They must die,
And 'tis too late to pray;

In vain for mercy now they cry,
For they have lost their day.)
e 6 Thus he supports his cruel throne,
By mischief and deceit ;

And drags the sons of Adam down
To darkness and the pit.

7 Almighty God, cut short his pow'r,
Let him in darkness dwell;

And that he vex the earth no more,
Confine him down to hell.

1

HYMN 157. C. M. Reading. [b]

NOW

The same.

OW Satan comes with dreadful roar,
And threatens to destroy;

He worries whom he can't devour,

With a malicious joy.

o 2 Ye sons of God, oppose his

rage;

Resist, and he'll be gone: -Thus did our dearest Lord engage, And vanquish him alone.

e 3 Now he appears almost divine,
Like innocence and love;

-But the old serpent lurks within,
When he assumes the dove.

o 4 Fly from the false deceiver's tongue,
Ye sons of Adam, fly!

e Our parents found the snare too strong; Nor should the children try.

HYMN 158. L. M. Geneva. Babylon. [b]

Few saved: or, The almost Christian.

ROAD is the road that leads to death,

•1 Band thousands walk together there;

But wisdom shews a narrow path,
With here and there a traveller.

d 2 Deny thyself and take thy cross,
e Is the Redeemer's great command;
-Nature must count her gold but dross,
If she would gain this heav'nly land.
p 3 The fearful soul that tires and faints,
And walks the ways of God no more,
Is but esteem'd-almost a saint-
And makes his own destruction sure.
-4 Lord, let not all my hopes be vain,
Create my heart entirely new:
Which hypocrites could ne'er attain,
Which false apostates never knew.

HYMN 159

C. M. Plymouth. Wantage. [*] Unconverted State: or, Converting Grace. I REAT King of glory and of grace, We own, with humble shame, How vile is our degen'rate race,

1

G

And our first father's name.

-2 From Adam flows our tainted blood,
The poison reigns within;
Makes us averse to all that's good,
And willing slaves to sin.

3 [Daily we break thy holy laws,
And then reject thy grace;
Engag'd in the old Serpent's cause:
Against our Maker's face.]

4 We live estrang'd afar from God,
And love the distance well;
With haste we run the dang'rous road,
That leads to death and hell.
e 5 And can such rebels be restor'd!
Such natures made divine!

o Let sinners see thy glory, Lord,
And feel this pow'r of thine.
o 6 We raise our Father's name on high,
Who his own Spirit sends,
o To bring rebellious strangers nigh,
And turn his foes to friends.

HYMN 160. L. M. Armley. [*]

Custom in Sin.

ET the wild leopards of the wood

Put off the spots that nature gives;

Then may the wicked turn to God,

And change their tempers, and their lives.

2 As well might Ethiopian slaves
Wash out the darkness of their skin;

The dead as well may leave their graves,
As old transgressors cease to sin.

3 Where vice has held its empire long,
'Twill not endure the least control;
None, but a pow'r divinely strong,
Can turn the current of the soul.
4 Great God, I own thy pow'r divine,
That works to change this heart of mine;
I would be form'd anew, and bless
The wonders of creating grace.

HYMN 161. C. M. Reading. [b]

Christian Virtues: or, Difficulty of going to Heaven.
TRAIT is the way, the door is strait,
That leads to joys on high;

1

'Tis but a few that find the gate,
While crowds mistake and die.
2 Beloved self must be deny'd,
The mind and will renew'd;
Passion suppress'd and patience try'd,
And vain desires subdu'd.

3 (Flesh is a dang'rous foe to grace,
Where it prevails and rules;
Flesh must be humbled, pride abas'd;
Lest they destroy our souls.)

4 The love of gold be banish'd hence,
That vile idolatry;

And ev'ry member, ev'ry sense.
In sweet, subjection lie.

5 The tongue, that most unruly pow'r,
Requires a strong restraint;

We must be watchful ev'ry hour,
And pray but never faint.

e 6 Lord! can a feeble helpless worm,
Fulfil a task so hard!

• Thy grace must all my work perform, And give the free reward.

1

HYMN 162. C. M. Swanwick. [*]
Meditation of Heaven: or, the Joy of Faith.

MY thoughts surmount these lower skies,

And look within the vail;

o There springs of endless pleasure rise, The waters never fail.

-2 There I behold, with sweet delight,

The blessed Three in One ;
And strong affections fix my sight
On God's incarnate Son.

o 3 His promise stands forever firm,
His grace shall ne'er depart;
-He binds my name upon his arm,
And seals it on his heart.

4 Light are the pains that nature brings:
How short our sorrows are—
When with eternal future things,
The present we compare!

o 5 I would not be a stranger still,
To that celestial place,
Where I forever hope to dwell
Near my Redeemer's face.

1

HYMN 163. C. M. Reading. [*]
Complaint of Desertion and Temptations.

Dour sins attempt to reign,

EAR Lord, behold our sore distress;

Stretch out thine arm of conqu’ring grace,
And let thy foes be slain.

2 (The lion, with his dreadful roar,
Affrights thy feeble sheep:
Reveal the glory of thy pow'r,

And chain him to the deep.

3 Must we indulge a long despair;
Shall our petitions die?

Our mournings never reach thine ear,
Nor tears affect thine eye?)

4 If Thou despise a mortal groan,
Yet hear a Saviour's blood;
An Advocate, so near the throne,
Pleads and prevails with God.

5 He brought the Spirit's pow'rful sword,
To slay our deadly foes:

Our sins shall die beneath thy word,
And hell in vain oppose.

6 How boundless is our Father's grace,
In height and depth and length!
He made his Son our righteousness,
His Spirit is our strength.]

HYMN 164. C. M.

Windsor. [b]

The End of the World.

1 [WHY should this earth delight us so?

Why should we fix our eyes

On these low grounds where sorrows grow,
And ev'ry pleasure dies?

e 2 While time his sharpest teeth prepares
Our comforts to devour,

o There is a land above the stars,
And joys above his pow'r.

e 3 Nature shall be dissolv'd and die,
The sun must end his race;
The earth and sea forever fly

Before my Saviour's face.

o 4 When will that glorious morning rise!
When the last trumpet sound,

And call the nations to the skies,
From underneath the ground?]

HYMN 165. C. M. Wantage. China. [b] Unfruitfulness, Ignorance, and unsanctified Affections P1LONG have I sat beneath the sound

Of thy salvation, Lord;

But still how weak my faith is found-
And knowledge of thy word!
e 2 Oft I frequent thy holy place,
And hear almost in vain ;

How small a portion of thy grace
My mem❜ry can retain !

3 [My dear Almighty, and my God,
How little art thou known,

By all the judgments of thy rod,
And blessings of thy throne.]

p 4 (How cold and feeble is my love!
How negligent my fear!

How low my hopes of joys above!
How few affections there.)

-5 Great God, thy sov'reign pow'r impart,
To give thy word success;
Write thy salvation in my heart,

And make me learn thy grace.

o 6 (Shew my forgetful feet the way,
That leads to joys on high;

There knowledge grows without decay,
And love shall never die.)