In Jesus, persons once accepted, do
Acceptance find in him for duties too.
For he, whose Son they do in marriage take,
Is bound to hear them for their Husband's sake.
But let no Christless soul at pray'r appear,
As if JEHOVAH were oblig'd to hear:
But use the means, because a sov'reign God
May come with alms, in this his wonted road.
He wills thee to frequent kind wisdom's gate,
To read, hear, meditate, to pray and wait;
Thy spirit then be on these duties bent,
As gospel means, but not as legal rent.
From these don't thy salvation hope nor claim,
But from JEHOVAH in the use of them.
The beggar's spirit never was so dull,
While waiting at the gate call'd Beautiful,
To hope for succor from the temple gate,
At which he daily did so careful wait;
But from the rich and charitable sort,
Who to the temple daily made resort.
Means, ordinances, are the comely gate,
At which kind Heav'n has bid us constant wait :
Not that from these we have our alms, but from
The lib'ral God who there is wont to come.
If either we these means shall dare neglect,
Or yet from these enriching bliss expect,
We from the glory of the King defalk,
Who in the galleries is wont to walk:
We move not regular in duty's road,
But base invert them to an idol god.
Seek then, if gospel means you would essay,
Through grace to use them in a gospel way:
Not deeming that your duties are the price
Of divine favor, or of paradise;
Nor that your best efforts employed in these
Are fit exploits your awful Judge to please.
Why, thus you basely idolize your trash,
And make it with the blood of Jesus clash.
You'd buy the blessing with your vile refuse,
And so his precious righteousness abuse.
What! buy his gifts with filthy lumber? nay;
Whoever offers this must hear him say,
Thy money perish with thy soul for ay.*
Duties are means, which to the marriage bed
Should chastely lead us like a chamber-maid;
But if with her instead of Christ we match,
We not our safety, but our ruin hatch.
To Cæsar what is Cæsar's should be giv'n,
But Cæsar must not have what 's due to Heav'n;
So duty should have duty's room 't is true,
But nothing of the glorious Husband's due.
While means the debt of close attendance crave,
Our whole dependence God alone must have.
If duties, tears, our conscience pacify,
They with the blood of Christ presume to vie.
Means are his vassals; shall we without grudge
Discard the master, and espouse the drudge?
The hypocrite, the legalist does sin,
To live on duties, not on Christ therein.
He only feeds on empty dishes, plates,
Who doats on means, but at the manna frets.
Let never means content thy soul at all,
Without the Husband, who is all in all.*
Cry daily for the happy marriage hour;
To thee belongs the mean, to him the pow'r.
A CALL TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, WITH SOME HINTS AT
THE ACT AND OBJECT OF FAITH.
FRIEND, is the question on thy heart engraved,
What shall I do to be forever sav'd ?*
Lo! here's a living rock to build upon;
Believe in Jesus ; and on him alone
For righteousness and strength thine anchor drop,
Renouncing all thy former legal hope.
"Believe! (say you ?) I can no more believe,
Than keep the law of works, the do and live."
True; and it were thy mercy, didst thou see
Thine utter want of all ability.
New cov'nant graces he alone can grant,
Whom God has given to be the covenant;‡
Ev'n Jesus, whom the sacred letters call
Faith's object, author, finisher, and all;
In him alone, not in thy act of faith,
Thy soul believing, full salvation hath.
In this new cov'nant judge not faith to hold
The room of perfect doing in the old.
Faith is not giv'n to be the fed'ral price
Of other blessings, or of paradise;
But Heav'n, by giving this, strikes out a door
At which is carried in still more and more.
No sinner must upon his faith lay stress,
As if it were a perfect righteousness.
God ne'er assign'd unto it such a place;
"Tis, but at best, a bankrupt, begging grace.
Its object makes its fame to fly abroad,
So close it gripes the righteousness of God;
Which righteousness receiv'd, is (without strife)
The true condition of eternal life.
But still, say you, pow'r to believe I miss.
You may; but know you what believing is ?
Faith lies not in your building up a tow'r
Of some great action by your proper pow'r,
For Heav'n well knows, that by the killing fall
No pow'r, no will remains in man at all
For acts divinely good, 'till sov'reign grace
By pow'rful drawing virtue turn the chase.
Hence none believe in Jesus as they ought,
Till once they first believe they can do nought,
Nor are sufficient e'en to form a thought.*
|