5 In vain we boast perfection here,
While sin defiles our frame,
And sinks our virtues down so far,
They scarce deserve the name.

6 Our faith, and love, and every grace,
Fall far below thy word;
But perfect truth and righteousness
Dwell only with the Lord.

387.

L. M.

HEGINBOTHAM.

A Saviour seen in the Scriptures.
1 NOW let my soul, eternal King,
To thee its grateful tribute bring;
My knee with humble homage bow;
My tongue perform its solemn vow.
2 All nature sings thy boundless love,
In worlds below, and worlds above;
But in thy blessed word I trace
Diviner wonders of thy grace.

3 There what delightful truths I read!
There I behold the Saviour bleed;
His name salutes my listening ear,
Revives my heart, and checks my fear.
4 There Jesus bids my sorrows cease,
And gives my laboring conscience peace;
There lifts my grateful passions high,
And points to mansions in the sky.

5 For love like this, O, let my song,
Through endless years, thy praise prolong;
Let distant climes thy name adore,

Till time and nature are no more.

A written Revelation.

1 LET everlasting glories crown

WATTS.

Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord; Thy hands have brought salvation down, And stored the blessings in thy word.

2 In vain the trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With long despair the spirit breaks,
Till we apply to Christ alone.

3 How well thy blesséd truths agree!
How wise and holy thy commands!
Thy promises, how firm they be!

How firm our hope and comfort stands ! 4 Should all the forms that men devise Assault my faith with treacherous art, I'd call them vanity and lies,

And bind the gospel to my heart.

389.

C. M.

WATTS

Love of the Scriptures.

1 O, HOW I love thy holy law!
"Tis daily my delight;

And thence my meditations draw
Divine advice by night.

2 My waking eyes prevent the day,
To meditate thy word;

My soul with longing melts away,
To hear thy gospel, Lord.

3 Thy heavenly words my heart engage,
And well employ my tongue,

And, through my weary pilgrimage,
Yield me a heavenly song.

4 When nature sinks, and spirits droop,
Thy promises of grace

Are pillars to support my hope,
And there I write thy praise.

Superiority of the Scriptures.

1 O LORD, thy perfect word
Directs our steps aright;

Nor can all other books afford
Such profit or delight.

Beddome.

2 Celestial light it sheds,
To cheer this vale below;
To distant lands its glory spreads,
And streams of mercy flow.

3 True wisdom it imparts;

391.

Commands our hope and fear;
O, may we hide it in our hearts.
And feel its influence there.

S. M.

The Books of Nature and Scripture.

1 BEHOLD, the lofty sky
Declares its Maker, God,

And all his starry works on high
Proclaim his power abroad.

2 The darkness and the light

WATTS.

Still keep their course the same;
While night to day, and day to night,
Divinely teach his name.

3 In every different land

Their general voice is known;
They show the wonders of his hand,
And orders of his throne.

4 Ye Christian lands, rejoice;
Here he reveals his word;
We are not left to nature's voice
To bid us know the Lord.

Preciousness of the Bible.

1 HOW precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given!

FAWCETT.

Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine,
To guide our souls to heaven.

2 It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears;

Life, light, and joy, it still imparts,
And quells our rising fears.

3 This lamp, through all the tedious night
Of life, shall guide our way,
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.

393.

C. M.

EPIS. COL.

Sufficiency of the Scriptures.

1 GREAT God, with wonder and with praise On all thy works I look ;

But still thy wisdom, power, and grace,
Shine brightest in thy book.

2 Here are my choicest treasures hid;
Here my best comfort lies;
Here my desires are satisfied;
And here my hopes arise.

3 Lord, make me understand thy law;
Show what my faults have been;
And from thy gospel let me draw
The pardon of my sin.

Delight and Instruction from the Bible. 1 I LOVE the volume of thy word; What light and joy those leaves afford To souls benighted and distressed! Thy precepts guide my doubtful way; Thy fear forbids my feet to stray;

Thy promise leads my heart to rest.

WATTS.

2 Thy threatenings wake my slumbering eyes,
And warn me where my danger lies;
But 'tis thy blesséd gospel, Lord,
That makes my guilty conscience clean,
Converts my soul, subdues my sin,

And gives a free, but large reward.

3 Who knows the errors of his thoughts?
My God, forgive my secret faults,

And from presumptuous sins restrain;
Accept my poor attempts of praise,
That I have read thy book of grace,
And book of nature, not in vain.

395.

C. M.

COWPER.

The Bible the Light of the World.

1 WHAT glory gilds the sacred page!
Majestic, like the sun,

It gives a light to every age;

It gives, but borrows none.

2 The power that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat:
Its truths upon the nations rise;
They rise, but never set.

3 Let everlasting thanks be thine
For such a bright display
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.

4 My soul rejoices to pursue
The steps of Him I love,
Till glory breaks upon my view
In brighter worlds above.

396.

C. M.

CAMPBELL'S COL.

The Glory of the Word.

1 A GLORY in the word we find,
When grace restores our sight;
But sin has darkened all the mind,
And veiled the heavenly light.

2 When God the Spirit clears our view,
How bright the doctrines shine!
Their holy fruits and sweetness show
The Author is divine.

3 How blest are we with open face
To view thy glory, Lord,
And all thy image here to trace
Reflected in thy word!

4 O, teach us, as we look, to grow
In holiness and love,

That we may long to see and know
Thy glorious face above.