Saturday, March 18, 2017

Come, every pious heart

Come, every pious heart
That loves the Saviour's name,
Your noblest powers exert
To celebrate his fame;
Tell all above, and all below,
The debt of love to him you owe.

Such was his zeal for God
And such his love for you,
He nobly undertook
What Gabriel could not do:
His every deed of love and grace
All words exceed, and thoughts surpass.

He left his starry crown,
And laid his robes aside:
On wings of love came down,
And wept, and bled, and died;
What he endur'd, O who can tell,
To save our souls from death and hell!

From the dark grave he rose,
The mansion of the dead;
And thence his mighty foes
In glorious triumph led:
Up through the sky the Conqueror rode,
And reigns on high, the Saviour God.

From thence he'll quickly come,
His chariot will not stay,
And bear our spirits home,
To realms of endless day:
There shall we see his lovely face,
And ever be in his embrace.

Jesus, we ne'er can pay
The debt we owe thy love;
Yet tell us how we may
Our gratitude approve;
Our hearts, our all, to thee we give;
The gift, though small, thou wilt receive.
                                                 Dr. S. Stennett


.....happy were the day that ever thou heardst of a Christ, of
acquaintance with God, and reconciliation with thy Maker.  Oh then,
how glorious shouldst thou be for ever!  I rejoice to see the day of thy
marriage coming; when thy Lord and Husband shall bring thee home in
the greatest state, and in infinite glory, to his own house, where thou shalt
sit like a queen for ever and ever.  Behold his harbingers are coming! 
Behold how many messengers the Lord hath sent to prepare his way! 
Awake, O Zion, and put on thy beautiful garments!  Rise up, O royal bride,
and put on thy princely robes!  Clothe thee with the sun, and put the moon
under thy feet.  Go out and meet the King, thy Husband.  Behold, O Jacob,
the wagons of Joseph are coming!  Behold, O daughter of Zion, the chariots,
the chariots of thy King and Husband are coming!  They are coming!  Oh
why doth not thy heart leap within thee?  Oh why do not thy spirits even faint
for gladness?  Why dost thou not say, It is enough, I will go out and meet my
Lord before I die?  When will the sun be up?  When will the day break? 
When, oh when will the shadows fly away?  I will get me up to the mountains
of myrrh, to the hills of frankincense.  I am travelling for Zion, my face is
towards Jerusalem.  Who will ascend the holy hill with me?  Who will bear me
company to my Husband's house?  Let us go up to the Lord's house.  Come
away, the sun is risen, the shadows are flying away; thousands are gone
already.....Come from the highways and hedges, come with your wedding-
garments; come quickly, and he will make you welcome.  The King hath sent
to invite us to a feast.....Come, for the table is spread, all things are ready, and
his servants stay for us.  And will God entertain such creatures as we are? 
And will the Lord open his doors to such loathsome beggars?  Will the
Father receive such prodigals?  Return then unto thy rest, O my soul, for the
Lord will deal bountifully with thee.  Who is he that I see coming in the field? 
Who is this that comes from the wilderness? that comes to meet us?  Hark!
me thinks I hear the trumpet sounding!  Hark!  What's the matter?  How do
the mountains echo!  How doth the air ring again!  What noise is that which
I hear?  What glorious train is that which I see?  Whence do they come,
and whither do they go?  It is my Master's Son, dear soul, thy Lord and
Husband, with his royal attendants.  Behold he comes!  He comes apace!
leaping upon the hills, skipping upon the mountains.  He is coming!  He is
coming!  He is even at the door!  Erelong thou shalt see the mountains
covered with chariots and horses of fire; the earth will tremble and shake;
the  heavens and the earth will be all on a flaming fire; the King of Glory
will come, riding upon the wings of the wind, accompanied with millions of
his saints and angels.  He is coming, he is at the door!  Go, veil thy face;
alight and meet thy Husband.  He will bring thee into his Father's palace,
and thou shalt be his wife, and he will love thee for ever; and thou shalt
remember thy widow-hood no more.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus; come
quickly.  Amen.  Amen.                  
                                                                             James Janeway

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