Was it not thine infinite love and mercy,

Thine unalterable patience and wonderful condescension,

That brought Thee from thy throne below thy footstool, in the likeness of vanity,

That Thou mightest exalt me above the high heavens, in thy kingdom of everlasting rest?

Thou hast made me bold before Thee;
Thou hast made me confident in thy sight :
Behold! now I speak without restraint,
Because thy free-will has made me free.
Lo! now thy election is a free election,
And thy call without dispute.

They gazed upon me;

They said I was mad, distracted, and become a fool;

They lamented because my

freedom came.

They whispered against me in the vanity of their imaginations;

But I inclined mine ear unto the whisperings of the Spirit of Truth.

I said, What am I, that I should receive such honour ?

But He removed the mountains out of my way,
And by his secret workings pressed me forward.

He gave me a reward, and, behold! I had done no work;

Wages, and I had not wrought in his vineyard.

When the Lord quickened me, I called for obedience;

He was pleased with my desire,

And granted my request in the might of his power. My Lord called, and I heard his voice, but knew Him not;

For the darkness of ignorance had caused unbelief. I answered: "Who art Thou, Lord ?"

And He informed me by the living word of his love and mercy.

He gave me living faith to lay hold on his voice; And saving knowledge, to avoid the voice of the serpent.

He gave me joy which no tongue can express,
And peace which passeth understanding.

My heart was melted with the height of comfort;
My soul was immersed in the depths of love;
My eyes overflowed with tears of greatest pleasure.

The men of the earth looked, as on a man forsaken of hope,

Given up to fear, and surrounded with shame.

They said: Behold a man foolish in his imaginations, Seeking after vanity, and given over to believe lies: But I regarded not ;—

For I had the jewel in prospect,

The promised land in view.

I followed the voice of the Shepherd,

Who gave me food according to my strength, And found all things even as He had said of old. He gave me power to open my mouth concerning things to come,

And a Name by which I shall be saved.

I will call for perseverance in the ways of life;
For the hidden manna, day by day received.

My Comforter also taught me to pray in knowledge as in faith:

I begged HIMSELF, and He gave me ALL.
He gave me power to do wonders also;

To keep his commandments, through his Holy Spirit; And to walk in the paths of righteousness with joyful songs.

I will call upon Him in the days of temptation; And when I am in the shadow of death, the Lord shall be my strength.

Wilt Thou wash my feet, O Lord! with the washing of regeneration;

That I may tread the paths of life before thy face.

RESPONSE.

Blessed art thou, O virgin daughter of Jerusalem!
For thy streets are laid with peace ;
Thy walls are surrounded with power;
Thy gates are adorned with beauty;
Thine habitations with purity;

Thy temple is adorned with glory within and holiness without

;

And thy priests are established for ever more.

Thy King, O Zion! is the mighty Lord of Hosts; The God of all glorious Majesty ;

The Prince of Peace; the Strength of Jacob; The Hope of Israel; the Help of the distressed; The Comfort of the comfortless; the Strength of the weak;

The Husband to the widow; the Father to the fatherless;

The Feeder of the hungry; the Clother of the naked ;

The Purifier of the unclean; the Washer of the filthy;

The Healer of the sick; the Raiser of the dead; The Judge of all the world; and the Everlasting

Life.

How canst thou therefore fall, O virgin daughter of Zion !

Or how should thy walls be razed,

Which are founded upon the Rock of Truth,

On the pillars of eternal power!

Truth bears the keys of the kingdom,

And a lie cannot enter therein :

For a lie bears the image of darkness;

It is near a-kin to ignorance, blindness, folly, superstition, madness, and idolatry.

A lie is the key of the bottomless pit,

And sets the gates thereof wide open to the children of disobedience and unbelievers.

A lie is the path of hypocrites, the way to great Babel;

The streets of Babel are paved with a lie,

Pride, covetousness and envy, deceit, with craft and oppression.

Her pleasure is everlasting torment;

Her prince is the God of the earth, Apollyon, the old serpent;

Her foundations are falsehood and perfidiousness for

ever.

She burns in hatred to Almighty God,

And the smoke of her blasphemy and torment ascends for ever and ever. Hallelujah.