GRACE.
The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.—Psalm lxxxiv. 11.
The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.—John, i. 17.
We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.—Romans, v. 2.
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.—II. Corinthians, xii. 9.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.—Titus, ii. 11.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews, iv. 16.
Pray for the health of all that are diseased,
Confession unto all that are convicted,
And patience unto all that are displeased,
And comfort unto all that are afflicted,
And mercy unto all that have offended,
And grace to all, that all may be amended.
Nicholas Breton.
The flesh being proud, Desire doth fight with Grace,
And there it revels, and when that decays,
The guilty rebel for remission prays.
Shakspere.
That word, Grace,
In an ungracious mouth, is but profane.
Shakspere.
Who God doth late and early pray,
More of His grace than gifts to lend;
And entertains the harmless day
With a religious book or friend;—
This man is freed from servile bands
Of hope to rise, or fear to fall;
Lord of himself, though not of lands,
And having nothing, yet hath all.
Henry Wotton.
Prevenient grace descending had removed
The stony from their hearts.
Milton.
But grace, abused, brings forth the foulest deeds,
As richest soil, the most luxuriant weeds.
Cowper.
My stock lies dead, and no increase,
Doth my dull husbandry improve;
O let thy grace still without cease,
Drop from above!
The dew doth every morning fall,
And shall the dew outstrip thy dove,
The dew for which grass cannot call?
Drop from above!
Death is still working like a mole,
And digs my grave at each remove;
Let grace work too, and on my soul
Drop from above!
Sin is still hammering my heart
Unto a hardness void of love;
Let suppling grace, to cross his art,
Drop from above!
O come! for Thou dost know the way,
Or if to me thou wilt not move,
Remove me when I need, and say—
Drop from above!
George Herbert.
I want that grace which springs from Thee,
Which quickens all things where it flows,
And makes a wretched thorn like me
Bloom as the myrtle, or the rose.
Cowper.
All-powerful Grace, exert thy gentle sway,
And teach my rebel passions to obey;
Lest lurking folly, with insidious art,
Regain my volatile, inconstant heart!
Mrs. Carter.
O God! how beautiful the thought,
How merciful the bless’d decree,
That Grace can e’er be found, when sought,
And nought shut out the soul from Thee.
The cell may cramp, the fetters gall,
The flame may scorch, the rack may tear;
But torture, stake, or prison-wall,
Can be endured with faith and prayer.
Eliza Cook.
This grace is ours: who asks in Thy great name,
May ask for all; and with assurance claim
The purchased pardon to believers given,
The seal of mercy, and the hope of heaven.
Perronet.
Every act
Which shunned the trifling plaudit of mankind,
Shall here to wondering millions be displayed,
A monument of grace.
C. P. Layard.
Faith! anchor of the soul amid the storms
Which vex and toss the ocean deep, which forms
The pathway to that land of light and love,
Which waits the ransom’d in the world above;
While this life lasts, I fain would stay on thee;
I shall not need thee in eternity.
Hope! be thou mine, while here on earth I rove,
But only till I reach my home above:
But Charity! of christian graces best,
Ever increasing, blessing still and blest,
Thou shalt remain when Faith and Hope shall cease,
The source and fulness e’en of Heaven’s bliss!
No period circumscribes my prayer for thee;
Be mine on earth, and through eternity!
Mary Milner.
Grace! ’tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to my ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.
Grace first contrived a way
To save rebellious man;
And all the steps that grace display
Which drew the wondrous plan.
Grace taught my wand’ring feet
To tread the heavenly road;
And new supplies each hour I meet,
While pressing on to God.
Grace all the work shall crown,
Through everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise.
Doddridge.