1 Thus saith the first, the great command,
"Let all thy inward powers unite
"To love thy Maker and thy God,
"With utmost vigour and delight.
2 "Then shall thy neighbour next in place
"Share thine affections and esteem,
"And let thy kindness to thyself
"Measure and rule thy love to him."
3 This is the sense that Moses spoke,
This did the prophets preach and prove,
For want of this the law is broke,
And the whole law's fulfill'd by love.
4 But O! how base our passions are!
How cold our charity and zeal!
Lord, fill our souls with heavenly fire,
Or we shall ne'er perform thy will.
Hymn 1:117.
Election sovereign and free, Rom. 9. 21 22 23 20.
1 Behold the potter and the clay,
He forms his vessels as he please:
Such is our God, and such are we,
The subjects of his high decrees.
2 [Doth not the workman's power extend
O'er all the mass, which part to choose,
And mould it for a nobler end,
And which to leave for viler use?]
3 May not the sovereign Lord on high
Dispense his favours as he will,
Choose some to life while others die,
And yet be just and gracious still?
4 [What if to make his terror known
He lets his patience long endure,
Suffering vile rebels to go on
And seal their own destruction sure!
5 What if he means to shew his grace,
And his electing love employs
To mark out some of mortal race,
And form them fit for heavenly joys!]