286.

L. M.

DODDRIDGE.

The Gospel Jubilee.

1 LOUD let the tuneful trumpet sound,
And spread the joyful tidings round;
Let every soul with transport hear,
And hail the Lord's accepted year.

2 Ye debtors, whom he gives to know
That you ten thousand talents owe,
When humbled at his feet you fall,
Your gracious God forgives them all.

3 Slaves, that have borne the heavy chain
Of sin and hell's tyrannic reign,
To liberty assert your claim,

And urge the great Redeemer's name.

4 The rich inheritance of heaven,-
Your joy, your boast,-is freely given;
Fair Salem your arrival waits,
With golden streets and pearly gates.

5 Her blest inhabitants no more
Bondage and poverty deplore;
No debt, but love immensely great-
The joy still rises with the debt.

6 O happy souls that know the sound!
Celestial light their steps surround,
And show that jubilee begun,

Which through eternal years shall run.

287.

1 BLOW

ye the trumpet, blow
The gladly solemn sound!
Let all the nations know,

To earth's remotest bound,
The year of jubilee is come;
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.
2 Ye who have sold for nought
The heritage above,
Shall have it back unbought,
The gift of Jesus' love:

The year of jubilee is come;
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.

3 Ye slaves of sin and hell,
Your liberty receive,

And safe in Jesus dwell,
And blest in Jesus live:

The

year

of jubilee is come; Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.

4 The gospel trumpet hear

The news of pardoning grace;
Ye happy souls, draw near,
Behold your Savior's face :

The year of jubilee is come;
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home,

5 Jesus, our great high-priest,
Has full assurance made;

Ye weary spirits, rest!

The

Ye mournful souls, be glad! year of jubilee is come; Return, ye ransomed sinners, home.

288.

L. M.

ANONYMOUS.

Influence of the Gospel like Rain.

1 As showers on meadows newly mown,
Jesus shall shed his blessings down;
Crowned with whose life-infusing drops,
Earth shall renew her blissful crops.

2 Lands that beneath a burning sky
Have long been desolate and dry,
Th' effusions of his love shall share,
And sudden greens and herbage wear.

3 The dews and rains, in all their store,
Drenching the pastures o'er and o'er,
Are not so copious as that grace
Which sanctifies and saves our race.

4 As, in soft silence, vernal showers Descend, and cheer the fainting flowers, So, in the secrecy of love,

Falls the sweet influence from above.

5 That heavenly influence let me find
In holy silence of the mind,

While every grace maintains its bloom,
Diffusing wide its rich perfume.

6 Nor let these blessings be confined
To me, but poured on all mankind,
Till earth's wild wastes in verdure rise,
And a young Eden bless our eyes.

289.

H. M.

DODDRIDGE.

Efficacy of the Gospel.

1 MARK the soft-falling snow,
And the descending rain!
To heaven from whence it fell
It turns not back again;
But waters earth through every pore,
And calls forth all her secret store.

2 Arrayed in beauteous green
The hills and valleys shine,
And man and beast are fed
By providence divine:

The harvest bows its golden ears,
The copious seed of future years.

3' So,' saith the God of grace,

My gospel shall descend,
Almighty to effect

The purpose I intend :

Millions of souls shall feel its power,
And bear it down to millions more.'

290.

C. M.

*WATTS.

The Gospel Satisfying and Cleansing.

1 IN vain we lavish out our lives To gather empty wind;

The choicest blessings earth can yield Will starve a hungry mind.

2 But God will every want supply,
And fill our hearts with peace;
He gives by covenant and by oath
The riches of his grace.

3 Come, and he'll cleanse our spotted souls
From every loathsome trace,
In the blest fountain that his Son
Has opened for our race.

4 Our guilt shall vanish all away,
Though black as night before;
Our sins shall sink beneath the sea,
And shall be found no more.

5 Here shall his sacred spirit dwell,
And deep engrave his law;

And

every motion of our souls

To swift obedience draw.

6 Thus will he pour salvation down,
And we shall render praise ;
We, the dear people of his love,
And he, our God of grace.

291.

L. M.

WATTS.

Gospel Invitations.

1 COME hither, all ye weary souls,
Ye heavy-laden sinners, come!
I'll give you rest from all your toils,
And raise you to my heavenly home.

2 They shall find rest that learn of me; I'm of a meek and lowly mind;

But passion rages like the sea,
And pride is restless as the wind.