4 Light are the pains that' nature brings, How short our sorrows are, When with eternal future things, The present we compare! 5 I would not be a stranger still To that celestial place, Where I for ever hope to dwell Near my Redeemer's face. Hymn 2:163. Complaint of desertion and temptations. 1 Dear Lord, behold our sore distress; Our sins attempt to reign; Stretch out thine arm of conquering grace, And let thy foes be slain. 2 [The lion with his dreadful roar Affrights thy feeble sheep; Reveal the glory of thy power, And chain him to the deep. 3 Must we indulge a long despair, Shall our petitions die; Our mournings never reach thine ear, Nor tears affect thine eye?] 4 If thou despise a mortal groan, Yet hear a Saviour's blood; An Advocate so near the throne Pleads and prevails with God. 5 He bought the Spirit's powerful sword To slay our deadly foes; Our sins shall die beneath thy word, And hell in vain oppose. 6 How boundless is our Father's grace, In height and depth, and length! He makes his Son our righteousness, His Spirit is our strength. Hymn 2:164. The end of the world. 1 Why should this earth delight us so? Why should we fix our eyes On these low grounds where sorrows grow, And every pleasure dies? 2 While time his sharpest teeth prepares Our comforts to devour, There is a land above the stars, And joys above his power. 3 Nature shall be dissolv'd and die, The sun must end his race, The earth and sea for ever fly Before my Saviour's face. 4 When will that glorious morning rise! When the last trumpet sound, And call the nations to the skies From underneath the ground? Hymn 2:165. Unfruitfulness, ignorance, and unsanctified affections. 1 Long have I sat beneath the sound Of thy salvation, Lord But still how weak my faith is found, And knowledge of thy word! 2 Oft I frequent thy holy place And hear almost in vain; How small a portion of thy grace My memory can retain! 3 [My dear Almighty, and my God, How little art thou known By all the judgments of thy rod, And blessings of thy throne!] 4 [How cold and feeble is my love! How negligent my fear! How low my hope of joys above! How few affections there!] 5 Great God, thy sovereign power impart To give thy word success: Write the salvation in my heart, And make me learn the grace. 6 [Shew my forgetful feet the way That leads to joys on high; There knowledge grows without decay, And love shall never die.] Hymn 2:166. The divine perfections. 1 How shall I praise th' eternal God, That infinite unknown? Who can ascend his high abode, Or venture near his throne? 2 [The great Invisible! he dwells Conceal'd in dazzling light; But his all-searching eye reveals The secrets of the night. 3 Those watchful eyes that never sleep Survey the world around; His wisdom is a boundless deep Where all our thoughts are drown'd.] 4 [Speak we of strength? His arm is strong To save or to destroy: Infinite years his life prolong, And endless is his joy.]