Page:Olney Hymns - 1840.djvu/96

92 1 THOUGH Jericho pleasantly stood, And look d like a promising soil, The harvest produced little food, To answer the husbandman s toil. The water some property had Which poisonous proved to the ground, The springs were corrupted and bad, The streams spread a barrenness round.

2 But soon by the cruse and the salt Prepared by Elisha s command The water was cured of its fault, And plenty enriched the land. An emblem sure this of the grace On fruitless dead sinners bestow cl; For man is in Jericho s case Till cured by the mercy of God.

3 How noble a creature he seems ! What knowledge, invention, and skill ! How large and extensive his schemes ! How much can he do if he will ! His zeal to be learned and wise Will yield to no limits or bars ; He measures the earth and the skies, And numbers and marshals the stars.

4 Yet still he is barren of good ; In vain are his talents and art ; For sin has infected his blood, And poison d the streams of his heart. Though cockatrice eggs he can hatch* Or, spider-like, cobwebs can weave, Tis madness to labour and watch For what will destroy and deceive.

5 But grace, like the salt in the cruse, When cast in the spring of the soul, A wonderful change will produce, Diffusing new life through the whole :