Though Jericho pleasantly stood

JERICHO; Or, The waters healed by John Newton


 * Though Jericho pleasantly stood,
 * And looked 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.


 * 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 bestowed;
 * For man is in Jericho's case,
 * Till cured by the mercy of God.


 * 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.


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


 * 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:
 * The wilderness blooms like a rose,
 * The heart which was vile and abhorred;
 * Now fruitful and beautiful grows,
 * The garden and joy of the Lord.