Olney Hymns (1840)/Book 1/Hymn 59

59.
The Refuge, River, and Rock of the Church.—Isa. xxxii, 2.

1 He who on earth as man was known,
And bore our sins and pains,
Now, seated on the eternal throne,
The God of glory reigns.

2 His hands the wheels of nature guide
With an unerring skill;
And countless worlds extended wide
Obey his sovereign will.

3 While harps unnumber'd sound his praise
In yonder world above,
His saints on earth admire his ways,
And glory in his love.

4 His righteousness to faith reveal’d,
Wrought out for guilty worms,
Affords a hiding-place and shield
From enemies and storms.

5 This land, through which his pilgrims go,
Is desolate and dry;
But streams of grace from him o'erflow,
Their thirst to satisfy.

6 When troubles, like a burning sun,
Beat heavy on their head,
To this almighty Rock they run,
And find a pleasing shade.

7 How glorious he! how happy they
In such a glorious Friend!
Whose love secures them all the way,
And crowns them at the end.