Hymn on Christ 272

This strong hymn perhaps echoes lines found in Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) and Mather Byles (1706-1788). It would be interesting to know what Beddome had read of that sort. The fifth line (In work so pleasant, so divine) is the second line of Isaac Watts' 1719 hymn 'Praise ye the Lord, my heart shall join'. 'Lofty praise' is also from Watts. The hymn seems to arise from a meditation on the Book of Hebrews.

272 Excellence and Love of Christ

CHRIST is the subject of my song, Awake my heart, awake my tongue, His honours high to raise. ’Tis fit that heart and tongue should join, In work so pleasant, so divine, And give him lofty praise.

2 No angel can with him compare, There’s none so great and none so fair, So lovely and divine; In heaven above, on earth below, None can such love and pity show, And conduct so benign.

3 Of all my joys he is the spring, My Advocate and ruling King, My safety when I call; My fears he soothes, my foes restrains, My want supplies, my cause maintains, He is my all in all.

4 In deepest characters impressed, He bears my name upon his breast Though mean and vile am I; Nor on his throne will he forget The meanest suppliant at his feet, But notice every sigh.

Sermon 41 Consider what I say

2 Timothy 2:7

Consider what I say

Confining our remarks at present to our hearing the word, we shall first notice - the manner in which we are to consider it - and secondly, the motives which should lead to it. I. Shew in what manner we are to hear the word 1. Consider well the matter or import of what is spoken. 2. Attend to the truth and propriety of what is delivered. 3. Consider the weight and importance of what is delivered. 4. Consider the personal concern you have in the truths delivered. II. The motives which should induce us well to consider what we hear 1. Think, in whose name the ministers of the gospel speak, and whose person they represent. 2. Consider the great end they aim at in their ministrations. 3. By the word that we hear we shall be judged at the last day. (1) We may learn from hence, how just God will appear in the destruction of thoughtless and careless sinners. (2) We see what it is that supports faithful ministers in their work, and prevents their sinking into despondency, - the hope that God may lead some of their hearers to serious reflection, who have hitherto been careless. (3) While we labour to exhort, we would also add our fervent prayer, that our instructions and exhortations may not be in vain.

Amidst displays of wrath and love, What stubborn wretches, Lord, are we! Unmoved by all the joys of heaven, Unawed by endless misery.

With what a base contempt we treat Thy threat’nings and thy promises! Duty neglect, and mercy slight, Nor fear t’offend, nor seek to please.

Could angels weep, they’d weep for us; Break thou these rocky hearts, O God! O let us melt beneath thy grace, Nor feel the terrors of thy rod!

[This hymn is 470 in the book and is headed Impenitence deplored]

Hymn An Advocate 81

This hymn is again steeped in Old Testament, particularly Tabernacle and Temple, imagery. The idea of trembling and adoring is not such an uncommon one in Reformed writers. In his sermon on Godly Fear the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs speaks of a godly scholar contemplating God's glory as it shines in Arts and Science and was so taken that he fell upon his face then says "Surely now these glorious Mysteries are far more dreadful to make us to fall down and adore and tremble before the Lord."

81 An Advocate LM

FATHER of mercies, at thy feet, We trembling, yet adoring stand; Though worthless, we are sure to meet A kind reception at thy hand.

2 Close by thy side, and on thy throne, Sits Jesus, our high priest and king, Whose merits spread a rich perfume, O’er all the services we bring.

3 There as our Surety he appears, With all our names upon his breast, Mingles his incense with our prayers, And thus obtains what we request.

4 With joy we see the mercy seat Sprinkled with his atoning blood: And in our glorious Head complete, Dare to approach a holy God.

Hymn Mercy Seat 402

Not a classic mercy seat hymn but different to the others and fully aware of both God's wrath and mercy. The mercy seat in the Temple (or atonement cover) pointed to God's throne in heaven.

402 The Glorious Mercy Seat CM

HIGH and exalted is thy throne, Thou God of righteousness, Thy vengeance there thou makest known, And there thy richest grace.

2 Myriads redeemed from earth and hell, Around thy throne appear, And with incessant transports tell The love that brought them there.

3 There angels and archangels bow, With covered face and feet; Thither may sinners also go, For it is a mercy seat.

4 Then I’ll approach with holy fear, And humble confidence; For he who spreads his terrors there, Dispenses blessings thence.

Hymn New Chapel 731

S. Hill, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It's good to get the word Hiram in a hymn. Like one or two other lines in this hymn, it is a weak one though. 'Here erect thy mercy seat' is a better line.

731 Opening a Place of Worship 7s

GLORY to the God of grace Who for us provides a place, Where he will his love reveal, And his saints his wonders tell.

2 Not as once in days of old Overlaid with purest gold; Nor of cedar can we boast, Nor of Hiram’s mighty host.

3 To thine honour Lord we rear This a humble house of prayer; Here erect thy mercy seat, With thy children deign to meet.

4 Now we consecrate to thee Let it, Lord, accepted be, Through thy blest and only Son All our hearts and hands have done.

5 Here thy sacred truth display, Here assert thy sovereign sway; Let thy glorious gospel shine, Aided by a power divine.

Psalm 81:10

Spurgeon also draws this from Beddome

Open thy mouth wide

This implies,
1. Warmth and fervency in prayer. To open the mouth is in effect to open the heart, that it may be both engaged and enlarged... We may be said to open our mouths wide when our affections are quick and lively, and there is a correspondence between the feelings of the heart and the request of the lips; or when we really pray, and not merely seem to do so. This is strongly and beautifully expressed in Ps 119:131: I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
2. It implies a holy fluency and copiousness of expression, so as to order our cause before him, and fill our mouths with arguments. When the good man gets near to God, he has much business to transact with him, many complaints to make, and many blessings to implore; and, as such seasons do not frequently occur, he's the more careful to improve them. He then pours out his whole soul, and is at no loss for words; for when the heart is full, the tongue overflows. Sorrow and distress will even make those eloquent who are naturally slow of speech.
3. Enlarged hope and expectation. We may be too irreverent in our approaches to God, and too peremptory in our application; but if the matter and manner of our prayer be right, we cannot be too confident in our expectations from him... Open thy mouth wide then, O Christian; stretch out thy desires to the uttermost, grasp heaven and earth in thy boundless wishes, and believe there is enough in God to afford the full satisfaction. Not only come, but come with boldness to the throne of grace: it is erected for sinners, even the chief of sinners. Come to it then, and wait at it, till you obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Those who expect most from God are likely to receive the most. The desire of the righteous, let it be ever so extensive, shall be granted.

And I will fill it

Consider the import of the promise: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find." Particularly,
1. If we open our mouths to God in prayer, he will fill them more and more with suitable petitions and arguments. When we attempt to open the mouth, God will open it still wider. Thus he dealt with Abraham when he interceded for Sodom; the longer he prayed, the more submissive and yet the more importunate he became. By praying we increase our ability to pray, and find a greater facility in the duty. "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly."
2. God will fill the mouth with abundant thanksgivings. Many of David's psalms begin with prayer, and end with the most animated praises. No mercies so dispose to thankfulness as those which are received in answer to prayer; for according to the degree of desire will be the sweetness of fruition ...
3. We shall be filled with those blessings we pray for, if they are calculated to promote our real good and the glory of God. Do we desire fresh communications of grace, and manifestations of divine love; a renewed sense of pardoning mercy, and an application of the blood of Christ? Do we want holiness, peace, and assurance? Do we want to hear from God, to see him, and be like him? The promise is, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, Php 4:19. You shall have what you desire, and be satisfied: it shall be enough, and you shall think it so. "The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

Psalm 63:8

In his Treasury of David, Spurgeon gives a condensed version of a Beddome sermon called "The Christian's Pursuit" and found in "Short Discourses" 1809.

My soul followeth hard after thee.

This is the language of a good man in his worst frames; for when he has lost his nearness to God, he will be uneasy till he has again obtained it, and will follow after it with all his might. It is also his language in his best frames; for when he knows and enjoys most of God, he wants to know and enjoy more. But it may especially be considered as the language of an afflicted and seeking soul, not sinking under its burden, but earnestly breathing after deliverance, and supported by the prospect of obtaining it. Hence it follows, Thy right hand upholdeth me...
I shall consider what is implied in the soul's following hard after God, and then enquire the reason of it.
1. Following hard after God supposes,
(a) A previous acquaintance with him. An unknown good, be it ever so desirable in itself, cannot be the object of desire. Hence, when God shines into the heart, it is to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, as the foundation of all gracious exercises, and especially as the source of all fervent desires after him.
(b) Following hard after God is expressive of ardent and intense desires. It does not consist in cold and languid wishes, but insatiable longings after communion with God and conformity to his will.
(c) It implies laborious exertion. My soul followeth, it followeth hard after thee. Not earth nor heaven merely is the object of pursuit, but God himself. And the desires of a truly renewed soul are not sluggish and ineffectual; they lead him to the use of all appointed means, and to the exertion of his utmost endeavours till the object be attained.
(d) Perseverance in seeking. To follow implies this, and to follow hard implies it more strongly. It is as if the psalmist had said, "Does God retire? I will pursue. Does he withhold the blessing? I will wrestle with him till I obtain it. He long waited to be gracious, and I will now wait till he is so."
2. We are to enquire the reason why David thus followed hard after God.
(a) Guilt and distress followed hard after him.
(b) His enemies also followed hard after him. Satan did so, and once and again caused him to stumble and fall.
(c) He had followed hard after other things to no purpose.
(d) We may add the powerful attractions of divine grace.

Quotation

In 'My sermon notes' Spurgeon quotes Beddome

'God's grace can save souls without any preaching; but all the preaching in the world cannot save souls without God’s grace.'
It is from a sermon on John 6:63

Hymn God's Presence 651

This wonderful hymn is very experiential in its conception of the presence of God, which is like heaven, bliss and not to be compared with any earthly charms. His presence is like mist dispelled by the sun, his absence like darkness. Verse 3 saves us from mysticism by stressing the practical nature of his presence. The idea of God unveiling 'his smiling face' is also in the hymn 'Where two or three, with sweet accord' by Beddome's contemporary Samuel Stennet (1727-1795). Milton's Paradise Lost refers to heaven as the 'seat of bliss'. The sixth verse of Watts 'Must all the charms of nature then' begins 'In vain the charms of nature shine'. C Wesley's hymn 'What shall I do my God to love' includes the line 'Whose mercy is divinely free'. He speaks of darkness veiling God's throne in 436. See here.

651 God’s presence in the church CM

IF God unveils his smiling face, Heaven it is to me; His church becomes a seat of bliss, Where I his glory see.

2 How vain the charms that creatures boast If once with this compared; His service is divinely free, His work its own reward.

3 To celebrate his highest praise, His holy will to do, Is my delightful sweet employ, The course I would pursue.

4 When he is near, my griefs disperse, Like mists before the sun; When absent, darkness veils my skies, And all my joys are gone.