Hymns and Spiritual Songs
“Singing the praises of God, as a religious duty—this may be done in a private manner, by a person singly and alone (Js 5:13), and between two or more; so Paul and Silas sang aloud praises to God in the prison (Acts 16:25), and in the family, between a man and his wife, with his children and servants. Singing the praises of God has always been a branch of natural or revealed religion, in all ages and periods of time, and ever will be. That the churches of Christ under the gospel dispensation were to sing, is evident from express precepts and directions given to gospel churches concerning it (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Inasmuch as the “word of God” and Christ in general furnishes out matter for singing his praises, I deny not, but that such hymns and spiritual songs, composed by good men, uninspired, may be made use of; provided care is taken that they be agreeable to the sacred writings, and to the analogy of faith, and are expressed as much as may be in scripture language.”—John Gill, “A Body Of Practical Divinity”
THE TRIUNE JEHOVAH
SALVATION AND SOVEREIGN GRACE
GRACIOUS COVENANT AND ELECTION
REDEMPTION AND REGENERATION
INCARNATION AND RETURN
STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
DEATH AND HEAVEN
THE CHURCH
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Great God, Before Thy Throne
Psalm 65:1-13: "Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: which…
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How Oft Have Sin And Satan Strove
Hebrews 6:17-19: "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;" Isaiah 54:8: "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."
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Too Good To Be Unkind
Exodus 34:1-9: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in…
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And Can My Heart Aspire So High
Isaiah 64:8: "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." Hebrews 12:5-13: "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we…
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How Oft, Alas, This Wretched Heart
Jeremiah 3:12: "Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever." Psalm 119:176: "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments. Hosea 6:1: "Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up."
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There Is A Fountain
1 Peter 1:18-21: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God." Ephesians 1:3-7: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him…
