God Dwells With the Humble and Penitent

Thus saith the high and lofty One:
“I sit upon my holy throne;
My name is God, I dwell on high,
Dwell in my own eternity.

“But I descend to worlds below,
On earth I have a mansion too;
The humble spirit and contrite
Is an abode of my delight.

“The humble soul my words revive,
I bid the mourning sinner live,
Heal all the broken hearts I find,
And ease the sorrows of the mind.

“When I contend against their sin,
I make them know how vile they’ve been;
But should my wrath for ever smoke,
Their souls would sink beneath my stroke.”

O may thy pard’ning grace be nigh,
Lest we should faint, despair, and die!
Thus shall our better thoughts approve
The methods of thy chast’ning love.

Isa. 47:15,16

Isaac Watts