PROGRESS XI

Travelling by ways He has prepared
They gather, for God had declared
He'll water them at Beer;
We move with God, obediently;
We assemble to Him, faithfully;
He gives refreshment here.

Well, that Jehovah told about;
Well, that the nobles hollowed out:
Rise up! Respond to it!
Praise now the Spirit as He springs
Within your heart; the Christian sings
For surely that is fit.

Victoriously they now unclog
The lands of Sihon and of Og,
Beginnings of the land;
Defying pride and laziness
Go, with God's favour, to possess
Good given by God's hand.

Hear Balaam, from the rocks, confess
This is a people God will bless
And which shall dwell alone;
Rejoice, ye saints, in heaven's view
Of separated Christians who
Are unknown yet well known.

God has not seen iniquity
In Israel, but the quality
Of what His love has wrought;
God loves to see His saints "in Christ",
In dignity which has sufficed
To answer to His thought.

How goodly, Jacob, are your tents!
How good the view the camp presents
To one with opened eyes;
How good the people of the Lord
Who congregate, with one accord,
In more than nature's ties.

But Israel falls to sin, alas,
Until the spear of Phinehas
Has executed wrath;
For sin assails us constantly
And must be dealt with ruthlessly
For all who take this path.

Moses and Eleazar count
The generation that will mount
The invasion of the land;
Our God rejoices to record
A generation like their Lord
To share what He has planned.

Since God has kept them both alive
Caleb and Joshua survive
All that might overwhelm;
Trust that the Lord will bear you through
And grace and power assure that you
Will come within His realm.