Scripture Verse

The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2

Introduction

portrait
Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

Words: Is­aac Watts, Hymns and Spi­ri­tu­al Songs, Book 2, 1709. The law and Gos­pel dis­tin­guished.

Music: Old 100th at­trib­ut­ed to Lou­is Bour­geois, in Four Score and Se­ven Psalms of Da­vid (Ge­ne­va, Swit­zer­land: 1551) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

If you know where to get a good pic­ture of Bour­geois (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

The Law commands and makes us know
What duties to our God we owe;
But ’tis the Gos­pel must reveal
Where lies our strength to do His will.

The Law discovers guilt and sin
And shows how vile our hearts have been;
The Gos­pel only can express
Forgiving love and cleansing grace.

What curses doth the Law denounce
Against the man that fails but once!
But in the Gos­pel Christ appears,
Pardoning the guilt of numerous years.

My soul, no more attempt to draw
Thy life and comfort from the Law.
Fly to the hope the Gos­pel gives;
The man that trusts the promise lives.