In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah:
Isaiah 26:1We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems (Bristol, England: Felix Farley, 1749), Volume 1, number 1, part 1.
Music: Duane Street George Coles, 1835 (🔊 pdf nwc).
The day, the Gospel day draws near,
When sinners shall their voices raise,
Sing the new song with heart sincere,
Triumphant in the land of praise.
Glory to God! they all shall cry:
Who is so great a God as ours!
We have a city strong and high,
Salvation is for walls and towers.
Salvation to our souls brought in,
Salvation from our guilty stains,
Salvation from the power of sin,
Salvation from its last remains.
Secure from danger, as from dread,
We never shall be put to shame,
Who hither have for refuge fled;
For Jesus is our city’s name.
Open the gates, and open wide,
Let every faithful soul go in;
Open for all the justified,
Who keep the truth that frees from sin.
Who hold the truth in righteousness,
And hear their Lord’s commands, and do,
Into the city gates shall press,
And all in Christ be creatures new.
They who the will divine have done,
The promise shall thro’ grace receive,
And gain their calling’s glorious crown,
And free from sin in Jesus live.
Yes, Lord, Thy Word for ever stands,
And shall from age to age endure,
To us who own Thy mild commands,
To working faith the Word is sure.
Who Thee remembers in Thy ways,
And follows after holiness,
Because on Thee his mind he stays,
Him Thou wilt keep in perfect peace.
Who trust to be redeemed from sin,
And all Thy holy will to prove,
Thy open arms shall take him in,
And root and stablish him in love.
Trust in the Lord, ye sons of men,
The Lord Almighty to redeem,
Your faith in Him shall not be vain,
He saves whoever trust in Him.
His saving power no limits knows,
In strength and goodness infinite,
Satan and sin His arm o’erthrows,
And bruises them beneath our feet.
He brings them down who dwell on high,
Humbles each vain aspiring boast,
Bulwarks and towers, that threat the sky,
He fells, and levels with the dust.
He lays the lofty city low,
O’erturns, and brings it to the ground;
His hands destroy the inbred foe,
And all the strength of sin confound.
That haughty Babylon within
Shall to believing souls submit;
They shall not always strive with sin,
But tread it down beneath their feet.
Satan’s strongholds o’erthrown shall be,
The poor shall on their ruins tread,
Lead captive their captivity,
From all their sins for ever freed.
This is the triumph of the just,
Whoe’er on Thee their spirit stay,
Shall find the God in whom they trust;
Perfection is their shining way.
Most holy, pure, and perfect Thou,
Just of Thyself, and good alone,
Dost all Thy children’s paths allow,
When cleansed, and sanctified in One.