The Principles of Christ’s Doctrine
Benjamin Keach (1640–1704)

epentance is wrought in my soul,.
And faith for to believe;
Whereby on Jesus I do roll,
And truly Him receive,
As my dread Lord and Sovereign,
Him always to obey,
And in things over me to reign,
And govern every day.

Christ’s baptism is very sweet,
With laying on of hands;
My soul is brought to Jesus’ feet,
In owning His commands.
These ordinances men oppose,
And count as carnal things.
I have closed with, and hold to those,
From theme rare comfort springs.

My precious Lord I must obey,
Though men reproach me still;
I’ll do whatever Christ doth say,
And yield unto His will.
On Christ alone I do rely,
Though men judge otherwise;
Because I can’t God’s truth deny,
I am reproached with lies.

Let them deride, yet for Christ’s sake,
Resolved now am I,
In his own strength the cross to take;
Yes, and for Him to die.
Because I’ll ever turn my back
On Him whom I do love;
For I do know, I shall not lack
His presence from above.

For He has promised to the end,
To me He will be near;
And be to me a faithful friend,
Which makes me not to fear
Whatever men of devils do
In secret place design;
He soon can them quite overthrow,
And help this soul of mine.

The resurrection of the dead
I constantly maintain;
When all those which lie buried
shall rise to life again,
And at the judgment day will come,
When Christ upon the throne,
Shall pass a black eternal doom
Upon each wicked one.

But all the saints then joyfully
With bowels He’ll embrace,
And crowns to all eternity
Upon their heads will place.
And in Thy kingdom shall the reign,
Prepared long before,
And also shall with Christ remain
In bliss forevermore.

The sun doth now begin to shine,
And breaketh forth yet more and more;
Mere darkness was that light of mine,
Which I commended heretofore.
I was involved in my sin,
Had day without, but night within.

My former days I did compare
Unto the sweet and lovely spring;
I thought that time it was as rare,
As when chirping birds do sing:
But I was blind, for now I see
There was no Spirit nor life in me.

My spring it was in winter time;
Yet like the midst of cold December,
The sun was gone out of my clime;
And also I do now remember,
My heart was cold as any stone,
My leaves were off, my sap was gone.

God is a sun, a shield also;
The glory of the world is He:
True light alone from Him doth flow,
And He has now enlightened me.
The sun doth His sweet beams display,
Like to the dawning of the day.

How precious it is the see the sun,
When in the morning it doth rise,
And shineth in our horizon,
To purify the clouded skies!
The misty fogs by His strong light
Are vanished quite out of sight.

Thus doth the Lord in my poor heart,
By His strong beams and glorious rays,
The light from darkness clearly part,
And make in me rare shining days:
Though fogs appear, and clouds do rise,
He doth expel them from mine eyes.

Were there no glorious lamp above,
What dark confusion would be there!
If God should quite the sun remove,
How would the seamen do to steer?
My soul’s the world, and Christ’s the sun;
If He shines not, I am undone.

In winter things hang down their head,
Unto Sol’s beams do them revive;
So I in sin lay buried,
Till Jesus Christ made me alive.
Alas, my heart was ice and snow,
Till sun did shine and winds did blow.

Until warm gales of heavenly wind
Did sweetly blown, and sun did dart
Its light in me, I could not find
No heart within my inward part.
Then blow thou wind, and shine thou sun,
To make my soul a lively one.

In natural men there is a light,
Which for their sins doth them reprove;
And yet they are but in the night,
And not renewed from above.
The moon is given--it is clear--
To guide men who in darkness are;

The sun for brightness doth exceed
The stars of heaven, or the moon;
Of them there is but little need,
When sun doth shine toward high noon;
Just so the gospel doth excel
The law God gave to Israel.

All those who do the gospel slight,
And rather have a legal guide,
The sun’s not risen in their sight,
And therefore ’tis that they deride
Those who commend the gospel sun,
Above the light in every one.

Degrees of light they do perceive,
Some of them weak, and others strong;
That which is saving none receive,
But those unto whom Christ belong;
Yet doth each light serve for the end,
For which to man God did it send.

—from Worthy Is the Lamb (Soli Deo Gloria, 2004).

salme 139 (Geneva Bible)
To him that excelleth. A Psalme of David.

1 O Lord, thou hast tried me and knowen me.
2 Thou knowest my sitting and my rising: thou vnderstandest my thought afarre off.
3 Thou compassest my pathes, and my lying downe, and art accustomed to all my wayes.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but loe, thou knowest it wholy, O Lord.
5 Thou holdest mee straite behinde and before, and layest thine hand vpon me.
6 Thy knowledge is too wonderfull for mee: it is so high that I cannot attaine vnto it.
7 Whither shall I goe from thy Spirite? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascende into heauen, thou art there: if I lye downe in hell, thou art there.
9 Let mee take the winges of the morning, and dwell in the vttermost parts of the sea:
10 Yet thither shall thine hand leade me, and thy right hand holde me.
11 If I say, Yet the darkenes shall hide me, euen the night shalbe light about me.
12 Yea, the darkenes hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkenes and light are both alike.
13 For thou hast possessed my reines: thou hast couered me in my mothers wombe.
14 I will praise thee, for I am fearefully and wonderously made: marueilous are thy workes, and my soule knoweth it well.
15 My bones are not hid from thee, though I was made in a secret place, and facioned beneath in the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see me, when I was without forme: for in thy booke were all things written, which in continuance were facioned, when there was none of them before.
17 Howe deare therefore are thy thoughtes vnto me, O God! how great is ye summe of them!
18 If I should count them, they are moe then the sand: when I wake, I am still with thee.
19 Oh that thou wouldest slay, O God, the wicked and bloody men, to whom I say, Depart ye from mee:
20 Which speake wickedly of thee, and being thine enemies are lifted vp in vaine.
21 Doe not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and doe not I earnestly contend with those that rise vp against thee?
22 I hate them with an vnfained hatred, as they were mine vtter enemies.
23 Try mee, O God, and knowe mine heart: prooue me and know my thoughtes,
24 And consider if there be any way of wickednes in me, and leade me in the way for euer.

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