Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: Jeremiah 5.10
Lord, we the raging war have felt,
When you destroyed our walls,
'Till we, at last, to Jesus knelt,
And owned Him Lord of all.
Our safeties we had mounted high,
False refuges of stone.
But you have swept them all away,
As autumn leaves are blown.
The names of men and churches too,
Were once our great defense;
Our heritage we did pursue,
For lofty battlements.
But armies from the throne of heav'n
Came with the pow'rful sound,
"No name but Christ has e'er been giv'n"
And thus our walls came down.
What mighty walls we mounted high,
In our self-righteous pride,
We felt your wrath could not come nigh,
In righteous works we'd hide!
But such a blast came from your Word,
It made our walls a waste,
"None shall be saved by his own works,
Salvation is by grace!"
Lord, we would be a heap of dust,
Had not your heart of grace,
Destroyed the walls but spared us just
When wrath had reached our place.
Then built before our wond'ring eyes,
A fortress great and strong:
A fortress made of Jesus Christ,
To Whom all praise belongs!