1 Tho' Jericho pleasantly stood,
And look'd like a promising soil;
The Harvest produc'd little Food,
To answer the Husbandman's toil:
The Water some Property had,
Which poisonous prov'd to the ground;
The Springs were corrupted and bad,
The Streams spread a Barrenness round.

2 But soon by the cruise and the Salt,
Prepar'd by Elisha's command,
And Plenty enriched the Land:
An Emblem sure this of Grace
On fruitless dead Sinners bestow'd;
For Man is in Jericho's Case,
Till cur'd by the Mercy of God.

3 How noble a Creature he seems!
What Knowledge, Invention, and Skill!
How large and extensive his Schemes!
How much can He do if He will!
His Zeal to be learned and Wise,
Will yield to no Limits or Bars;
He Measures the Earth and the Skies,
And Numbers and Marshals the Stars.

4 Yet still he is barren of Good;
In vain are his Talents and Art;
For Sin has infected his Blood,
And poison'd the Streams of his Heart:
The Cockatrice Eggs he can hatch,
Or, Spider-like, cobwebs can Weave;
'Tis Madness to Labour and Watch
For what will destroy and deceive.

5 But Grace,like the Salt in the Cruise,
When cast in the Spring of the Soul,
A wonderful Change will produce,
Diffusing new Life thro' the Whole:
The Wilderness blooms like a Rose,
The Heart which was vile and abhorr'd,
Now fruitful and beautiful grows,
The Garden and Joy of the Lord.