Not All the Outward Forms on Earth

Verse 1

Not all the outward forms on earth,
Nor rites that God has given,
Nor will of man, nor blood, nor birth,
Can raise a soul to heaven.

Verse 2

The sovereign will of God alone
Creates us heirs of grace;
Born in the image of his Son,
A new peculiar race.

Verse 3

The Spirit like some heavenly wind
Blows on the sons of flesh,
New models all the carnal mind,
And forms the man afresh.

Verse 4

Our quicken’d souls awake, and rise
From the long sleep of death;
On heavenly things we fix our eyes,
And praise employs our breath.