Strong is his arm, and shall fulfil
His great decrees-his sovereign will.

4

And will the mighty God
Accomplish all his love?
Shall sin and evil cease,

And bliss triumphant prove!
I'll bless his name, I'll trust his word:
Join all my powers to praise the Lord.

87.

Divine Faithfulness and Benignity.

1

THY justice, Lord! maintains its throne,
Though mountains melt away:
Thy judgments are a world unknown,
A deep unfathom'd sea.

2

Above the heaven's created rounds,
'Thy mercies far extend :

Thy truth outlives the narrow bounds
Where time and nature end.

3

Safety to man thy goodness brings,

Nor overlooks the beast: Beneath the shadow of thy wings, Thy children love to rest.

4

From thee, when creature-streams run low,
And mortal comforts die,
Perpetual springs of mercy flow,

To raise our hopes on high.

5

Though all created light decay,

And death close np our eyes, Thy presence makes eternal day, Where clouds can never rise.

88.

The Perfections and Providence of God.

1

HIGH in the heavens, Eternal God!
Thy goodness in full glory shines:
Thy truth shall break through every cloud
That veils and darkens thy designs.

2

For ever firm thy justice stands,
As mountains their foundations keep :
Wise are the wonders of thy hands;
Thy judgments are a mighty deep.

3

Thy providence is kind and large;
Both man and beast thy bounty share;
The whole creation is thy charge,
But saints are thy peculiar care.

4

O God! how excellent thy grace,

Whence all our hope and comfort springs : The sons of Adam in distress

Fly to the shadow of thy wings.

5

The living bread thy word bestows,
Will fainting souls with strength renew :
Thence mercy like a river flows,

And brings salvation to our view.

6

Life, like a fountain rich and free,
Springs from the presence of the Lord;
And in thy light our souls shall see
The glories promis'd in thy word.

89.

God praised for his Goodness and Truth.

1

I'LL praise my Maker here below;

And when to brighter worlds I go,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers:

My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.

2

Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust :

Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs; their pomp and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour;
Nor can they make their promise good.

3

Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel's God: he made the sky,

And earth, and seas, with all their train : His truth for ever stands secure :

He saves the oppress'd, he feeds the poor;
And none shall find his promise vain.

4

The Lord hath sight to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
And sends the contrite spirit peace :
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow and the fatherless ;

And grants the prisoner sweet release.

5

He loves his children, knows them well;
His grace their joyful lips can tell :
Their God for ever lives and reigns :
Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage :

Praise him in everlasting strains,

90.

Divine Mercy.

1

'Tis mercy calls :-let all their tribute bring, Of grateful homage to our heavenly King: In strains of joy proclaim abroad

The boundless mercies of our God

The mercies shown us from above, The wonders of redeeming love : "Tis mercy calls ;-in sacred chorus raise To God, the God of all, a song of heartfelt praise.

2

That glorious Being reigns enthron'd on high,
Yet views the wretched with a pitying eye:
His eye beholds each anxious care,
The lonely sigh, the silent tear:

He sees the widow's streaming eye;
He hears the hungry orphans cry:
Depending worlds his sacred bounty share;
All creatures find a place in their Creator's care.

3

Hear this, ye pious but dejected minds,
Whom error darkens, or whom weakness binds!
Lift from the dust your mournful eye,
And know, the Lord, your help is nigh:
These sorrows from your breast shall roll;
And comfort bless the humble soul :
Let cheerful hope in every bosom spring,
For boundless mercy dwells with heaven's
immortal King.

4

All ye, who bend beneath the stroke of time, And ye, whose cheeks confess their healthy prime,

Your Maker and Preserver praise, For early and for lengthened days: The pious and the grateful song, Shall lisp upon the infant's tongue : While heavenly mercy soothes the mourner's

care,

And bids the saint rejoice, the sinner not despair.

5

'Tis mercy calls :-let all their tribute bring, Of grateful homage to our heavenly King: With ardent love our hearts should glow, While heaven's sweet work begins below;

And strive with those around his throne
To praise the great Almighty One:

The Almighty hears, and gives us leave to call
On him, the Judge, the Guide, the sovereign
Lord of all.

91.

The Compassion of God to the Penitent.

HOPE of the wretched! thou alone
The broken heart canst bind;
Canst ease the deepest pangs we feel,
And raise the sinking mind.

2

Did ever, Lord! thy gracious ear
The contrite prayer disdain?
Or when did misery humbly sigh,
Or supplicate in vain ?

3

Oppress'd with grief and shame, dissolv'd
In penitential tears,

Thy goodness calms our restless doubts,
And dissipates our fears.

4

New life from thy refreshing grace,
Our sinking hearts receive;
Thy gentlest, best-lov'd attribute,
To pity and forgive.

5

Thy grace hath caus'd celestial hope
To shine serenely bright;

And shed her soft and cheering beam
O'er sorrow's darkest night.

6

Our hearts adore thy mercy, Lord!
And bless the friendly ray,
Which ushers in the smiling morn
Of everlasting day.