80.

The Eternity and Uuchangeableness of God.

1

GREAT God, how infinite art thou!
How frail and helpless we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.

2

Nature and time all open lie

To thine immense survey; From the formation of the sky, To the last awful day.

3

Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present to thy view:
To thee there's nothing old appears;
Great God! there's nothing new.

4

Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
And vex'd with trifling cares,

While thine eternal thought moves on
Thine undisturb'd affairs.

5

Great God! how infinite art thou!
How frail and helpless we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.

81.

The Divine Omnipresence.

1

LORD! how thy wonders are display'd,

Where'er we turn our eyes;

If we survey the ground we tread,
Or gaze upon the skies!

2

'There'e not a plant or flower below,
But makes thy glories known;
And storms arise, and tempests blow,
By order from thy throne.

3

Creatures, as numerous as they be,
Are subject to thy care;

There's not a place where we can flee,
But God is present there.

4

In heaven he shines with beams of love,
The same in worlds beneath;
'Tis on his earth we stand or move,
And 'tis his air we breathe.

5

His hand is our perpetual guard,
He keeps us with his eye;
Oh may we ne'er forget the Lord,
Who is for ever nigh!

82.

The Ever-present All-seeing God.

1

In all my vast concerns with thee,
In vain my soul would try

To shun thy presence, Lord! or flee
The notice of thine eye.

2

Thine all-surrounding sight surveys
My rising and my rest,

My public walks, my private ways,
And secrets of my breast.

3

My thoughts lie open to the Lord,
Before they're form'd within;
And ere my lips pronounce the word,
He knows the sense I mean.

4

O wondrous knowledge, deep and high!
Where can a creature hide!
Within thy circling power I lie,
Beset on every side.

5

The beams of noon, the midnight hour,
Are both alike to thee:

Oh may I ne'er offend that power
From which I cannot flee.

83.

The Ever-present All-seeing God.

1

LORD! thou hast search'd and seen me thro':
Thine eye commands, with piercing view,
My rising and my resting hours,

My heart and flesh, with all their powers.

2

My thoughts before they are my own,
Are to my God distinctly known;
He knows the words I mean to speak,
Ere from my opening lips they break.

3

Within thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find thy hand:
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.

4

Amazing knowledge, vast and great!
What large extent! what lofty height !
My soul, with all the powers I boast,
Is in the boundless prospect lost.

5

Oh may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where'er I rove, where'er I rest!
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.

84.

The Omniscience and Omnipresence of God.

1

FATHER of all! Omniscient Mind!
Thy wisdom who can comprehend?
Its highest point what eye can find,
Or to its lowest depths descend?

2

What cavern deep, what hill sublime,
Beyond thy reach, shall I pursue?
What dark recess, what distant clime,
Shall hide me from thy boundless view?

3

Thee, mighty God! my wondering soul— Thee, all her conscious powers adore, Whose being circumscribes the whole, Whose eyes the universe explore.

4

Thy spirit fills this breathing frame;
It glows in every vital part;

Lights up my mind with livelier flame,
And feeds with life my beating heart.

5

To thee, from whom my being_came,
Whose smile is all the heaven I know-
Inspir'd with this exalted theme,
To thee my grateful strains shall flow.

85.

The Foreknowledge of God.

1

LET the whole race of creatures lie

Abas'd before the Lord:

Whate'er his sovereign voice hath form'd,

He governs with a word.

2

Ten thousand ages ere the skies

Were into motion brought,

All the long years and worlds to come
Stood present to his thought.

3

If light attend the course I run,
"l'is he provides the rays;

And 'tis his hand that hides the sun,
If darkness cloud my days.

4

Trusting his wisdom and his love,
I would not wish to know
What, in the book of his decrees,
Awaits me here below.

5

Be this alone my fervent prayer,
Whate'er my lot shall be

Of joy or sorrow-may it form
My soul for heaven and thee.

86.

The Glorious Perfections of Jehovah.

THE Lord, Jehovah, reigns:
His throne's exalted high :
The garments that he wears
Are light and majesty :

His glory shine with beams so bright,
No mortal eye can bear the sight.

2

The thunders of his hand

Keep the wide earth in awe :
His power and justice stand
To guard his holy law :

And where his love resolves to bless,
His truth confirms and seals the grace.

3

Through all his boundless works,

Unerring wisdom shines;

And, through the darkest clouds,

Effects his vast designs :