Praise to God through all the Changes of Life.
PRAISE to God-immortal praise-
For the love that crowns our days!
Bounteous Source of every joy,
Let thy praise our tongues employ.
For the blessings of the field,
For the stores the gardens yield,
For the vine's exalted juice,
For the generous olive's use:
Flocks that whiten all the plain,
Yellow sheaves of ripen'd grain;
Clouds that drop their fattening dews,
Suns that temperate warmth diffuse :
All that spring with bounteous hand,
Scatters o'er the smiling land;
All that liberal autumn pours
From her rich o'erflowing stores;
These to thee, great God, we owe-
Source whence all our blessings flow!
And for these our souls shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise.
Yet should rising whirlwinds tear
From its stem the ripening ear;
Should the fig-tree's blasted shoot
Drop her green untimely fruit :
Should the vine put forth no more,
Nor the olive yield her store;
Though the sickening flocks should fall,
And the herds desert the stall:
Should thine alter'd hand restrain
The early and the latter rain;
Blast each opening bud of joy,
And the rising year destroy:
Yet to thee my soul should raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise;
And when every blessing's flown,
Love thee for thyself alone.
The Constant Presence and Providence of God a Source of Gratitude and Trust.
FATHER divine! before thy view
All worlds, all creatures lie;
No distance can elude thy search,
No action 'scape thine eye;
Hear, gracious Lord! our mingled praises hear;
Thou art our hope, our joy, our fear.
From thee our vital breath we drew;
Our childhood was thy care;
And vigorous youth, and feeble age,
Thy kind protection share :
Hear, gracious Lord! our mingled praises hear;
Thou art our hope, our joy, our fear,
Whate'er we do, where'er we turn,
Thy ceaseless bounty flows;
Oppress'd with woe, when nature faints,
Thine arm is our repose:
Hear, gracious Lord! our mingled praises hear; Thou art our hope, our joy, our fear.
To thee we look, thou Power supreme!
Oh still our wants supply!
Safe in thy presence may we live,
And in thy favour die :
Hear, gracious Lord! our mingled praises hear;
Thou art our hope, our joy, our fear.
Assurance of the Divine Presence.
ART thou still with us, gracious Lord!
To dissipate our fear?
Dost thou proclaim thyself our God,
Our God for ever near?
Doth thy right hand, which form'd the earth,
And bears up all the skies,
Stretch from on high its friendly aid,
When dangers round us rise?
On this support my soul shall lean,
And banish every care;
The gloomy vale of death must smile,
If God be with me there.
THE Lord my Shepherd is;
I shall be well supplied;
Since he is mine, and I am his,
What can I want beside?
He leads me to the place Where heavenly pasture grows; Where living waters gently pass, And full salvation flows.
Though from his fold I stray,
He doth my steps restore;
And guides me in his own right way,
That I may sin no more.
While he affords his aid,
I cannot yield to fear;
Tho' I should walk thro' death's dark shade, My Shepherd's with me there.
Confidence in God's Care and Guidance.
THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care:
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye :
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or o'er the thirsty mountains pant,
To fertile vales and dewy meads,
My weary wandering steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious lonely wilds I stray,
Thy presence shall my pains beguile;
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crown'd;
And streams shall murmur all around.
Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still?
Thy friendly hand shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
Confidence in the Perfections of God.
PRAISE, everlasting praise, be paid
To him that earth's foundation laid!
Praise to our God, whose sovereign will
All nature's laws and powers fulfil !
Praise to the goodness of the Lord,
Who rules his people by his word,
Where faith contemplates his decrees,
And every gracious promise sees.
Whence then should doubts and fears arise?
Why tearful sorrows cloud our eyes?
Slowly, alas! our mind receives
The comforts that our Maker gives.
Oh for a strong and lasting faith,
To credit what the Almighty saith;
To embrace the message of his Son,
And make the joys of heaven our own!
Then, should the earth's vast pillars shake,
And all the wheels of nature break,
Our steadfast souls would fear no more
Than solid rocks when billows roar.
Our everlasting hopes arise
Above the perishable skies;
The word of promise standeth sure,
And will eternally endure.
'It is I, be not afraid.'-Matt. xiv. 27.
WHEN power divine, in mortal form,
Hush'd with a word, the raging storm;
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