Praise HIM, who is all praise above,
The source of wisdom and of love.
2 How vast his knowledge! how profound!
A depth where all our thoughts are drowned!
The stars he numbers-and their names
He gives to all those heavenly flames.
3 Thro' each bright world above, behold
Ten thousand thousand charms unfold;
Earth, air and mighty seas combine,
To speak his wisdom all divine.
4 But in redemption-O, what grace!
Its wonders, O, what thought can trace!
Here wisdom shines for ever bright;
Praise him, my soul, with sweet delight.
HYMN 16. L. M. [17]
WAIT, O my soul, thy Maker's will;
Tumultuous passions, all be still !
Nor let a murmuring thought arise-
His ways are just, his counsels wise.
2 He in the thickest darkness dwells,
Performs his work, the cause conceals;
But, though his methods are unknown,
Judgment and truth support his throne.
3 In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas,
He executes his firm decrees;
And by his saints it stands confest,
That what he does is ever blest.
4 Wait, then, my soul, submissive wait;
Prostrate before his awful seat:
And 'midst the terrors of his rod,
Still-trust a wise and gracious God.
YE humble souls, approach your God,
With songs of sacred praise;
For he is good, supremely good,
And kind are all his ways.
2 All nature owns his guardian care;
In him we live and move;
But nobler benefits declare,
The wonders of his love.
3 He gave his well-beloved Son,
To ransom rebel worms;
"Tis here he makes his goodness known, In its diviner forms.
4 To this sure refuge, Lord, we come,
And here our hope relies;
A safe defence, a peaceful home,
When storms of trouble rise.
INDULGENT Lord, thy goodness reigns Through all the wide, celestial plains; And thence in streams redundant flow, And cheer th' abodes of men below.
2 Thro' nature's works its glories shine; The cares of providence are thine; And grace erects our ruined frame, A fairer temple to thy name. 3 O give to every human heart, To taste and feel how good thou art; With grateful love and holy fear, To know how blest thy children are. 4 Let nature burst into a song; Ye echoing hills, the notes prolong;
Earth, seas, and stars, your anthems raise, All vocal with your Maker's praise!
YE humble saints proclaim abroad
The honors of a faithful God;
How just and true are all his ways!
How much above your highest praise!
2 Let frightened rivers change their course,
Or backward hasten to their source;
Swift through the air let rocks be hurled,
And mountains like the chaff be whirled.
3 Let suns and stars forget to rise,
Or quit their stations in the skies;
Let heaven and earth both pass away,
Eternal truth shall ne'er decay.
4 True to his word, God gave his Son,
To die for crimes which men had done;
Blest pledge! he never will revoke,
A single promise he has spoke,
HYMN 20. L. M. [399]
GOD spake, and from chaotic night
At once sprung forth the cheering light;
The earth in beauty was arrayed,
All things his wondrous pow'r display'd.
2 Teeming with life, air, earth and sea,
Obey the Almighty's high decree;
To every tribe he gives their food,
Then speaks the whole divinely good. 3 But to complete the wondrous plan, From earth and dust he fashions man. In man the last, in man the best,
The Maker's image stands confess'd.
4 Lord, while thy glorious works I view,
Form thou my heart and soul anew;
Here bid thy purest light to shine,
And beauty glow with charms divine.
HYMN 21. S. M. [20]
MY soul, repeat his praise,
Whose mercies are so great;
Whose anger is so slow to rise,
So ready to abate.
2 God will not always chide;
And when his strokes are felt,
His strokes are fewer than our crimes
And lighter than our guilt.
3 High as the heavens are raised
Above the ground we tread,
So far the riches of his grace
Our highest thoughts exceed.
4 Our days are like the grass,
Or like the morning flower;
If one sharp blast sweeps o'er the field,
It withers in an hour.
5 But thy compassions, Lord,
To endless years endure;
And children's children ever find
The words of promise sure.
HYMN 22. S. M. [20]
O ALL-CREATING God!
At whose supreme decree
Our body rose, a breathing clod,
Our souls sprang forth from thee.
2 For this thou hast design'd
And form'd us man for this;
To know and love thyself, and find
In THEE Our endless bliss.
HYMN 23. L. M. [21]
THE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, (a shining frame,)
Their great Original proclaim:
Th' unwearied sun from day to day,
Doth his Creator's power display;
And publishes to every land,
The work of an Almighty hand.
2 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wond'rous tale,
And nightly to the list'ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
3 What though in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball;
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid the radiant orbs be found;
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
Forever singing as they shine,
66 The hand that made us is divine."
BLEST be our everlasting Lord,
Our Father, God, and King!
Thy sovereign goodness we record,
Thy glorious power we sing.
2 By thee the victory is given,
The majesty divine,
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