Faith in God in the Darkness of Providence.
1 LORD! we adore thy vast designs,
The obscure abyss of Providence,-
Too deep to sound with mortal lines,
Too dark to view with feeble sense.

2 Now clouds enwrap the heavens' bright face,
And gathering tempest veils thy smile,
Yet through this gloom we see thy grace,
And trust in thy compassion still.

3 Through tangled ways and sore distress,
We walk by faith, and not by sight;
Faith guides us in the wilderness,
And cheers the lonely gloom of night.
4 FATHER! if thou with lifted rod
Resolve to scourge us here below,
Still may we lean on thee, our God,
Assured, thine arm will bear us through.

Trust in the divine Government.

1 GIVE to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed,-

God counts thy tears and hears thy sighs,
He shall lift up thine head:

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way,
Wait thou his time,-so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.

2 He every where hath rule,

And all things serve his might; His every act pure blessing is, His path, unsullied light:

3

4

Thou comprehend'st him not,-
Yet earth and heaven tell,
God sits as regent on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.

He doth to each divide

His lot of good and ill,

Nor this too great, nor that too small,
Ordained by wisest will:

Behold our weakness, Lord!
Known are our hearts to thee;
O lift again the sinking head,
Confirm the feeble knee.

Mould thou, this timid mind
To every changing state;

That, joyous now, and now resigned,
Shall the great issue wait:

Hopeful and humble, meet

The evil and the good;
Nor by presumption, nor despair,
Weak mortal, be subdued.

112. C. M.

The Vicissitudes of Providence.

1 THE gifts, indulgent heaven bestows,
Are variously conveyed;

The human mind, like nature, knows
Alternate light and shade.

2 While changing aspects all things wear, Can we expect to find

Unclouded sunshine all the year,

Or constant peace of mind?

3 More gaily smiles the blooming spring, When wintry storms are o'er; Retreating sorrow thus may bring Delights, unknown before.

4 Then, Christian! send thy fears away, Nor sink in gloomy care;

Though clouds o'erspread the scene to-day, To-morrow may be fair.

113. L. M.

God, the Protector of Innocence. Ps. x.
1 WHAT eyes like thine, Eternal Sire!
Through sin's obscurest depths enquire ?
What hand, like thine, on virtue's foes
The needful judgements can impose?
2 The meek observer of thy laws
To thee commits his injured cause:
In thee, each anxious fear resigned,
The fatherless a father find.

3 Thine is the throne; beneath thy reign,
Thou sovereign King! the tribes profane
Behold their dreams of conquest o'er,
And vanish, to be seen no more.

3 "Tis thine the orphan's cheek to dry,
The guiltless sufferer's cause to try;
To rein each earth-born tyrant's will,
And bid the sons of pride be still.

"God is our Refuge and Strength." Ps. xlvi. 1 THOU Power, on whom our hope depends !Thy omnipresent sight

E'en to the pathless realms extends
Of uncreated night.

2 Plunged in th' abyss of deep distress,
To thee we raised our cry;

Thy mercy bade our sorrows cease,
And filled our tongue with joy.

3 Though earth her ancient seat forsake,
By pangs convulsive torn,

Though her self-balanced fabric shake,
And ruined nature mourn;

4 Though hills be in the ocean lost,
With all their trembling load;
No fear shall e'er disturb the just,
Or shake his trust in God.

5 Nations remote and realms unknown,
In vain resist his sway;
For lo! Jehovah's voice is shown,
And earth shall melt away.

6 Let war's devouring surges rise,
And swell on every side;
The Lord of hosts our safeguard is,
And Jacob's God our guide.

115. L. M.

Providence, the peculiar Guardian of the Church. Ps. xlvi.

1 GOD is the refuge of his saints,

When fiercest storms their peace invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints,

Behold him present with his aid!

2 Let mountains from their seats be hurled
Down to the deep, and buried there,
Convulsions shake the solid world,-
Our faith shall never yield to fear.

3 There is a stream, whose gentle flow
Supplies the city of our God;

Life, love, and joy still gliding through,
And watering our divine abode.

4 Zion enjoys her Sovereign's love,
Secure in every threatening hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on his truth, and armed with power.

116. L. M.

God, the intellectual Light.

2 Cor. iv. 6. 1 PRAISE to the Lord of boundless might, With uncreated glories bright!

His presence gilds the worlds above; The unchanging source of light and love. 2 Our rising earth his eye beheld, When in substantial darkness veiled, The shapeless chaos, nature's womb, Lay buried in eternal gloom. 3 Let there be light! Jehovah said, And light o'er all its face was spread : Nature, arrayed in charms unknown, Gay with its new-born lustre shone. 4 He sees the mind, when lost it lies In shades of ignorance and vice; And darts from heaven a vivid ray, And changes midnight into day. 5 Our souls, revived by heavenly light, Shall be in all thine image bright; While all our faculties shall join To praise the Lord of light divine.

117. L. M.

The Divine Benignity in every Dispensation.
Ps. ix. 10.

1 PRAISE to His grace, who loud proclaims
His various and his saving names;
O may they not be heard alone,
But by our sure experience known!