Simplicity of Christian Worship. Ps. xlviii.
1 GREAT is the Lord our God,
And let his praise be great;
He makes the church his blest abode,
His most delightful seat.
2 Let strangers walk around
The city where we dwell; Compass and view the holy ground And mark the building well;
3 The order of thine house,
The worship of thy court,
The cheerful songs, the solemn vows,
And all its grace report.
4 How decent and how wise!
How glorious to behold!
Beyond the pomp that charms the eyes,
Ör rites adorned with gold.
5 The God we worship now,
Will guide us till we die,
Our guardian God while here below,
Ours through eternity.
The Presence of God in his House.
1 Lo, God is here! let us adore,
And humbly bow before his face :
Let all within us feel his power,
Let all within us seek his grace.
2 Lo, God is here! him day and night
United choirs of angels sing:
To him, enthroned above all height,
Heaven's host their noblest homage bring.
3 Being of beings! may our praise
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill:
Still may we stand before thy face,
Still hear and do thy sovereign will.
4 Ruler of all, below, above!
Man's noblest work is serving thee;
Thy spirit o'er our hearts shall move,
And tune them all to harmony.
"There remaineth a rest to the people of God." Heb. iv. 9.
1 LORD of the sabbath! hear our vows, On this thy day, in this thy house; And own as grateful sacrifice,
The songs which from thy temples rise.
2 Thine earthly sabbaths, Lord! we love;
But there's a nobler rest above;
Thy servants to that rest aspire,
With ardent hope and strong desire.
3 No more fatigue, no more distress,
Nor sin, nor death, shall reach the place ;
No sighs shall mingle with the songs,
That dwell upon immortal tongues.
4 No gloomy cares shall there annoy;
No conscious guilt disturb our joy;
No midnight shade, no clouded sun,
But sacred, high, eternal noon.
5 When shall that glorious day begin,
Beyond the reach of death or sin?
Whose sun shall never more decline,
But with unfading lustre shine!
1 To your Creator God,
Your great preserver, raise,
Ye creatures of his hand,
Your highest notes of praise :
Let every voice
Proclaim his power,
His name adore,
And loud rejoice.
2 Thou source of light and heat,
Bright sovereign of the day,
Dispensing blessings round,
With all-diffusive ray;
From morn to night,
With every beam
Record his name,
Who made thee bright.
3 Fair regent of the night,
With all thy starry train,
Which rise in silent hosts.
To gild the azure plain ;
With countless rays
Declare his name,
Prolong the theme,
Reflect his praise.
4 Let all the creatures join,
To celebrate his name,
And all their various powers
Assist the exalted theme.
Let nature raise
From every tongue,
A general song
Of grateful praise.
5 But oh! from human tongues
Should nobler praises flow;
And every thankful heart,
With warm devotion glow:
Your voices raise,
Ye highly blest;
Above the rest
Declare his praise,
The God of Nature invoked.
1 HAIL, great Creator, wise and good: To thee our songs we raise :
Nature, through all her various scenes,
Invites us to thy praise.
2 At morning, noon, and evening mild,
Fresh wonders strike our view;
And while we gaze, our hearts exult
With transports ever new.
3 Thy glory beams in every star
Which gilds the gloom of night;
And decks the smiling face of morn
With rays of cheerful light.
4 The lofty hill, the humble vale,
With countless beauties shine;
the awful shade,
Proclaim thy power divine.
5 Great nature's God! still may these scenes Our serious hours engage; And our reflecting minds consult
Thy works' instructive page!
6 And while, in all this wondrous frame,
Thy varied love we see!
Still may the contemplation lead
Our hearts, O God! to thee.
Devout Contemplation of Creation. 1 Look round, O man! survey this globe; Speak of creating power; Where nature gives a different robe To every herb and flower.
2 See various beings fill the air,
And people earth and sea;
What grateful changes form the year!
How constant night and day!
3 Next raise thine eye; th' expanse above
A power unbounded shows;
Where round the sun the planets move,
And various worlds compose.
4 Then turn into thyself, O man!
With wonder view thy soul
Confess his power who laid each plan,
And still directs the whole.
5 And let obedience to his laws
Thy gratitude proclaim,
To him, the first, almighty Cause,
JEHOVAH is his name.
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