The shadow of thy wings
My soul in safety keeps;
I follow where my Father leads,
And he supports my steps.
FATHER divine! thy piercing eye
Looks through the shades of night;
In deep retirement thou art nigh,
With heart-discerning sight.
There shall that piercing eye survey
My humble worship paid,
With every morning's dawning ray,
And every evening's shade.
I'll leave behind each earthly care,
To thee my soul shall soar;
While grateful praise, and fervent prayer,
Employ the silent hour.
So shall the sun in smiles arise,
The day shall close in peace;
So wilt thou train me for the skies,
Where joy shall never cease.
Praise to God through the Whole of
Existence.
GOD of my life! through all its days,
My grateful powers shall sound thy praise;
The song shall wake with opening light,
And cheer the darkest gloom of night.
When anxious cares would break my rest,
And griefs would tear my throbbing breast,
Thy tuneful praises, rais'd on high,
Shall check the murmur, and the sigh.
When death o'er nature shall prevail,
And all the powers of language fail,
Joy through my swimming eyes shall break,
And mean the thanks I cannot speak.
Those thanks for ever will I pay,
In the bright realms of endless day;
A theme so sweet, a work so high,
Demands and crowns eternity.
The innumerable Mercies of God
thankfully owned.
IN glad amazement, LORD! I stand,
Amidst the bounties of thy hand:
How numberless these bounties are,
How rich, how various, and how fair!
But oh! what poor return I make!
What lifeless thanks I pay thee back!
LORD! I confess with humble shame,
My offerings scarce deserve the name.
Fain would my labouring heart devise,
To bring some nobler sacrifice;
It sinks beneath the mighty load:
What shall I render to my GOD!
To thee I consecrate my praise,
And vow the remnant of my days;
Yet what, at best, can I pretend,
Worthy such gifts from such a Friend!
In deep abasement, LORD! I see
My emptiness and poverty:
Give me a likeness more divine,
And make me worthier to be thine.
Give me at length an angel's tongue,
That heaven may echo with my song;
The theme, too great for time, shall be
The joy of immortality.
INDULGENT Father! how divine
How rich thy bounties are!
Through nature's ample round they shine, Thy goodness to declare.
But in the nobler work of grace,
What sweeter mercy smiles,
Reflected from the Saviour's face,
And every fear beguiles!
Such wonders, LORD! while I survey,
To thee my thanks shall rise,
When morning ushers in the day,
Or evening veils the skies.
When glimmering life resigns its flame,
Thy praise shall tune my breath;
The sweet remembrance of thy name
Shall gild the shades of death.
But oh! how blest my song shall rise,
In a seraphic lay,
When all thy glories meet my eyes
Through an eternal day!
Praise to God in Life and Death.
My soul shall praise thee, O my GOD!
Through all my mortal days;
In heaven for ever I'll prolong
Thy vast, thy boundless praise.
In every smiling happy hour,
Be this my sweet employ;
Thy praise refines my earthly bliss,
And heightens all my joy.
Z
When gloomy care, and keen distress,
Afflict my throbbing breast,
My tongue shall learn to speak thy praise,
And lull each pain to rest.
Nor shall my tongue alone proclaim
The honours of my GoD;
My life, with all my active powers,
Shall spread thy praise abroad.
When death is past, in endless strains
My grateful praise I'll pay:
The theme demands a nobler song,
And an eternal day.
Gratitude to God for Individual Mercies.
WHEN all thy mercies, O my God!
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.
Oh how shall words, with equal warmth,
The gratitude declare
That glows in my enraptur'd heart!
But thou canst read it there.
Unnumber'd comforts, gracious GOD!
Thy tender care bestow'd,
Before my infant heart conceiv'd
From whom those comforts flow'd.
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