"Stand up, and bless the Lord."
Neh. ix. 5.

2 O for the living flame,

From His own altar brought, To touch our lips, our minds inspire, And wing to heaven our thought.

3 God is our strength and song,

And His salvation ours;

Then be His love in Christ proclaimed

With all our ransomed powers.

4 Stand up, and bless the Lord,

58

The Lord your God adore;

Stand up, and bless His glorious name, Henceforth for evermore.

James Montgomery. (1771-1854.) 1825. ab.

Exhortation to Worship.
Ps. xcv.

I COME, Sound His praise abroad,
And hymns of glory sing:
Jehovah is the sovereign God,
The universal King.

2 He formed the deeps unknown,
He gave the seas their bound;
The watery worlds are all His own,
And all the solid ground.

3 Come, worship at His throne,

Come, bow before the Lord,

We are His work, and not our own;
He formed us by His word.

4 To-day attend His voice,
Nor dare provoke His rod;

59

Come, like the people of His choice, And own your gracious God.

Rev. Isaac Watts. (1674-1748.) 1719. ab.

Universal Praise.

Ps. cxlviii.

I LET every creature join

To praise the eternal God,

Ye heavenly hosts, the song begin,
And sound His name abroad.

2 Thou sun with golden beams,
And moon with paler rays,

Ye starry lights, ye twinkling flames,
Shine to your Maker's praise.

3 He built those worlds above,

And fixed their wondrous frame;

By His command they stand and move, And ever speak His name.

4 Ye vapors, when ye rise,

Or fall in showers or snow,

Ye thunders, murmuring round the skies, His power and glory show.

5 Wind, hail, and flashing fire,
Agree to praise the Lord,

When ye in dreadful storms conspire
To execute His word.

6 By all His works above

His honors be expressed;

But saints, that taste His saving love,

Should sing His praises best.

Rev. Isaac Watts. 1719.

60

The Divine Sovereignty and Goodness.
Ps. viii.

2 When to Thy works on high

I raise my wondering eyes,

And see the moon, complete in light,

Adorn the darksome skies;

3 When I survey the stars,

And all their shining forms,

Lord, what is man, that worthless thing, Akin to dust and worms?

4 Lord, what is worthless man,

That Thou shouldst love Him so? Next to Thine angels is he placed, And lord of all below.

5 How rich Thy bounties are,

And wondrous are Thy ways:

Of dust and worms Thy power can frame A monument of praise.

6 O Lord, our heavenly King,

Thy name is all divine:

Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heavens they shine.
Rev. Isaac Watts. 1719. ab.

3 Oft He forgave their sins,
Nor would destroy their race;

And oft He made His vengeance known
When they abused His grace.

4 Exalt the Lord our God,
Whose grace is still the same;
Still He's a God of holiness,
And jealous for His name.

Rev. Isaac Watts. 1719.

"The only Wise."
Jude 24, 25.

I To God the only wise,

Our Saviour and our King,

Let all the saints below the skies
Their humble praises bring.

2 'Tis His almighty love,

His counsel and His care, Preserves us safe from sin and death, And every hurtful snare.

3 He will present our souls,

Unblemished and complete,
Before the glory of His face,
With joys divinely great.

4 Then all the chosen seed

Shall meet around the throne, Shall bless the conduct of His grace, And make His wonders known.

5 To our Redeemer God

Wisdom and power belongs,
Immortal crowns of majesty,
And everlasting songs.

Rev. Isaac Watts. 1709.

63

"The Heavens declare the Glory of God."
Ps. xix.

2 The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty Hand.

3 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;

4 Whilst 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.
5 What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs be found?

6 In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing, as they shine,
"The Hand that made us is divine."
Joseph Addison. (1672-1719.) 1712.

2 When day, with farewell beam, delays Among the opening clouds of even, And we can almost think we gaze

Through golden vistas into heaven,
Those hues that mark the sun's decline,
So soft, so radiant, Lord, are Thine.

3 When night, with wings of starry gloom,
O'ershadows all the earth and skies,
Like some dark, beauteous bird, whose plume
Is sparkling with unnumbered eyes,
That sacred gloom, those fires divine,
So grand, so countless, Lord, are Thine.

4 When youthful spring around us breathes,
Thy spirit warms her fragrant sigh;
And every flower the summer wreathes

Is born beneath that kindling eye. Where'er we turn, Thy glories shine, And all things fair and bright are Thine. Thomas Moore. (1779-1852.) 1816.

67
I THY glory, Lord, the heavens declare,
The firmament displays Thy skill;

"The Heavens declare the Glory of God."
Ps. xix.

The changing clouds, the viewless air,
Tempest and calm Thy word fulfil;

Day unto day doth utter speech,
And night to night Thy knowledge teach.

2 Though voice nor sound inform the ear, Well known the language of their song, When one by one the stars appear,

Led by the silent moon along,
Till round the earth, from all the sky,
Thy beauty beams on every eye.

3 Waked by Thy touch the morning sun Comes like a bridegroom from his bower, And, like a giant, glad to run

His bright career with speed and power; Thy flaming messenger, to dart Life through the depth of nature's heart.

4 While these transporting visions shine Along the path of Providence, Glory eternal, joy divine,

Thy word reveals, transcending sense; My soul Thy goodness longs to see, Thy love to man, Thy love to me.

James Montgomery. (1771-1854.) 1822.

ST. GERVAIS. 7.

Arr. by Rev. William Henry Havergal. (1793-1870.)

68

"Glory to God in the highest."
Luke ii. 13.

2 Songs of praise awoke the morn,
When the Prince of Peace was born;
Songs of praise arose, when He
Captive led captivity.

3 Heaven and earth must pass away,
Songs of praise shall crown that day;
God will make new heavens, new earth,
Songs of praise shall hail their birth.

4 And can man alone be dumb

Till that glorious kingdom come?
No; the Church delights to raise
Psalms, and hymns, and songs of praise.

5 Saints below, with heart and voice,
Still in songs of praise rejoice;
Learning here, by faith and love,
Songs of praise to sing above.

6 Borne upon their latest breath,
Songs of praise shall conquer death;
Then, amidst eternal joy,

Songs of praise their powers employ. James Montgomery. (1771-1854.) 1819, 1853

Distant isles and tribes unknown, 'Mid the ocean waste and lone.

3 By Thy boundless might set fast,
Rise the mountains firm and vast:
Thou canst with a word assuage
Ocean's wide and deafening rage.

4 When Thy signs in heaven appear,
Earth's remotest regions fear;
And the bounties of Thy hand
Fill with gladness every land.

5 Thou dost visit earth, and rain
Blessings on the thirsty plain,
From the copious founts on high,
From the rivers of the sky.

6 Thus the clouds Thy power confess, And Thy paths drop fruitfulness, And the voice of song and mirth Rises from the tribes of earth.