174

C. M.

TATE & BRADY.

God the Defence of the Just. Ps. 34.

1 THROUGH all the changing scenes of life,

In trouble and in joy,

The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.

2 O, magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt his name;

When, in distress, to him I called,
He to my rescue came.

3 The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance he affords to all
Who on his succor trust.

4 O, make but trial of his love,
Experience will decide

How blest they are, and only they,
Who in his truth confide.

5 Fear him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;

Make you his service your delight;
He'll make your wants his care.

175

L. M.

WATTS.

God's Care of the Saints. Ps. 34.

1 LORD, I will bless thee all my days;

Thy praise shall dwell upon my tongue;

My soul shall glory in thy grace,

While saints rejoice to hear the song.

2 Come, magnify the Lord with me;
Come, let us all exalt his name;
I sought the eternal God, and he
Has not exposed my hope to shame.
3 I told him all my secret grief;

My secret groaning reached his ears;
He gave my inward pains relief,

And calmed the tumult of my fears. 4 To him the poor lift up their eyes; Their faces feel the heavenly shine; A beam of mercy from the skies

Fills them with light and joy divine. 5 His holy angels pitch their tents

Around the men that serve the Lord: O, fear and love him, all his saints; Taste of his grace, and trust his word.

176

C. M.

WATTS.

The Saints' Trial and Safety. Ps. 125.

1 UNSHAKEN as the sacred hill,
And firm as mountains be,
Firm as a rock, the soul shall rest,
That leans, O Lord, on thee.

2 Not walls nor hills could guard so well
Old Salem's happy ground,

As those eternal arms of love
That every saint surround.

3 Deal gently, Lord, with souls sincere,
And lead them safely on

To the bright gates of Paradise,
Where Christ their Lord is gone.

177

C. M.

WATTS.

God's Control over the material and spiritual Worlds.

1 INFINITE Power, eternal Lord,

How sovereign is thy hand!
All nature rose to obey thy word,
And moves at thy command.

2 With steady course thy shining sun
Keeps his appointed way,
And all the hours obedient run
The circle of the day;

3 The raging fire and stormy sea
Perform thine awful will,
And every beast and every tree
Thy great designs fulfil ; -

4 While my wild passions rage within,
Nor thy commands obey,

And flesh and sense, enslaved to sin,
Draw my best thoughts away.

5 Great God, create my soul anew;
Conform my heart to thine;

Melt down my will, and let it flow,
And take the mould divine.

178

L. M.

Grace and Providence.

COWPER.

1 ALMIGHTY King! whose wondrous hand
Supports the weight of sea and land;
Whose grace is such a boundless store,
No heart shall break that sighs for more;

2 Thy providence supplies my food,
And 'tis thy blessing makes it good;
My soul is nourished by thy word;
Let soul and body praise the Lord!

3 My streams of outward comfort came
From him who built this earthly frame;
Whate'er I want his bounty gives,
By whom my soul forever lives.

4 Forgive the song that falls so low
Beneath the gratitude I owe!
It means thy praise, however poor;
An angel's song can do no more.

179

L. M.

WATTS.

The Ministry of Angels.

1 HIGH on a hill of dazzling light
The King of glory spreads his seat,
And troops of angels, stretched for flight,
Stand waiting round his awful feet.

2 Thy winged troops, O God of hosts,
Wait on thy wandering church below:
Here we are sailing to thy coasts;
Let angels be our convoy too.

3 Are they not all thy servants, Lord?
At thy command they go and come,
With cheerful haste obey thy word,
And guard thy children to their home.

144

180

C. M.

WATTS.

Providences of God recorded. Ps. 78.

1 LET children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old,

Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.

2 He bids us make his glories known,
His works of power and grace;
And we'll convey his wonders down
Through every rising race.

3 Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs,
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs.

4 Thus they shall learn in God alone
Their hope securely stands,

That they may ne'er forget his works,
But practise his commands.

181

Ć. M.

TATE & BRADY.

Commemoration of God's Benefits from one Generation to another.

Ps. 78.

1 HEAR, O my people; to my law
Devout attention lend;

Let the instruction of my mouth
Deep in your hearts descend.

2 My tongue, by inspiration taught,
Shall parables unfold,

Dark oracles, but understood,

And owned for truths, of old;