HO can by searching find out God? Or who can trace his bright abode? Yet, LORD, thy glories we adore,
And wish to know and love thee more.
2 Thy hand, unseen, sustains the poles,
On which the vast creation rolls;
The starry skies proclaim thy pow'r,
Thy pencil glows in every ffow'r.
3 In various shapes and colours rise
Ten thousand wonders to our eyes;
And beasts and birds with lab'ring throat,
Teach us a GOD in every note.
4 Across the waves, around the sky,
There's not a place, or deep or high,
Where the Creator has not trod,
And left the footsteps of a GOD.
63. C. M. WATTS.
The creation of the world.
LET heav'n arise, let earth appear!
Said the Almighty LORD:
The heav'ns arose, the earth appear'd
At his creating word.
2 Thick darkness brooded o'er the deep,
GOD said, Let there be light!
The light shone forth with smiling ray,
And scatter'd ancient night.
3 He bade the clouds ascend on high ;
The clouds ascend, and bear
A watʼry treasure to the sky,
And float upon the air.
4 The liquid element below
Was gather'd by his hand;
The rolling seas together flow,
And leave the solid land.
5 With herbs, and plants, and fruitful trees
The new-form'd globe he crown'd,
Ere there was rain to bless the soil,
Or sun to warm the ground.
6 Then high in heav'n's resplendent arch He plac'd those orbs of light;
He caus'd the sun to rule the day,
The moon to rule the night.
7 Next, from the deep, th' almighty king
Did vital beings frame;
Fowls of the air of ev'ry wing,
And fish of ev'ry name.
8 To all the various brutal tribes,
He gave their wondrous birth;
At once the lion and the worm
Sprang from the teeming earth.
9 Then, chief o'er all his works below,
At last was Adam made.
His maker's image bless'd his soul,
And glory crown'd his head.
10 Fair in the almighty maker's eye
The whole creation stood;
He view'd the fabric he had rais'd;
His word pronounc'd it good.
64. C.M. WATTS.
The perfections of GOD displayed in bis works.
E sing th' almighty pow'r of God,
Who bade the mountains rise,
Who spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
2 We sing the wisdom that ordain'd
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines bright at his command,
And all the stars obey.
3 We sing the goodness of the LORD,
Who fills the earth with food;
Who form'd his creatures by a word,
And then pronounc'd them good.
4 LORD, how thy wonders are display'd
Where'er we turn our eyes;
Whether we view the ground we tread
Or gaze upon the skies!
5 There's not a plant or flow'r below,
But makes thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow
By order from thy throne.
6 Creation, vast as it may be,
Is subject to thy will:
There's not a place where we can flee,
But God is with us still.
7 'Tis on his earth we stand or move.
And 'tis his air we breathe;
All heav'n he fills with beams of love,
With terrors hell beneath.
8 On him each moment we depend ;
If he withdraw, we die :
Oh may we ne'er that GOD offend,
Who is for ever nigh!
65. C.M. WATTS.
The wisdom of GOD in his works.
ONGS of immortal praise belong
To my Almighty God;
He has my heart, and he my tongue,
To spread his name abroad.
2 How great the works his hand hath wrought!
How glorious in our sight!
And men in ev'ry age have sought
His wonders with delight.
3 How most exact is nature's frame!
How wise th' eternal mind!
His counsels never change the scheme
That his first thoughts design'd.
4 Nature and time, and earth and skies,
Thy heav'nly skill proclaim:
What shall we do to make us wise,
But learn to know thy name?
5 To fear thy pow'r, to trust thy grace
Is our divinest skill;
And he's the wisest of our race,
Who best obeys thy will.
66. C. M. WATTS.
Rejoicing in the works of God.
EJOICE, ye righteous, in the LORD:
This work belongs to you;
Sing of his name, his ways, his word,
How holy, just, and true!
2 His mercy and his righteousness
Let heav'n and earth proclaim;
His works of nature and of
grace
Reveal his wondrous name.
3 His wisdom and almighty word
The heav'nly arches spread :
And by the spirit of the LORD
Their shining hosts were made.
4 He bade the liquid waters flow
To their appointed deep :
The flowing seas their limits know,
And their own station keep.
5 Ye tenants of the spacious earth!
With fear before him stand:
He spake, and nature took its birth,
And rests on his command.
6 Thy glorious works our thoughts engage: How vast thy pow'r divine!
Thy counsels stand through ev'ry age,
And in full glory shine.
67. Particular M. WATTS,
The same subject.
YE holy souls, in God rejoice ;
Your maker's praise becomes your voice; Great is your theme, your songs be Sing of his name, his word, his ways, His works of nature, and of grace, How wise and holy, just and true?
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