4 The liquid element below
Was gathered by his hand;
While countless plants and herbs and trees Rose from the fruitful land.
5 To all the varied living tribes He gave their wondrous birth; Some, formed within the watery deep, Some, from the teeming earth.
6 Then chief o'er all his works below, Man, honoured man was made; His soul with God's pure image stamped, While glory crowned his head.
7 Fair in the almighty Maker's eye The young creation stood; He viewed the fabric from on high, His word pronounced it good.
Constancy of the Course of Nature.
1 THE starry hosts in order move, Observant of their bounds; And every year, and every day, The sun repeats his rounds.
2 While generations rise and fall, Immortal is the race;
And time may shift the fading scenes, But not the earth displace.
3 What winter's withering breath destroys, The following spring supplies;
And age, in vigorous youth renewed, Beholds itself, and dies.
4 The life by thee preserved, O God! Shall all be spent for thee;
And flowing bear thy praise along To vast eternity.
The divine Perfections and Providence. Ps. xxxvi. 5-9.
1 HIGH in the heavens, eternal God, Thy goodness in full glory shines; Thy truth shall break through every cloud Which veils and darkens thy designs. 2 Thy justice like the hills remains, Unfathomed depths thy mercies are; Thy providence the world sustains; The whole creation is thy care.
3 Since of thy goodness all partake, With what assurance may the just Thy sheltering wings their refuge make, And saints to thy protection trust.
4 Such guests shall to thy courts be led, To banquet on thy love's repast, And drink, as from a fountain-head, Of joys which shall for ever last. 5 O let thy saints thy favour gain, To upright hearts thy truth display, With thee the springs of life remain, Thy presence is eternal day.
God the Source of Life to the whole Creation. Ps. civ.
1 How vast thy works, almighty Lord!
All nature rests upon thy word!
Thy glories in the heavens we see, The spacious earth is full of thee. 2 The countless tribes of creatures stand, Waiting their portion from thy hand : And while they take their various food, Their cheerful looks pronounce thee good. 3 If thou the vital air deny,
Behold them sicken, faint, and die; Dust to its kindred dust returns,
And earth her ruined offspring mourns. 4 But soon thy breath her loss supplies : She sees a new-born race arise, And, o'er her regions scattered wide, The blessings of thy hand divide. 5 To God, in joyful strains, my tongue Shall pour the tributary song!
And, long as breath inspires my frame, The wonders of his love proclaim.
God, our constant Benefactor.
1 THOU great Creator, Father, Lord! Kind guardian of my days! Thy mercies let my heart record In songs of grateful praise.
2 In life's first dawn, my tender frame Was thine indulgent care,
Long ere I could pronounce thy name, Or breathe the infant prayer.
3 When reason with my
How weak her brightest ray! How little of my God I knew! How apt from thee to stray !
4 What countless blessings round me shone, Where'er I turned
my eye! How many past almost unknown, Or unregarded, by !
5 Around my path what dangers rose ! What snares o'erspread my road! No power could guard me from my foes, But my preserver, God.
6 When life hung trembling on a breath, 'Twas thine unceasing love That saved me from impending death, And bade my fears remove.
7 Each rolling year new favours brought From thine exhaustless store; But ah! in vain my labouring thought Would count thy mercies o'er.
8 O, when this mortal frame decays, And every weakness dies, Perfect, my God! thy wondrous grace, And lift me to the skies.
Dependence of all Creatures on Providence..
1 O LORD of earth, and seas, and skies! Thy wealth the needy world supplies; All that is good thou wilt impart, And all impending ill avert.
2 Supplied from thine unbounded store, How much we owe,-yet need we more; Still on that care our hopes depend,
Which will to every want extend.
3 What though alarms our peace invade ?- Our refuge is beneath thy shade; Our trust in thine Almighty love Bids every groundless fear remove. 4 Nor to the human race alone, Is thy paternal goodness shown; The tribes of earth, and sea, and air, Partake the universal care.
5 Not e'en a sparrow yields its breath, Till God permit the stroke of death: He hears the ravens when they call, The Father and the Friend of all.
Divine Providence, and the Folly of Self- Dependence.
1 GOD reigns; events in order flow, Man's industry to guide; But in a different channel go, To humble human pride.
2 The swift not always, in the race, Shall win the crowning prize;
Not always, wealth and honour grace The labours of the wise.
3 Ye crafty, scheme your winding way,- God shall confound your skill; Know, time and accident obey His all-directing will.
4 Fond mortals do themselves beguile, When on themselves they rest : Blind is their wisdom, vain their toil, By thee, O Lord, unblessed!
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