1. YE sons of men, with joy record
The various wonders of the Lord;
And let his power and goodness sound,
Through all your tribes, the earth around.
2. Let the high heavens your songs invite,
Those spacious fields of brilliant light;
Where sun, and moon, and planets roll,
And stars that glow from pole to pole.
3. Sing earth, in verdant robes arrayed,
Its herbs and flowers, its fruits and shade; 3. To watch, and pray, and never faint;
Peopled with life of various forms,
Of flesh, and fowl, and beasts, and worms.
4. View the broad sea's majestic plains,
And think how wide its Maker reigns;
That band remotest nations joins,
And on each wave his goodness shines.
5. But oh! that brighter world above,
Where lives and reigns incarnate love!
God's only Son, in flesh arrayed,
For man a bleeding victim made.
6. Thither, my soul, with rapture soar,
There, in the land of praise adore;
The theme demands an angel's lay,
Demands an everlasting day.
By day and night strict guard to keep;
To warn the sinner, cheer the saint,
Nourish thy lambs, and feed thy sheep:-
4. Then, when our work is finished here,
In humble hope our charge resign:
When the chief Shepherd shall appear,
O God! may they and we be thine!
On opening a Place for Worship. [Hy. 576.
1. AND will the great, eternal God,
On earth establish his abode ?
And will he, from his radiant throne,
Accept our temples for his own?
2. These walls we to thy honor raise ;
Long may they echo with thy praise!
And thou, descending, fill the place
With choicest tokens of thy grace.
3. Here let the great Redeemer reign,
With all the graces of his train;
While power divine his word attends,
To conquer foes, and cheer his friends.
4. And in the great decisive day,
When God the nations shall survey,
May it before the world appear,
That crowds were born to glory here.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him a - bove, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
1. JUST are thy ways, and true thy word, Great Rock of my secure abode;
Who is a God beside the Lord?
Or where's a refuge like our God? 2. 'Tis he that girds me with his might,
Gives me his holy sword to wield;
And while with sin and hell I fight,
Spreads his salvation for my shield.
3. He lives and blessed be my Rock-
The God of my salvation lives;
The dark designs of hell he broke:
Sweet is the peace my Father gives.
4. Before the scoffers of the age
I will exalt my Father's name,
Nor tremble at their mighty rage,
But meet reproach and bear the shame.
5. To David and his royal seed
Thy grace forever shall extend:
Thy love to saints. in Christ their head,
Knows not a limit, nor an end.
43.
Confession and Pardon. [Ps. 32. iii.
1. BLEST is the man, forever blest,
Whose guilt is pardoned by his God;
Whose sins with sorrow are confessed.
And covered with his Saviour's blood.
1. To God I cried, when troubles rose,—
He heard me, and subdued my foes;
He did my rising fears control,
And strength diffused through all my soul.
2. The God of heaven maintains his state,
Frowns on the proud, and scorns the great;
But from his throne descends, to see
The sons of humble poverty.
3. Amid a thousand snares I stand,
Upheld and guarded by thy hand;
Thy words my fainting soul revive,
And keep my dying faith alive.
4. Grace will complete what grace begins,
To save from sorrows and from sins;
The work, that wisdom undertakes,
Eternal mercy ne'er forsakes.
Their daily wants his hands supply,
Their steps he guards with watchful eye;
Leads them from earth to heaven above,
And crowns them with eternal love.
1. WHAT finite power, with ceaseless toil,
Can fathom the eternal mind?
Or who th' almighty Three in One,
By searching to perfection find?
2. Angels and men in vain may raise,
Harmonious, their adoring songs;
The laboring thought sinks down oppressed,
And praises die upon their tongues.
3. Yet would I lift my trembling voice,
A portion of his ways to sing;
And mingling with his meanest works,
My humble, grateful tribute bring.
Be hon-or, praise, and glory given, By all on earth, and all in heaven.
50. 1. O LET me, heavenly Lord! extend -My view, to life's approaching end: What are my days-a span their line; And what my age, compared with thine? 2. Our life advancing to its close,
[Ps. 39. iv. 3. The gospel bids the dead revive;
Sinners obey the voice and live;
Dry bones are raised and clothed afresh,
And hearts of stone are turned to flesh.
4. May but this grace my soul renew,
Let sinners gaze and hate me too;
The word that saves me, doth engage
A sure defence from all their rage.
While scarce its earliest dawn it knows,
Swift, through an empty shade, we run,
And vanity and man are one.
3. God of my fathers! here, as they,
I walk, the pilgrim of a day;
A transient guest, thy works admire,
And instant to my home retire.
4. O spare me, Lord! in mercy, spare,
And nature's failing strength repair;
Ere, life's short circuit wandered o'er,
I perish, and am seen no more.
1. THUS saith the high and lofty One,-
"I sit upon my holy throne;
My name is God, I dwell on high,
And fill my own eternity.
2. "But I descend to worlds below,
On earth I have a mansion too;
And never from the contrite heart,
And humble soul will I depart.
3. "The broken spirit I revive;
I bid the mourning sinner live:
Heal all the broken hearts I find,
And ease the sorrows of the mind."
4. O may thy pardoning grace be nigh,
Lest we should faint, despair, and die!
Thus shall our better thoughts approve
The methods of thy chastening love.
1. TREMBLING before thine awful throne, O Lord! in dust my sins I own: Justice and Mercy for my life Contend!-0! smile and heal the strife. 2. The Saviour smiles! upon my soul New tides of hope tumultuous rollHis voice proclaims my pardon found, Seraphic transport wings the sound. 3. Earth has a joy unknown in heaven, The new-born peace of sin forgiven! Tears of such pure and deep delight, Ye angels! never dimmed your sight. 4. Ye saw of old, on chaos rise,
The beauteous pillars of the skies: Ye know where morn exulting springs, And evening folds her drooping wings. 5. Bright heralds of th' eternal Will, Abroad his errands ye fulfill; Or, throned in floods of beamy day, Symphonious, in his presence play; 6. But I amid your choirs shall shine, And all your knowledge will be mine: Ye on your harps must lean to hear A secret chord that mine will bear.
God's care for the Church.
1. WHILE to its grief my soul gave way,
To see the work of God decline,
Methought I heard the Saviour say-
"Dismiss thy fears, the ark is mine.
2. "Though for a time I hid my face,
Rely upon my love and power;
Still wrestle at the throne of grace,
And wait for a reviving hour.
3. "Take down thy long-neglected harp,
I've seen thy tears, and heard thy prayer;
The winter season has been sharp,
But spring shall all its wastes repair."
4. Lord! I obey,-my hopes revive;
Come, join with me, ye saints, and sing:
Our foes in vain against us strive,
For God will help and triumph bring
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