4 Safe under Thine unerring aid, Secure the paths of life we tread; And freely as the vital air
Thy first and noblest bounties share.
5 O God, our guardian, and our friend!
O still Thy sheltering arm extend!
Preserved by Thee for ages past,
For ages let Thy kindness last!
1 Upward I lift my eyes;
From God is all my aid;
The God who built the skies,
And earth and nature made:
God is the tower
To which I fly;
His grace is nigh
In every hour.
2 My feet shall never slide,
And fall in fatal snares,
Since God, my guard and guide,
Defends me from my fears;
Those wakeful eyes,
Which never sleep,
My life shall keep,
When dangers rise.
3 Hast Thou not given Thy word
To save my soul from death?
And I can trust Thee, Lord,
To keep my mortal breath :
I'll go and come;
Nor fear to die,
Till from on high
Thou call'st me home.
1 When Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out from the land of bondage came,
Her fathers' God before her moved,
An awful guide, in cloud and flame.
2 Thus present still, though now unseen,
When brightly shines the prosperous day,
Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,
To temper the deceitful ray!
3 And O, when gathers on our path,
In shade and storm, the frequent night,
Be Thou! long-suffering, slow to wrath!
A burning and a shining light!
1 Father! to Thy kind love we owe
All that is fair and good below;
Bestower of the health that lies
On tearless cheeks and cheerful eyes!
2 Giver of sunshine and of rain!
Ripener of fruits on hill and plain!
Fountain of light, that, rayed afar,
Fills the vast urns of sun and star!
3 Yet deem we not that thus alone
Thy mercy and Thy love are shown;
For we have learned, with higher praise,
And holier names, to speak Thy ways.
4 In woe's dark hour, our kindest stay!
Sole trust when life shall pass away!
Teacher of hopes that light the gloom
Of death, and consecrate the tomb!
5 Patient with headstrong guilt to bear;
Slow to avenge, and kind to spare;
Listening to prayer, and reconciled
Full quickly to Thy erring child.
1 Who, gracious Father, shall complain,
Under Thy mild and equal reign?
Who does a weight of duty share,
More than his powers and aids can bear?
2 With differing climes, and differing lands,
With fertile plains, and barren sands,
Thy wisdom formed this earthly round,
And set the nations in their bound:
3 Varied alike, Thy moral ray
Here sheds a full, there fainter, day;
The God of all, unkind to none,
To all the path of life hath shown.
4 O the abounding grace, which brought
To us the words by Jesus taught !
So blest, and with such hopes inspired,
How much is given, how much required!
1 While Thee I seek, protecting power,
Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled.
2 Thy love the powers of thought bestowed;
To Thee my thoughts would soar;
Thy mercy o'er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore.
3 In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!
Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by Thee.
4 In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,
My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.
5 When gladness wings my favoured hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill;
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet Thy will.
6 My lifted eye, without a tear,
The lowering storm shall see;
My stedfast heart shall know no fear;
That heart will rest on Thee.
1 When all Thy mercies, O My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.
2 O how shall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare
Which glows within my ravished heart!
But Thou canst read it there.
3 Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss
Has made my cup run o'er;
And, in a kind and faithful friend,
Has doubled all my store.
4 When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou With health renewed my face;
And, when in sin and sorrow sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.
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