2 Though hid from man's sight, God sits on his throne,
Yet here by his works
Their author is known:
The world shines a mirror
Its maker to show,
And heaven views its image
Reflected below.
Fire, water, earth, sky,
Attest the dread might
Of God the most high:
Who rides on the whirlwind,
While clouds veil his form;
Who smiles in the sunbeam,
Or frowns in the storm.
4 By knowledge supreme,
By wisdom divine,
God governs this earth
With gracious design;
O'er beast, bird, and insect,
His providence reigns,
Whose will first created,
Whose love still sustains.
5 And man, his last work,
With reason endued,
Who, falling through sin,
By grace is renewed;
To God, his creator,
Let man ever raise
The song of thanksgiving,
The chorus of praise!
Praise from the Works of God.
1 GREATEST of beings! source of life,
Sovereign of air, and earth, and sea!
All nature feels thy power, and all
A silent homage pays to thee.
2 Waked by thy hand, the morning sun
Pours forth to thee its earlier rays,
And spreads thy glories as it climbs;
While raptured worlds look up and praise.
3 The moon to the deep shades of night
Speaks the mild lustre of thy name;
While all the stars that cheer the scene
Thee, the great Lord of light, proclaim.
4 And groves, and vales, and rocks, and hills, And every flower, and every tree,
Ten thousand creatures warm with life,
Have each a grateful song for thee.
5 But man was formed to rise to heaven:
And, blest with reason's clearer light,
He views his Maker through his works,
And glows with rapture at the sight.
6 Nor can the thousand songs that rise,
Whether from air, or earth, or sea,
So well repeat Jehovah's praise,
Or raise such sacred harmony.
HYMN 34. L. M.
God adored for his Goodness. Ps. cvii. 31.
1 WITH grateful joy, O man! record
The various wonders of the Lord;
And let his power and goodness sound,
Thro' all your tribes, the earth around.
2 Lo! 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,
Peopled with life its regions wide,
Life, from its plenteous stores supplied.
4 View the broad sea's majestic plain,
And sing its Maker's boundless reign;
That band remotest nations joins,
And on each wave his goodness shines.
5 But O! that brighter world above,
Where lives and reigns eternal love!
Thither, my soul! with rapture soar,
There in the land of praise adore,
Hymn of universal Praise. Ps. cxlviii.
1 WITH grateful heart and cheerful tongue
To God we raise the sacred song,
And praise th' almighty name!
Lo! heaven, and earth, and seas, and skies,
In one harmonious concert rise,
To swell th' inspiring theme!
2 Ye angels, catch the joyful sound,
And, as ye wait his throne around,
His wondrous goodness sing!
Let the full choir of saints above
Join the glad strain of grateful love,
And strike th' according string!
3 Thou heaven of heavens, his vast abode,
Ye clouds, proclaim your maker, God!
Ye thunders speak his power!
Lo! on the lightning's gleamy wing
In triumph rides th' eternal King ;
Th' astonished worlds adore.
4 Ye deeps, whose roaring billows rise
To join the thunders of the skies,
Praise him who bids you roll ;
His praise in softer notes declare,
Each whispering breeze of yielding air,
And breathe it to the soul.
5 Wake, all ye soaring throng, and sing!
Ye cheerful warblers of the spring,
Melodious anthems raise
To him who shaped your finer mould,
Who tipped your glittering wings with gold,
And tuned your voice to praise.
6 Let man, with nobler reason fraught,
The feeling heart, the glowing thought,
In God's high praise employ !
Spread the creator's name around,
Till heaven's wide arch repeat the sound,
The general burst of joy!
Praise to the Lord of Nature.
1 0 THOU, through all thy works adored,
Great power supreme, almighty LORD!
Author of life, whose sovereign sway
Creatures of every tribe obey!
2 To thee, most high, to thee belong
The suppliant prayer, the joyful song;
To thee we will attune our voice,
And in thy wondrous works rejoice.
3 Planets, those wandering worlds above,
Guided by thee, incessant move;
Suns, kindled by a ray divine,
In honour of their maker shine.
4 From thee proceeds heaven's varied store,
The changing wind, the fruitful shower,
The flying cloud, the coloured bow,
The moulded hail, the feathered snow :
|