Trust in the promises of God.
1 AND art thou with us, gracious Lord,
To dissipate our fear?
Dost thou proclaim thyself our God,
Our God for ever near?
2 Doth thy right hand, which form'd the earth,
And bears up all the skies,
Stretch from on high its friendly aid,
When dangers round us rise?
3 And wilt thou lead our weary souls
To that delightful scene,
Where rivers of salvation flow
Through pastures ever green?
4 On thy support our souls shall lean,
And banish ev'ry care;
The gloomy vale of death shall smile,
If God be with us there.
5 While we his gracious succour prove,
'Midst all our various ways,
The darkest shades, thro' which we pass
Shall echo with his praise.
THE Lord my pasture shall prepare
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
2 When on the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant;
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary wand'ring steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious lonely wilds I stray;
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile,
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crown'd,
And streams shall murmur all around.
Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread;
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
(91.) C. M.
SHINE on our souls, eternal God!
With rays of mercy shine:
O let thy favour crown our days,
And their whole course be thine.
2 Did we not raise our hands to thee,
Our hands might toil in vain:
Small joy success itself could give,
If thou thy love restrain,
3 "Tis ours the furrows to prepare,
And sow the precious grain;
'Tis thine, to give the sun and air,
And to command the rain.
4 With thee let ev'ry week begin,
With thee each day be spent,
For thee each fleeting hour improv❜d,
Since each by thee is lent.
5 Thus cheer us thro' this toilsome road, Till all our labours cease;
And thus prepare our weary souls
For everlasting peace.
1 HOW arc thy servants blest, O Lord!
How sure is their defence!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help Omnipotence.
2 In foreign realms and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,
They pass unhurt thro' burning climes,
And breathe in tainted air.
3 Thy mercy sweetens ev'ry soil,
Makes ev'ry region please;
The hoary frozen hills it warms,
And smooths the boist'rous seas.
4 Tho' by the dreadful tempest toss'd,
High on the broken wave,
They know thou art not slow to hear,
Nor impotent to save.
5 The storm is laid, the winds retire,
Obedient to thy will;
The sea, that roars at thy command,
At thy command is still.
6 From all my griefs and straits, O Lord!
Thy mercy sets me free;
Whilst in the confidence of pray'r
My heart takes hold on thee.
7 In midst of dangers, fears, and deaths,
Thy goodness I'll adore;
And praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.
8 My life, while thou preserv'st my life,
Thy sacrifice shall be;
And, oh! may death, when death shall come,
Unite my soul to thee!
82. Dark Providence-1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12.
1 THY way, O God, is in the sea;
Thy paths I cannot trace:
Nor comprehend the mystery
Of thy unbounded grace.
2 Here the dark veils of flesh and sense
My captive soul surround;
Mysterious deeps of providence
My wond'ring thoughts confound.
3 As thro' a glass, I dimly see
The wonders of thy love;
How little do I know of thee,
Or of the joys above!
4 "Tis but in part I know thy will:
I bless thee for the sight;
When will thy love the rest reveal,
In glory's clearer light?
With raptures shall I then survey
Thy providence and grace;
And spend an everlasting day
In wonder, love, and praise.
Elijah fed by Ravens. 1 Kings xvii. f 1 WHEN God's own people stand in neď His goodness will provide supplies:
Thus when Elijah faints for bread,
A raven to his succour flies.
2 At God's command, with speedy wing
The hungry bird resigns its prey;
And to the rev'rend prophet brings
The needful portion day by day.
3 This method may be counted strange
But happy was Elijah's lot:
For nature's course shall sooner chang
Than God's dear children be forgot.
4 This wonder oft has been renew'd,
And saints by sweet experience find
Their evils overrul'd for good,
Their foes to friendly deeds inclin❜d.
5 Who can distrust that mighty hand,
Which rules with universal sway;
Which nature's laws can countermand,
Or feed us by a bird of prey!
1 THY ways, O Lord! with wise design,
Are fram'd upon thy throne above,
And every dark and bending line
Meets in the centre of thy love.
2 With feeble light, and half obscure,
Poor mortals thy arrangements view;
Not knowing that the least are sure,
And the mysterious just and true.
3 Thy flock, thy own peculiar care,
Though now they seem to roam uney'd
Are led or driven only where
They best and safest may abide.
They neither know nor trace the way:
But whilst they tro:t thy guardian eye,
Their feet shall ne'er to ruin stray,
Nor shall the weakest fail or die.
5 My favour'd soul shall meekly learn
To lay her reason at thy throne;
Too weak thy secrets to discern,
I'll trust thee for my guide alone.
God our Guide and Preserver.
Deut. xxxii. 11, 12.
1 THE eagle fond her charge awakes
Where in the nest they doze;
And while her flutt'ring plumes she shakes,
The way to fly she shows;
She spreads her wings, her young to bear,
Before their own they try;
And takes them up, and cleaves the air;
And soars above the sky.
2 "Twas thus in nature's sleep I lay,
When Christ the Spirit shed,
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