INSTRUCTIVE HYMNS.

PART I.

OF GOD THE CREATOR.

(The Hymns in Part I. correspond with those in Part II.)

225. The Power of God in the Works of Creation.

V. 1. 7-10. or 1-6, 10.
1 NOW let a spacious world arise,

Said the Creator Lord;
At once th' obedient earth and skies

Rose at his soy'reign Word.
2 Dark was the deep, the waters lay

Confused, and drown'd the land;
He call’d the light, the new-born day

Attends on his command.
3 He bids the clouds ascend on high ;

The clouds ascend and bear
A watery treasure to the sky,

And float on softer air.
4 The liquid element below

Was gath'red by his hand ;
The rolling seas together flow,

And leave the solid land.
5 With herbs and plants, a flow’ry birth,

The naked globe he crown'd,
Ere there was rain to bless the earth,
Or sun to warm the ground.

2 Deep in unfathomable mines,

Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his sov'reign will.
3 Ye fearful saints fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break,

In blessings on your head.
4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace ;
Behind a frowning providence,

He hides a smiling face.
5 His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flower.
6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

God,

235.

The goodness of God.
1 YE humble souls approach your

With songs of sacred praise ;
For he is good, immensely good,

And kind are all his ways.
2 All nature owns his guardian care,

In him we live and move ;
But nobler benefits declare

The wonders of his love.
3 He gave his Son, his only Son,

To ransom rebel worms;
'Tis here he makes his goodness known,

In its diviner forms.
4 To this dear refuge, Lord, we come,

'Tis here our hope relies; A safe defence, a peaceful home, When storms of trouble rise.

5 Thine eye beholds, with kind regard,

The souls who trust in thee;
Their humble hope thou wilt reward,

With bliss divinely free.
6 Great God! to thine almighty love,

What honours shall we raise ?
Not all the raptured songs above

Can render equal praise.
236. The wisdom of God displayed in the harmony

of his attributes.
1 FATHER, how wide thy glory shines !

How high thy wonders rise!
Known through the earth by thousand signs,

By thousands through the skies.
2 But when we view thy great design

To save rebellious worms,
Where vengeance and compassion join,

In their divinest forms,
3 Our thoughts are lost in reverend awe,

We love, and we adore ;
The first Archangel never saw

So much of God before.
4 Here the whole Deity is known,

Nor dares a creature guess
Which of the glories brightest shone,

The justice or the grace.
5 Now the full glories of the Lamb

Adorn the heavenly plains ;
Bright cherubs learn Immanuel's name,

And try their choicest strains. 60 may I bear some humble part,

In that immortal song ;
Wonder and joy shall tune my heart,

And love command my tongue. 237.

Mercy,
1 COME let us lift our joyful eyes

Up to the courts above,
And smile to see our Father there,
Upon a throne of love !

2 Once 'twas a seat of dreadful wrath,

And shot devouring flame;
Our God appear'd consuming fire,

And vengeance was his name.
3 Rich were the drops of Jesus' blood,

That calm'd his frowning facet;
That sprinkled o'er the burning throne,

And turn'd the wrath to grace.
4 Now we may bow before his feet,

And venture near the Lord;
No fiery cherub guards his seat,

Nor double flaming sword.
5 The peaceful gates of heavenly bliss

Are opend by the Son;
High let us raise our notes of praise,

And reach th’ Almighty's throne.
6 To thee ten thousand thanks we bring,

Great Advocate on high;
And glory to the eternal King,

Who lays his anger by.
238.

The condescending love of God.
1 THUS saith the high and lofty One,

I sit upon my holy throne;
My name is God, 'I dwell on high,

Dwell in my own eternity.
2 But I descend to worlds below,

On earth I have a mansion too ;
The humble spirit and contrite

Is an abode of my delight.
3 The humble soul my words revive,

I bid the mourning sinner live;
Heal all the broken hearts I find,

And ease the sorrows of the mind.
4 When I contend against their sin,

I make them know how vile they've been ;
But should my wrath for ever smoke,

Their souls would sink beneath my stroke.
He himself so loved the world, in the first instance, as to give his

+ V. 3. It is erroneous thus to represent God as implacable; only begotten Son for its redemption.

.

5 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. 239.

The Faithfulness of God.
1 BEGIN, my tongue, some heavenly theme,

And speak some boundless thing;
The mighty work, or mightier name,

Of our eternal King
2 Tell of his wondrous faithfulness,

And sound his power abroad;
Sing the sweet promise of his grace,

And the performing God.
3 Proclaim salvation from the Lord,

For wretched dying men;
His hand has writ the sacred word,

With an immortal pen.
4 Engraved, as in eternal brass,

The mighty promise shines ;
Nor can the powers of darkness 'rase

Those everlasting lines.
5 His every word of grace is strong,
As that which built the skies

; The voice that rolls the stars along,

Speaks all the promises.
240. God's message to man by his anointed, the

Lord Messiah.
1 LET every mortal ear attend,

And every heart rejoice;
The trumpet of the Gospel sounds,

With an inviting voice.
2 Ho! all ye hungry fainting souls,

That feed upon the wind,
And rainly strive, with earthly toys,

To fill an empty mind;
3 Eternal wisdom hath prepared

A soul-reviving feast,
And bids your longing appetites
The rich provision taste.