2.

His will first made the choice:
His word the change hath wrought;
In Him, our Father, we rejoice,
Nor be the name forgot.

3. Lord, may this matchless love,
Which thy own children see,

4.

Make us, from all thy creatures, prove,
As the first fruits to Thee.

Sacred to thee alone,

Be all these powers of mine;
Then, in the noblest sense my own,
When most entirely Thine!

297 C. M. For a good Hope.

HEGINBOTHOM.

THANKS to my God for every gift
His bounteous hands bestow;
And thanks eternal for that love,
Whence all those comforts flow.

2. For ever let my grateful heart
His boundless grace adore,

Which gives ten thousand blessings now,
And bids me hope for more.

3. Transporting Hope! still on my soul,
Let thy sweet glories shine,

Till thou thyself art lost in joys,
Immortal, and divine.

298 S. M. For Providential Mercies.
HOW various and how great
The mercies of the Lord;

Awake, awake, our tuneful powers,
His mercies to record.

2. Thy bounties, gracious Lord,
With gratitude we own;
We bless thy providential hand,
Which showers its blessings down.

3. Accept our humble praise;
O hearken from above!

4.

And bring us near to taste thy grace,
And sing redeeming love.

Thy special love reveal;
Our reigning sins subdue:
Create in us a holy will,
To pay the worship due.

5. In every stage of life,

Thy gracious aid display;
And with the bonds of love divine,
Preserve us in thy way.

299.

C. M. The same.

ADDISON.

WHEN all thy mercies, O my God!
My rising soul surveys,

Transported with the view I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.

2. Oh how shall words with equal warmth,
The gratitude declare,

That glows in my enraptured heart-
But Thou canst read it there.

3. Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ ;

Nor is the least a cheerful heart,
That tastes those gifts with joy.

4. Through every period of my life,
Thy goodness I'll pursue;
And after death in scenes of bliss,
The glorious theme renew.

5. Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I'll raise;
But oh! eternity's too short,
To utter all thy praise.

(See also, Hymns 50 and 51.)

HANDEL.

300 8.7. For Daily Mercies.
WE'LL proclaim the wondrous story,
Of the mercies we receive,

From the day-spring's dawning glory,
Till the fading hour of eve.

2. All the blessings heaven is lending,
We'll extol in grateful lays;
To his radiant throne ascending,
Wafted on the wings of praise.

3. In exalted rapture joining,

We'll employ our happy days;
All our grateful hearts combining,
To declare his endless praise.

301 C. M. Unceasing Praise to God, HEGINBOTHOM. YES, I will bless thee, O my God! Through all my mortal days,

And, to eternity prolong

Thy vast, thy boundless praise.

2. In every smiling, happy hour,
Be this my sweet employ;

Thy praise refines mine earthly bliss,
And doubles all my joy.

3. Nor shall my tongue alone proclaim
The honours of my God!

My life, with all its active powers,
Shall spread thy praise abroad.

4. Not death itself shall stop my song,
Though death will close my eyes;
My thoughts shall then to nobler heights,
In sweeter raptures rise.

302 C. M. For Recovery from Sickness. DoDDRIDGE.
MY God, thy service well demands
The remnant of my days;

Why was this fleeting breath renewed,
But to renew thy praise.

2. Thy tender

mercy, O my God!

Did this weak frame sustain,

When life was hovering o'er the grave,
And nature sunk with pain.

3. Into thy hands, my gracious God!
Did I myself resign;

And humbly trusted in thy grace,
For pardoning love is thine.

4. Back from the borders of the grave,
At thy command I come;

Nor would I wish a speedier flight,
To my celestial home.

5. Where thou appointest my abode,
There would I choose to be;
For in thy presence death is life,
And earth is heaven with Thee.

303 L. M. For Deliverance from Trouble. WATTS. I'LL sing thy truth and mercy, Lord; I'll sing the wonders of thy word: Not all thy works and names below, So much thy power and glory show. 2. 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.
3. Amidst 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 sorrow or from sins;
The work that Wisdom undertakes,
Eternal Mercy ne'er forsakes.

STEELE.

304 L. M. For National Peace.
GREAT Ruler of the earth and skies!
A word of thy almighty breath

Can sink the world or bid it rise:
Thy smile is life, thy frown is death.
2. When angry nations rush to arms,
And rage, and noise, and tumult reign,
And war resounds in dire alarms,
And slaughter spreads the hostile plain,-
3. That word which stills the raging seas,
When the loud waves tempestuous roar,
Commands the warring world to peace;
And noise and tumult are no more.