The dew of heaven is like Thy grace;
It steals in silence down;
But, where it lights, the favoured place
By richest fruits is known.
One name, above all glorious names,
With its ten thousand tongues
The everlasting sea proclaims,
Echoing angelic songs.
The raging fire, the roaring wind,
Thy boundless power display:
But in the gentler breeze we find
Thy Spirit's viewless way.
Two worlds are ours: 'tis only sin
Forbids us to descry,
The mystic heaven and earth within,
Plain as the sea and sky.
Thou who hast given me eyes to see
And love this sight so fair,
Give me a heart to find out Thee,
And read Thee everywhere.
On God the race of man depends,
Far as the earth's remotest ends,
Where the Creator's name is known
By nature's feeble light alone.
He bids the noisy tempests cease;
He calms the raging crowd to peace,
When a tumultuous nation raves
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves.
Whole kingdoms, shaken by the storm,
He settles in a peaceful form;
Mountains, establish'd by His hand,
Firm on their old foundations stand.
Behold His ensigns sweep the sky;
New comets blaze, and lightnings fly!
The heathen lands, with swift surprise,
From the bright horrors turn their eyes.
At His command the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun's declining wheels
Over the tops of western hills.
Seasons and times obey His voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit, and drest in flowers.
'Tis from His watery stores on high
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth His enriching drops dispense.
The desert grows a fruitful field,
Abundant food the valleys yield;
The valleys shout with cheerful voice,
And neighbouring hills repeat their joys.
Thy works pronounce Thy power divine;
O'er every field Thy glories shine;
Through every month thy gifts appear;
Great God! Thy goodness crowns the year!
Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess,
Thy goodness we adore;
A spring, whose blessings never fail,
A sea without a shore.
Sun, moon, and stars, Thy love attest
In every cheerful ray;
Love draws the curtains of the night,
And love restores the day.
Thy bounty every season crowns
With all the bliss it yields,
With joyful clusters bend the vines,
With harvests wave the fields.
But chiefly Thy compassions, Lord,
Are in the Gospel seen;
There, like the Sun, Thy mercy shines
Without a cloud between.
I sing th' almighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordain'd
The sun to rule the day:
The moon shines full at His command,
And all the stars obey.
I sing the goodness of the Lord
That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with His word,
And then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are display'd,
Where'er I turn my eye;
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky!
There's not a plant or flower below,
But makes Thy glories known ;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order from Thy throne.
Creatures, as numerous as they be,
Are subject to Thy care;
There's not a place where we can flee
But God is present there.
In Heaven He shines with beams of love, With wrath in hell beneath ;
'Tis on His earth I stand or move, And 'tis His air I breathe.
His hand is my perpetual guard :
He keeps me with His eye :
Why should I then forget the Lord,
Who is for ever nigh ?
Isaac Watts. 1715
Yes, God is good; in earth and sky,
From ocean-depths and spreading wood,
Ten thousand voices seem to cry,
"God made us all, and God is good."
The sun that keeps his trackless way,
And downward pours his golden flood,
Night's sparkling hosts, all seem to say
In accents clear, that God is good.
The merry birds prolong the strain,
Their song with every spring renewed;
And balmy air, and falling rain,
Each softly whisper, "God is good."
I hear it in the rushing breeze;
The hills that have for ages stood,
The echoing sky and roaring seas,
All swell the chorus, "God is good."
Yes, God is good, all Nature says,
By God's own hand with speech endued;
And man, in louder notes of praise,
Should sing for joy that God is good.
For all Thy gifts we bless Thee, Lord;
But chiefly for our heavenly food,
Thy pardoning grace, Thy quick'ning word;
These prompt our song, that God is good.
John Hampden Gurney. 1838-1851.
Varied from Eliza Lee Cabot. 1826.
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