-5 He loves his saints; he knows them well; e But turns the wicked down to hell:
Thy God, O Zion, ever reigns:
o Let ev'ry tongue, let ev'ry age, In this exalted work engage:
Praise him in everlasting strains.
86 I'll praise him while he lends me breath; And, when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler pow'rs: My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life and thought and being last, Or immortality endures.
PSALM 147. L.M. 1st PART. Old Hundred. [*] Divine Nature, Providence, and Grace.
Pour hearts and voices in his praise;
RAISE ye the Lord: 'tis good to raise
His nature and his works invite,
To make this duty our delight.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem,
And gathers nations to his name;
His mercy melts the stubborn soul,
And makes the broken spirit whole.
3 He form'd the stars, those heav'nly flames,
He counts their numbers, calls their names!
His wisdom's vast, and knows no bound,-
A deep where all our thoughts are drown'd!
4 Great is our Lord, and great his might;
And all his glories infinite:
He crowns the meek, rewards the just,
And treads the wicked to the dust.
PAUSE. Castle-Street.
5 Sing to the Lord, exalt him high,
Who spreads his clouds all round the sky;
There he prepares the fruitful rain,
Nor lets the drops descend in vain.
6 He makes the grass the hills adorn,
And clothes the smiling fields with corn;
The beasts with food his hands supply,
And the young ravens, when they cry.
7 What is the creature's skill or force,
The sprightly man, the warlike horse,
The nimble wit, the active limb!
All are too mean delights for him.
8 But saints are lovely in his sight;
He views his children with delight:
He sees their hope, he knows their fear,
And looks, and loves his image there.
L. M. SECOND PART.
Summer and Winter.
ET Zion praise the mighty God,
And make his honours known abroad.
For sweet the joy-our songs to raise ;
And glorious is the work of praise.
2 Our children are secure and blest;
Our shores have peace, our cities rest;
He feeds our sons with finest wheat,
And adds his blessing to their meat.
3 The changing seasons he ordains,
The early and the latter rains :
The flakes of snow, like wool he sends,
And thus the springing corn defends.
4 With hoary frost he strews the ground;
His hail descends with clatt'ring sound⚫
Where is the man so vainly bold,
As dare defy his dreadful cold:
5 He bids the southern breezes blow;
The ice dissolves, the waters flow:
But he hath nobler works and ways,
To call his people to his praise.
6 To all our land his laws are shown;
His gospel thro' the nation known:
He hath not thus reveal'd his word
To ev'ry land :-Praise ye the Lord.]
C. M. Hartford. [*]
Ver. 7-9, 13-18.-The Seasons of the Year.
WITH songs and honours, sounding loud,
• 1 W Address the Lord on high:
Over the heav'ns he spreads his cloud,
And waters veil the sky.
b 2 He sends his show'rs of blessings down,
To cheer the plains below;
He makes the grass the mountains crown,
And corn in vallies grow.
o 3 He gives the grazing ox his meat,
He hears the ravens cry;
But man, who tastes his finest wheat,
Should raise his honours high.
e 4 His steady counsels change the face
Of the declining year;
He bids the sun cut short his race,
And wintry days appear.
5 His hoary frost, his fleecy snow,
Descend and clothe the ground;
The liquid streams forbear to flow,
In icy fetters bound.
• 6 When from his dreadful stores on high
He pours the rattling hail,
The wretch who dares his God defy,
Shall find his courage fail.
b 7 He sends his word and melts the snow,
The fields no longer mourn;
He calls the warmer gales to blow,
And bids the spring return.
• 8 The changing wind, the flying cloud,
Obey his mighty word:
g With songs and honours sounding loud, Praise ye the sov'reign Lord.
PSALM 148. P. M. Triumph. [*]
Praise to God from all Creatures.
E tribes of Adam join'
With heav'n and earth and seas,
And offer notes divine,
To your Creator's praise.
Ye holy throng
Of angels bright,
In worlds of light,
Begin the song.
2 [Thou sun, with dazzling rays,
And moon, that rul'st the night,
Shine to your Maker's praise,-
With stars of twinkling light.
His pow'r declare,
Ye floods on high,
And clouds that fly
In empty air.]
3 The shining worlds above,
In glorious order stand;
Or in swift courses move,
By his supreme command.
He spake the word,-
And all their frame
From nothing came,
To praise the Lord.
4 He mov'd their mighty wheels,
In unknown ages past;
And each his word fulfils,
While time and nature last.
In diff'rent ways,
His works proclaim
His wondrous name,
And speak his praise :
5 [Let all the earth-born race,
And monsters of the deep,-
And fish that cleave the seas,
Or in their bosom sleep,-
From sea and shore
Their tribute pay;
And still display
Their Maker's pow'r.
6 Ye vapours, hail and snow,
Praise ye th' Almighty Lord;
And stormy winds, that blow
To execute his word.
When lightnings shine,
And thunders roar,
Let earth adore
His hand Divine.
7 Ye mountains near the skies,
With lofty cedars there,
And trees of humbler size,
That fruit in plenty bear ;-
Beasts wild and tame,
Birds, flies and worms,
In various forms,-
Exalt his name.
8 Ye kings and judges, fear,
The Lord, the sov'reign King;
And while you rule us here,
His heav'nly honours sing:
Nor let the dream
Of pow'r and state,
Make you forget
His pow'r supreme.
9 Virgins and youths, engage
To sound his praise divine;
While infancy and age
Their feebler voices join:
Wide as he reigns
His name be sung,
By ev'ry tongue,
In endless strains:
10 Let all the nations fear
The God who rules above;
He brings his people near,
And makes them taste his love:
While earth and sky
Attempt his praise,
His saints shall raise
His honours high.
L. M. Paraphrased. Old Hundred. [*]
Universal Praise to God.
8 1 LOUD hallelujah tds where creatures dwell;
Let heav'n begin the solemn word,
And sound it dreadful-down to hell.
[Note. This Psalm may be sung to a different metre, by adding the two following lines to every stanza, vis.
Each of his works his name displays,
But they can ne'er fulfil his praise.
2 The Lord-how absolute he reigns!
Let ev'ry angel bend the knee:
Sing of his love in heav'nly strains;
And speak how fierce his terrours be.]
3 High on a throne his glories dwell,
An awful throne of shining bliss;
• Fly through the world, O sun, and tell
How dark thy beams compar'd to his
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