1 I'LL praise my Maker with my breath; And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler powers: My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures.

2 Happy the man whose hopes rely On Israel's God; he made the sky,

And earth, and seas, with all their train : His truth forever stands secure; He saves th' oppressed, he feeds the poor, And none shall find his promise vain. 3 The Lord hath eyes to give the blind, The Lord supports the sinking mind; He sends the lab'ring conscience peace: He helps the stranger in distress, The widow and the fatherless,

And grants the prisoner sweet release.

4 He loves his saints, he knows them well, But turns the wicked down to hell:

Thy God, O Zion, ever reigns!

Let every tongue, let every age,
In this exalted work engage:

Praise him in everlasting strains.

5 I'll praise him while he lends me breath; And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler powers: My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures.

4 That God who hears the raven's cry,
Who decks the lily's form,
Will surely all your wants supply,
And shield you in the storm.

5 Seek first his kingdom's grace to share; Its righteousness pursue:

And all that needs your earthly care,
Will be bestowed on you.

6 Why then despond in life's dark vale? Why sink to fears a prey?

Th' almighty power can never fail,
His love can ne'er decay.

223

"Bless the Lord, O my soul!"
Psalm 103.

1 Он, bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join,

And aid my tongue to bless his name,
Whose favors are divine.

2 Oh, bless the Lord, my soul!
Nor let his mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness,
And without praises die.

3 'Tis he forgives thy sins;
"T is he relieves thy pain;
"T is he that heals thy sicknesses,
And makes thee young again.

4 He crowns thy life with love,
When ransomed from the grave;

He, who redeemed my soul from hell, Hath sovereign power to save.

5 He fills the poor with good;

He gives the sufferers rest:

S. M.

The Lord hath judgments for the proud, And justice for th' oppressed.

6 His wondrous works and ways He made by Moses known;

But sent the world his truth and grace By his beloved Son.

3 He will not always chide;

He will with patience wait: His wrath is ever slow to rise, And ready to abate.

4 He pardons all thy sins,

Prolongs thy feeble breath; He healeth thy infirmities,

And ransoms thee from death.

5 He clothes thee with his love,

Upholds thee with his truth; Then, like the eagle, he renews The vigor of thy youth.

6 Then bless his holy name,

Whose grace hath made thee whole; Whose loving kindness crowns thy days: Oh, bless the Lord, my soul!

That built the world, that spread the flood:

The heavens with all their hosts he made, And the dark regions of the dead.

3 He guides our feet, he guards our way;
His morning smiles bless all the day:
He spreads the evening vail, and keeps
The silent hours, while Israel sleeps.

4 Israel, a name divinely blest,
May rise secure, securely rest;
Thy holy Guardian's wakeful eyes
Admit no slumber, nor surprise.

5 No sun shall smite thy head by day:
Nor the pale moon with sickly ray
Shall blast thy couch; no baleful star
Dart his malignant fire so far.

6 Should earth and hell with malice burn,
Still thou shalt go, and still return,
Safe in the Lord; his heavenly care
Defends thy life from every snare.

7 On thee foul spirits have no power;
And, in thy last departing hour,
Angels, that trace the airy road,
Shall bear thec homeward to thy God.

1 GOD, in the high and holy place,
Looks down upon the spheres;
And in his providence and grace
To every eye appears.

2 He bows the heavens; the mountains stand

A highway for our God:

He walks amid the desert land; 'Tis Eden where he trod.

3 The forests in his strength rejoice;
Hark! on the evening breeze,

As once of old, the 'Lord God's voice
Is heard among the trees.

4 If God hath made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful beyond compare
Will Paradise be found!

He, with all-commanding might,
Filled the new-made world with light:
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

All things living he doth feed;
His full hand supplies their need:
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

He his chosen race did bless,
In the wasteful wilderness:
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

5 He hath, with a piteous eye,
Looked upon our misery:
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

3 Let us, then, with gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:
For his mercies shall endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

229

2 Of his deliverance I will boast,
Till all who are distressed
From my example comfort take,
And charm their griefs to rest.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt his name!
When in distress to him I called,
He to my rescue came.

4 The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance he affords to all
Who on his succor trust.

5 Oh, make but trial of his love:
Experience will decide

How blest are they, and only they,
Who in his truth confide.

6 Fear him, ye saints, and ye will then Have nothing else to fear;

Make ye his service your delight,
He'll make your wants his care.

1 To God, the mighty Lord, Your joyful thanks repeat;

To him due praise afford,

As good as he is great:

For God doth prove our constant friend; His boundless love shall never end.

2 He, in our depths of woes,

On us with favor thought;

And from our deadly foes

In peace and safety brought:

For God doth prove our constant friend; His boundless love shall never end.

3 He doth the food supply,

On which all creatures live; To God, who reigns on high, Eternal praises give:

For God doth prove our constant friend; His boundless love shall never end.

God's Deliverances of his People.
Psalın 107.

1 THANK and praise Jehovah's name; For his mercies, firm and sure, From eternity the same,

To eternity endure.

2 Let the ransomed thus rejoice,
Gathered out of every land;
As the people of his choice,
Plucked from the destroyer's hand.

3 In the wilderness astray,

Hither, thither, while they roam,
Hungry, fainting by the way,
Far from refuge, shelter, home; -

4 Then unto the Lord they cry;
He inclines a gracious ear,
Sends deliverance from on high,
Rescues them from all their fear.

5 To a pleasant land he brings,

Where the vine and olive grow; Where, from flowery hills, the springs Through luxuriant valleys flow.

6 Oh that men would praise the Lord,
For his goodness to their race;
For the wonders of his word,
And the riches of his grace!

1 To heaven I lift my waiting eyes: There all my hopes are laid;

The Lord that built the earth and skies
Is my perpetual aid.

Their steadfast feet shall never fall
Whom he designs to keep;
His car attends the softest call,
His eyes can never sleep.

3 Israel, rejoice, and rest secure;
Thy keeper is the Lord:

His wakeful eyes employ his power
For thine eternal guard.

4 He guards thy soul, he keeps thy breath,
Where thickest dangers come;
Go and return, secure from death,
Till God commands thee home.

233 “Not that we loved God, but that he loved L. II.

Us."

1 ERE earth's foundations yet were laid, Or heaven's fair roof was spread abroad;

Ere man a living soul was made,

Love stirred within the heart of God.

2 Thy loving counsel gave to me

True life in Christ, thy only Son, Whom thou hast made my way to thee, From whom all grace flows ever down. 3 O Love, that, long ere time began,

This precious name of child bestowed; That opened Heaven on earth to man, And called us sinners "sons of God!" 4 I am not worthy, Lord, that thou

Shouldst such compassion on me show; That he who made the world should bow To cheer with love a wretch so low.

5 Could I but honor thee aright,

Noble and sweet my song should be; That earth and heaven should learn thy

3 Great God! I would not ask to see What in my coming life shall be; Enough for me if love divine,

At length, through every cloud shall shine.

4 Are darkness and distress my share?
Then let me trust thy guardian care;
If light and bliss attend my days,
Then let my future hours be praise.

5 Yet this my soul desires to know,
Be this my only wish below,
That Christ be mine; this great request
Grant, bounteous God, and I am blest!

235

1 KEEP silence, all created things,
And wait your Maker's nod!
My soul stands trembling while she sings
The honors of her God.

2 Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown,

Hang on his firm decree;
He sits on no precarious throne,
Nor borrows leave to be.

3 Before his throne a volume lies,
With all the fates of men;
With every angel's form and size,
Drawn by th' eternal pen.

4 His providence unfolds the book,
And makes his counsels shine;
Each opening leaf, and every stroke,
Fulfills some deep design.

5 My God, I would not long to see
My fate with curious eyes;
What gloomy lines are writ for me,
Or what bright scenes may rise.
6 In thy fair book of life and grace,
May I but find my name
Recorded in some humble place,
Beneath my Lord, the Lamb!

1 God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
2 Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign 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.

1 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

237 "How unsearchable are Thy Judgments!" L. M.

1 LORD, my weak thought in vain would climb

To search the starry vault profound;
In vain would wing her flight sublime,
To find creation's outmost bound.

2 But weaker yet that thought must prove
To search thy great eternal plan,
Thy sovereign counsels, born of love
Long ages ere the world began.

3 When my dim reason would demand
Why that, or this, thou dost ordain,
By some vast deep I seem to stand,
Whose secrets I must ask in vain.

4 When doubts disturb my troubled breast,
And all is dark as night to me,
Here, as on solid rock, I rest;
That so it seemeth good to thee.
5 Be this my joy, that evermore

Thou rulest all things at thy will:
Thy sovereign wisdom I adore,

And calmly, sweetly, trust thee still.

L. M.

Sovereignty of God in Conversion.

1 MAY not the sovereign Lord on high
Dispense his favors as he will;
Choose some to life, while others die,
And yet be just and gracious still?

2 Shall man reply against the Lord,
And call his Maker's ways unjust,
The thunder of whose dreadful word
Can crush a thousand worlds to dust?

3 But, O my soul! if truth so bright Should dazzle and confound thy sight, You still his written will obey,

And wait the great decisive day.

4 Then shall he make his justice known,
And the whole world before his throne
With joy or terror, shall confess
The glory of his righteousness.

1 'Tis not that I did choose thee,
For, Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse thee,
But thou hast chosen me:
Thou from the sin that stained me
Hast made me pure and free;
Of old thou hast ordained me,
That I should live to thee.

2 'Twas sovereign mercy called me,
And taught my opening mind;
The world had else enthralled
mc,
To heavenly glories blind.
My heart owns none above thee;
For thy rich grace I thirst;

This knowing, if I love thee,
Thou must have loved me first.

7s & Cs.

240 Sovereignty of God in his Gift of Grace. C. 1.

1 0 GIFT of gifts! O Grace of faith!
My God, how can it be

That thou, who hast discerning love,
Shouldst give that gift to me!

2 How many hearts thou might'st have had

More innocent than mine!
How many souls more worthy far
Of that pure touch of thine!