5.

And let obedience to his laws

Thy gratitude proclaim

To Him, the First Almighty Cause:
Jehovah is his name.

GREAT is our God; his works of might To praise his glorious name unite; Heaven, earth, and sea confess his hand, And wait obedient his command.

2.

His hand, unseen, sustains the poles
On which the vast creation rolls;
The starry skies proclaim his power,
His pencil glows in every flower.

3.

In various shapes and colours rise
Ten thousand wonders to our eyes;

And birds, that sing with labouring throat,
Teach us a God in every note.

4.

Across the waves, around the sky,
There's not a place, or deep or high,
Where the Creator has not trod,
And left the footsteps of a God.

132. c. M.

WATTS.

The wisdom of God in his works.

1.

SONGS of immortal praise belong
To my almighty God;

He has my heart, and he my tongue
To spread his name abroad.

2.

How great the works his hand has wrought!
How glorious in our sight!
And men in every age have sought
His wonders with delight.

3.

How most exact is nature's frame!
How wise the eternal mind!

His counsels never change the scheme
That his first thoughts design'd.

4.

Nature and time, and earth and skies,
His heavenly skill proclaim:
What shall we do to make us wise,
But learn to read his name?

5.

To fear his power, to trust his grace,

Is our divinest skill;

And he's the wisest of our race

That best obeys his will.

133. L. M.

WATTS.

The perfections and providence of God.

1.

HIGH in the heavens, eternal God,
Thy goodness in full glory shines;
Thy truth shall break through every cloud
That veils and darkens thy designs.

2.

For ever firm thy justice stands,
As mountains their foundations keep :
Wise are the wonders of thy hands,
Thy judgements are a mighty deep.

3.

Thy providence is kind and large,
Both man and beast thy bounty share;
The whole creation is thy charge,
But saints are thy peculiar care.

4.

My God, how excellent thy grace, Whence all our hope and comfort springs! The sons of Adam in distress

Fly to the shadow of thy wings.

5.

Life, like a fountain rich and free,
Springs from the presence of the Lord;
And in thy light our souls shall see
The glories promised in thy word.

134. L. M. WATTS.

The divine perfections.

1.

GREAT God! thy glories shall employ
Our holy fear, our humble joy;
Our lips, in songs of honour, bring
Their tribute to the almighty King.

2.

Earth, and the stars, and worlds unknown, Depend on his eternal throne;

All nature rests upon his word,

And grace and glory own their Lord.

3.

His sovereign power what mortal knows?
If he command, who dare oppose?
With strength he girds himself around,
And treads the rebels to the ground.

4.

Who shall pretend to teach him skill,
Or guide the counsels of his will?
His wisdom, like a sea divine,
Flows deep and high above our line.

5.

His love reveals a smiling face,
His truth and promise seal the grace:
His mercy ages past have known,
And ages long to come shall own.

6.

The God of heaven doth condescend
To be our father and our friend:
We love his name, we love his word;
Join, all our powers, to praise the Lord.

135. P. M. DODDRIDGE. The never-ceasing goodness of God.

1.

HOUSE of our God, with cheerful anthems ring,

While all our lips and hearts his goodness sing;

The opening year his bounty shall proclaim, And all its days be vocal with his name. The Lord is good, his mercy never ending, His blessings in perpetual showers descending.

2.

Thou earth, enlighten'd by his rays divine, Pregnant with grass and corn, and oil and wine;

Crown'd with his goodness, let thy nations meet,

And lay their crowns at his paternal feet; With grateful love that liberal hand con

fessing,

Which through each heart diffuseth every

His mercy never ends; the dawn, the shade

Still see new beauties through new scenes display'd;

Succeeding ages bless this sure abode, And children lean upon their fathers' God. The deathless soul through its immense du

ration

Drinks, from this source, immortal consolation.