'TWAS God who form'd the rolling spheres,
And stretch'd the boundless skies;
Who fix'd the plan of endless years,
And bade the ages rise.
From everlasting is his might,
Immense and unconfined,
He pierces through the realms of light,
And rides upon the wind.
He darts along the burning skies,
Loud thunders round him roar;
All heaven attends him as he flies,
All hell proclaims his power.
He speaks: great nature's wheels stand still,
And leave their wonted round;
The mountains melt, each trembling hill
Forsakes its ancient bound.
He scatters nations with his breath,
The scatter'd nations fly;
Blue pestilence and spreading death
Confess the Godhead nigh.
Ye worlds, and every living thing,
Fulfill his high command;
Pay duteous homage to your King,
And own his ruling hand.
The power of God miraculously displayed.
SING, all ye nations, to the Lord,
Sing with a joyful noise:
With melody of sound record
His honours and your joys.
Say to the power that shakes the sky,
"How terrible art thou!
"Sinners before thy presence fly,
"Or at thy feet they bow."
Come, see the wonders of our God,
How glorious are his ways!
In Moses' hand he puts his rod,
And cleaves the frighted seas.
He made the ebbing channel dry
While Israel pass'd the flood:
There did the church begin their joy,
And triumph in their God.
He rules by his resistless might:
Will rebel mortals dare
Provoke the Eternal to the fight,
And tempt that dreadful war?
O bless our God, and never cease:
Ye saints, fulfill his praise :
He keeps our life, maintains our peace,
And guides our doubtful ways.
KINGDOMS and thrones to God belong;
Crown him, ye nations, in your song;
His wondrous names and powers rehearse,
His honours shall enrich your verse.
His name Jehovah sounds on high:
He rides and thunders through the sky:
Ye saints, rejoice before his face,
Exalt the wonders of his grace.
The widow and the fatherless
Fly to his aid in deep distress:
In him the poor and helpless find
A judge that's just, a father kind.
He breaks the captive's heavy chain,
And prisoners see the light again;
But rebels that dispute his will
Shall dwell in chains and darkness still.
Proclaim him king, pronounce him blest;
He's your defence, your joy, your rest:
When terrors rise, and nations faint,
God is the strength of every saint.
The eternal dominion of God.
THE Lord Jehovah reigns,
And royal state maintains;
His head with awful glories crown'd,
Array'd in robes of light,
Begirt with sovereign might,
And rays of majesty around.
Upheld by thy commands
The world securely stands,
And skies and stars obey thy word:
Thy throne was fixt on high
Before the starry sky;
Eternal is thy kingdom, Lord.
Let angry nations rage,
And all their powers engage; Let swelling tides assault the sky: The terrors of thy frown
Shall beat their madness down; Thy throne for ever stands on high.
Thy promises are true,
Thy grace is ever new:
There fixt, thy church shall ne'er remove;
Thy saints with holy fear
Shall in thy courts appear, And sing thine everlasting love.
GREAT God, how infinite art thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.
Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Ere seas or stars were made;
Thou art the ever-living God,
Were all the nations dead.
3.
Nature and time quite naked lie
To thine immense survey,
From the formation of the sky
To the great judgement-day.
Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present in thy view:
To thee there's nothing old appears;
Great God, there's nothing new.
Our lives through various scenes are drawn,
And vext with trifling cares,
While thine eternal thought moves on
Thine undisturb'd affairs.
Great God, how infinite art thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.
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