TERNAL God, I bless thy name,
The same thy power, thy grace the same;
The tokens of thy friendly care
Open and close and crown the year.
2 Supported by thy guardian hand,
Amidst ten thousand deaths I stand!
And see, when I survey thy ways,
Ten thousand monuments of praise.
3 Thus far thy arm has led me on,
Thus far I make thy mercy known;
And whilst I tread this desert land,
New mercies shall new songs demand.
4 My grateful voice, on Jordan's shore,
Shall raise one sacred pillar more;
Then bear, in thy bright courts above,
Inscriptions of immortal love.
HYMN 203. L. M.
God exalted above all Praise.
TERNAL Power, whose high abode
Becomes the grandeur of the God,
Extended far beyond the bounds
Where stars revolve inferior rounds;
2 The lowest step beneath thy seat
Rises too high for Gabriel's feet;
In vain the tall archangel tries
To reach its height, with wond'ring eyes.
3 Thy dazzling glory whilst he sings,
He hides his face behind his wings,
And ranks of thrones and powers around,
Fall prostrate on the heavenly ground.
4 Lord, what shall earth and ashes do!
We would adore our Maker too;
From lowest dust to thee we cry,
The great, the holy, and the high.
5 Earth from afar hath heard thy fame,
And men have learn'd to lisp thy name
But the full glories of thy mind
Leave all our soaring thoughts behind.
6 God is in heaven, and men below;
Be short our hymns, our words be few;
A sacred rev'rence checks our songs,"
And praise is silent on our tongues.
HYMN 304. L. M.
Preparation for Religious Worship.
AR from my thoughts, vain world, begone,
Let my religious hours alone;
From flesh and sense, I would be free,
And hold communion, Lord, with thee.
2 My heart grows warm with holy fire,'
And kindles with a pure desire,
To see thy grace, to taste thy love,
And feel thine influence from above.
3 When I can say that God is mine,
When I can see thy glories shine;
I tread the world beneath my feet,
And all that men call rich and great.
4 Send comfort down from thy right hand,
To cheer me in this barren land;
And in thy temple let me know
The joys that from thy presence flow.
FBut lowly let my basis be;
NOLLY builds high upon the sand;
Firm as a rock my hope shall stand,
Deep founded in humility.
2 Content, when threat'ning ills obtrude,
Sweet meek-ey'd patience, arm my soul:
And let a prudent fortitude
Teach me my passions to control.
3 My God, I long to know thee still,
To love and fear and trust thee more;
To live submissive to thy will,
And, whilst I feel thy grace, adore.
4 My faith and love, obedient be,
O Saviour, to thy just commands!
My ardent soul still follows thec,
And trusts her int'rest in thy hands.
5 Let love and mercy all divine,
Justice descending from the skies,
Kindness and truth my heart incline
Still to forgive my enemies.
may I act the christian part,
The social, humane, and divine;
Whilst a wise zeal inspires my heart,
Then shall I know that heaven is mine. SMART.
HYMN 306. L. M.
The Excellency of the Gospel.
OD, in the gospel of his Son,
And sinners of a humble frame
May taste his grace, and learn his name.
2 Wisdom its dictates here imparts,
To form our minds, to cheer our hearts;
Its influence makes the sinner live,
It bids the drooping saint revive.
3 Our raging passions it controls,
And comfort yields to contrite souls ;
It guides us all our journey through,
And brings a better world to view.
4 May this blest volume ever lie
Close to my heart and near my eye:
To life's last hour, my soul employ,
And fit me for the heavenly joy.
HYMN 307. C. M.
Divine Providence and the Folly of Self-Dependence.
GOD reigns; events in order flow,
Man's industry to guide:
But in a diff'rent channel go,
To humble human pride.
2 The swift, not always, in the race,
Shall win the crowning prize;
Not always wealth and honour grace
The labours of the wise.
3. Fond mortals do themselves beguile,
When on themselves they rest;
Blind is their wisdom, vain their toil,
By thee, O Lord, unblest.
4 'Tis ours, the furrows to prepare,
And sow the precious grain;
'Tis thine to give the sun and air,
And to command the rain.
5 Evil and good before thee stand,
Their mission to perform;
The sun shines bright at thy command;
Thy hand directs the storm.
6 In all thy ways, we humbly own
Thy providential power;
Entrusted to thy care alone,
The lot of ev'ry hour.
HYMN 308. Hallelujah Metre.
The House of Prayer.
GREAT Father of mankind,
We bless that wond'rous grace,
Which could for Gentiles find,
Within thy courts, a place.
How kind the care
Our God displays, for us to raise
A house of prayer!
2 Once we were strangers here,
But now approach the throne;
For Jesus brings us near,
And makes our cause his own.
Strangers no more,
To thee we come, and find our home,
And rest secure.
3 To thee our souls we join,
And love thy sacred name;
No more our own, but thine,
We triumph in thy claim.
Our Father, King,
Thy cov'nant grace, our souls embrace,
Thy glories sing.
4 Here in thy house we feast
On dainties all divine;
And whilst such food we taste,
With joy our faces shine.
Incense shall rise
From flames of love, and God approve
5 May all the nations throng,
To worship in thy house;
Wilt thou attend the song,
And hear their ardent vows!
Indulgent still,
Till earth conspire to join the choir,
All things work together for good to the Righteous.
NOT from relentless fate's dark womb,
Nor from the dust, our troubles come;
No fickle chance presides o'er grief,
To cause the pain, or send relief.
2 Look up, and see, ye sorrowing saints!
The cause and cure of your complaints;
Know, 'tis your heavenly Father's will;
Bid every murmur then be still.
3 He sees we need the painful yoke;
Yet love directs his heaviest stroke:
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