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.

102. L. M.

;

GREAT Ruler of the earth and skies!
A word of thine almighty breath

Can sink the worlds, or make them rise:
Thy favour's life, thy frown is death.

2

When angry nations rush to arms,
And rage and noise and tumult reign,
And war resounds its dire alarms,
And slaughter spreads the bloody plain;

3

That word which stills the raging seas When the loud waves tempestuous roar, Commands the warring world to peace, And noise and tumult are no more.

4

Thou good, and wise, and righteous Lord!
All move subservient to thy will:
Both peace and war await thy word;
Thy righteous counsels they fulfil.

103.

C. M.

The Government of God includes all Events.

Ps. cxlv.

1

THY kingdom, Lord! for ever stands,
While earthly thrones decay;
And time submits to thy commands,
While ages roll away.

2

Thy sovereign bounty freely gives
Its unexhausted store;
And universal nature lives
On thy sustaining power.

3

Evil and good before thee stand,
Thy mission to perform;

The blessing comes at thy command,
At thy command the storm.

4

In all thy dealings, Lord! we own
Thy providential power;
Intrusting to thy care alone
The events of every hour.

104. L. M.

All Creatures dependent on God.

1

VAST are thy works, Almighty Lord!
All nature rests upon thy word:
Thy wisdom round the world we see ;
This spacious earth is full of thee.

2

The various tribes of creatures stand,
Waiting their portion at thy hand;
And while they take their different food,
Their cheerful looks pronounce it good.
3

But when thy face is hid, they mourn;
And dying, to their dust return :
Again thine all-creating breath

Repairs the wastes of time and death.

4

How vast thy works! how great thy skill! The universe thy glories fill:

Yet humble souls may seek thy face, And tell their wants to boundless grace.

5

In thee our hopes and wishes meet,
And make our meditation sweet,
While thus to thee, O Lord, we raise
The song of humble grateful praise.

105. L. M.

God the Source of Light.

1

PRAISE to the Lord of boundless might, With uncreated glories bright,

Whose presence gilds the worlds above; The unchanging source of light and love!

2

"Let there be light," Jehovah said;
And light o'er all the world was spread:
Nature, array'd in charms unknown,
Glowing in new-born lustre shone,

3

Thus o'er the mind, when lost it lies
In shades of ignorance and vice,
He darts from heaven a vivid ray,
And changes midnight into day.

4

O Lord, thy cheering beams impart,
And shine on each benighted heart;
Then shall our noblest powers unite
To praise thee, gracious Source of light!

106.

L. M.

God every where Present with his People.

1

THY presence, Everlasting God!
Wide o'er all nature spreads abroad:
Thy watchful eyes, which never sleep,
In every place thy children keep.

2

Thy favour crowns them when they meet,
And makes their intercourses sweet;
When absent, happy if they share
Thy gracious counsels and thy care.

3

In thee our cheerful hopes we place;
In thee, the God of truth and grace:
Still on our souls vouchsafe to shine,
And guide and guard us still as thine.

4

Give us within thy house to raise
Again united songs of praise;
Or, if that joy no more be known,
Give us to meet around thy throne.

107. L. M.

God's Mercy to the Righteous.

I

THE Almighty reigns, enthron'd on high, O'er all the earth, o'er all the sky; Though clouds and darkness veil his feet, His dwelling is the mercy-seat.

2

Immortal light, and joys unknown,
Are for the saints in darkness sown;
Those glorious seeds shall spring and rise,
And the bright harvest bless our eyes.
3

Rejoice, ye righteous, and record
The sacred honours of the Lord;
None but the soul that feels his grace,
Can triumph in his holiness.

To those bright realms we lift our eyes,
Those realms of bliss beyond the skies,
Whence all her help the soul derives;
There our almighty Refuge lives.

2

He lives, the everlasting God,

Who built the world, who spread the flood: He lives, and by his heavenly care Preserves our lives in every snare.