-8 Let the whole earth his power confess; Let the whole earth adore his grace: o The Gentile with the Jew shall join In work and worship so divine.]
L. M. 2nd Part. Green's. [*]
Ver. 8-18. God Merciful in Chastisement.
HE Lord, how wondrous are his ways! How firm his truth! how large his grace! He takes his mercy for his throne,And thence he makes his glories known. 2 Not half so high his power hath spread The starry heavens above our head, As his rich love exceeds our praise; Exceeds the highest hopes we raise. 3 Not half so far has nature plac'd The rising morning from the west, As his forgiving grace removes The daily guilt of those he loves. e 4 How slowly doth his wrath arise! o On swifter wings salvation flies: e And, if he lets his anger burn, o How soon his frowns to pity turn! -5 Amidst his wrath compassion shines; His strokes are lighter than our sins; And while his rod corrects his saints, His ear indulges their complaints. 6 [So fathers their young sons chastise, With gentle hands and melting eyes; The children weep beneath the smart, And move the pity of their heart.
7 The mighty God, the wise and just,
Knows that our frame is feeble dust;
And will no heavy loads impose,
Beyond the strength that he bestows.
8 He knows how soon our nature dies,
Blasted by ev'ry wind that flies ;
Like grass we spring, and die as soon,
As morning flowers that fade at noon.
9 But his eternal love is sure
To all the saints, and shall endure;
From age to age his truth shall reign,
Nor children's children hope in vain.]
S. M. 1st Part. Kibworth. Dover. [*]
V. 1-7. Spiritual and Temporal Mercies.
BLESS the Lord, my soul;
Let all within me join,
And aid my tongue to bless his name,
Whose favours are divine.
02 O bless the Lord, my soul;
Nor let his mercies lie,
Forgotten in unthankfulness,
And without praises die.
'Tis he forgives thy sins
'Tis he relieves thy pain;
"Tis he who heals thy sicknesses,
And makes thee young again.
-4 He crowns thy life with love, When ransom'd from the grave; o He, who redeem'd my soul from hell, Hath sovereign power to save.
-5 He fills the poor with good; He gives the suff'rers rest:
o The Lord hath judgment for the proud, And justice for th' oppress'd.
-6 His wondrous works and ways He made by Moses known;
o But sent the world his truth and grace, By his beloved Son.
S. M. 2nd Part. Watchman. [*]
V. 8-18. Mercy in the midst of Judgment.
1 [MY soul, repeat His praise,
Whose mercies are so great;
Whose anger is so slow to rise,
So ready to abate.
e 2 God will not always chide;
And when his strokes are felt,
His strokes are fewer than our crimes,
And lighter than our guilt.
0 3 High as the heavens are rais'd
Above the ground we tread;
So far the riches of his grace
Our highest thoughts exceed.
His power subdues our sins;
And his forgiving love,
Far as the East is from the West,
Doth all our guilt remove.
The pity of the Lord,
To those that fear his name,
Is such as tender parents feel;
He knows our feeble frame.
He knows we are but dust, Scatter'd with ev'ry breath: e His anger, like a rising wind,
Can send us swift to death.
Our days are as the grass,
Or like the morning flower;
If one sharp blast sweep o'er the field,
It withers in an hour.
But thy compassions, Lord,
To endless years endure;
o And children's children ever find
Thy words of promise sure.]
S. M. 3rd Part. St. Thomas's. [*]
V. 19-22. God's Dominion: or, Angelic Praise.
1 THE Lord, the sovereign King,
Hath fix'd his throne on high;
O'er all the heavenly world he rules,
And all beneath the sky.
2 Ye angels, great in might,
And swift to do his will,
Bless ye the Lord, whose voice ye hear,
Whose pleasure ye fulfil.
3 Let the bright hosts, who wait
The orders of their King,
And guard his churches when they pray,
Join in the praise they sing.
4 While all his wondrous works,
Through his vast kingdom, shew
Their Maker's glory, thou, my soul,
Shalt sing his graces too.
PSALM 104. L. M. Blendon. [*]
God glorious in Creation and Providence.
Y soul, the great Creator praise:
When cloth'd in his celestial rays,
He in full majesty appears,
And, like a robe his glory wears.
[Note. This Psalm may be sung to a different metre by adding the following two lines to every stanza, viz. Great is the Lord; what tongue can frame An equal honour to his name.]
2 [The heavens are for his curtains spread;
Th' unfathom'd deep he makes his bed;
Clouds are his chariot, when he flies
On winged storms across the skies.]
3 Angels, whom his own breath inspires,
His ministers, are flaming fires;
As swift as thought their armies move,
To bear his vengeance, or his love.
4 The world's foundations by his hand
Are pois'd, and shall for ever stand;
He binds the ocean in his chain,
Lest it should drown the earth again.
5 [When earth was cover'd with the flood,
Which high above the mountains stood;
He thunder'd, and the ocean fled,
Confin'd to its appointed bed.
6 The swelling billows know their bound,
And in their channels walk their round;
Yet thence convey'd by secret veins,
They spring on hills, and drench the plains.
7 He bids the crystal fountains flow,
And cheer the valleys as they go;
Tame heifers there their thirst allay,
And for the stream wild asses bray.
8 From pleasant trees, which shade the brink,
The lark and linnet light to drink;
Their songs the lark and linnet raise,
And chide our silence in his praise.
9 God from his cloudy cistern pours
On the parch'd earth enriching showers;
The grove, the garden, and the field,
A thousand joyful blessings yield.
10 He makes the grassy food arise,
And gives the cattle large supplies;
With herbs for man of various power,
To nourish nature, or to cure.
11 What noble fruit the vines produce!
The olive yields an useful juice;
Our hearts are cheer'd with gen'rous wine;
With inward joy our faces shine.
12 O bless his name, ye people, fed
With nature's chief supporter, bread:
While bread your vital strength imparts,
Serve him with vigour in your hearts.
13 Behold the stately cedar stands,
Rais'd in the forests by his hands;
Birds to the boughs for shelter fly,
And build their nests secure on high.
14 To craggy hills ascends the goat;
And, at the airy mountain's foot,
The feebler creatures make their cell;
He gives them wisdom where to dwell.
15 He sets the sun his circling race,
Appoints the moon to change her face;
And, when thick darkness veils the day,
Calls out wild beasts to hunt their prey.
16 Fierce lions lead their young abroad,
And, roaring, ask their meat from God;
But when the morning beams arise,
The savage beast to covert flies.
17 Then man to daily labour goes;
The night was made for his repose:
Sleep is thy gift, that sweet relief
From tiresome toil and wasting grief.
18 How strange thy works! how great thy skill! And ev'ry land thy riches fill :
Thy wisdom round the world we see;
This spacious earth is full of thee.
19 Nor less thy glories in the deep,
Where fish in millions swim and creep;
With wondrous motions, swift or slow
Still wand'ring in the paths below.
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