5 Then shall we see, and hear, and know,
All we desired, or wished below;
And every power find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.
The Divine Perfections celebrated. Ps. xxxvi.
1 THE glories, Lord! thy works proclaim,
Our pious wonder raise;
Thy word still more reveals thy name
And more exalts thy praise.
2 The numerous worlds thy hands have made,
Thy power almighty teach;
The plans thy forming wisdom laid,
Through endless ages reach.
3 Thy righteousness maintains its throne,
Though mountains sink to dust;
Thy judgments are a deep unknown,
Yet always wise and just.
4 Thy mercies, far beyond the rounds
Of earth and heaven extend;
Thy truth outlives the narrow bounds
Where time and nature end.
5 Unbounded is thy goodness, Lord!
How bright its wonders shine!
Of present, past, and future good,
The glory all be thine.
6 Incline us, Lord! as in thy sight,
To keep thy holy ways;
And all our noblest powers unite,
To celebrate thy praise.
The Excellency and final Success of the Gospel. Ps. xix.
1 THE heavens declare thy glory, Lord!
In every star thy wisdom shines ;
But when our eyes behold thy word,
We read thy name in fairer lines.
2 Sun, moon, and stars, convey thy praise
Round the whole earth, and never stand;
So when thy truth began its race,
It touched and glanced on every land.
3 Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest,
Till through the world thy truth has run:
Till Christ has all the nations blessed
That see the light, or feel the sun.
4 O may his noon-day glory rise,
To bless the world with heavenly light!
Thy gospel makes the simple wise,
Thy laws are pure, thy judgments right.
3 Thy richest mercy here we view,
In souls renewed, and sins forgiven;
Lord! cleanse our sins, our souls renew,
And make thy word our guide to heaven.
God may be worshipped in every Place.
1 THE heaven of heavens cannot contain:
The universal Lord;
Yet he in humble hearts will deign.
To dwell, and be adored.
2 Where'er ascends the sacrifice
Of fervent praise and prayer,
Or on the earth, or in the skies,
The God of heaven is there.
3 His presence is diffused abroad
Through realms, through worlds unknown;
Who seek the mercies of our God
Are ever near his throne.
The Voice of Nature proclaiming God,
1 THERE is a God all nature speaks,
Through earth, and air, and seas, and skies;
See, from the clouds his glory breaks,
When the first beams of morning rise!
2 The rising sun serenely bright,
O'er the wide world's extended frame,
Inscribes, in characters of light,
His mighty Maker's glorious name.
3 Diffusing life, his influence spreads,
And health and plenty smile around;
The fruitful fields, and verdant meads,
Are with a thousand blessings crowned.
4 The flowery tribes all blooming rise,
Above the faint attempts of art ;
Their bright, inimitable dyes
Speak sweet conviction to the heart.
5 What man that views creation round,
Can fail to own almighty power?
Confess the God with awe profound,
Come, bow before him, and adore!
1 THE LORD descended from above,
And bowed the heavens most high,
And underneath his feet he cast
The darkness of the sky.
2 On cherubim and seraphim
Full royally he rode,
And on the wings of mighty winds
Came flying all abroad.
3 He sat serene upon the floods
Their fury to restrain;
And he, as sovereign Lord and King,
For evermore shall reign.
The Voice of God in his Works. Ps. xіх. 1-6.
1 THE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great original proclaim.
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display;
And publishes to every land,
The work of an almighty hand.
2 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale;
And nightly to the listening earth,
Repeats the story of her birth:
While all the stars which round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
3 What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball;
What though nor real voice nor sound,
Amid their radiant orbs be found :
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing as they shine-
"The hand that made us is divine."
Instrumental Duties of Religion vain without Obedience.
1 THE uplifted eye and bended knee
Are but vain homage, Lord! to thee:
In vain our lips thy praise prolong,
The heart a stranger to the song.
2 Can rites, and forms, and flaming zeal,
The breaches of thy precepts heal?
Or fasts and penance reconcile
Thy justice, and obtain thy smile ?
3 The pure, the humble, contrite mind,
Sincere, and to thy will resigned,
To thee a nobler offering yields,
Than fragrant groves, or fertile fields.
4 Love God and man-this great command Doth on eternal pillars stand:
This did thine ancient prophets teach,
This did the great Messiah preach.
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