"He left not himself without witness, in that he gave us.. fruitful seasons." Acts xiv. 17.
1 O THOU who givest all their food,
Causing Thy sun to shine
Upon the evil and the good,
Earth's teeming stores are Thine.
2 Thy covenant to man secures
The harvest of his toil:
Thy faithful word, while earth endures,
With plenty clothes the soil.
3 The wintry frost, the flowery prime,
Alike Thy laws obey.
Each herb and blossom knows its time,
And feels the quickening ray.
4 Revolving seasons still proclaim
Thine all-sustaining word.
Seed-time and harvest speak Thy name---
The promise-keeping Lord.
57." Seed-time and harvest shall not cease. Gen. viii. 22. c.м.
1 FOUNTAIN of mercy, God of love!
How rich Thy bounties are!
The changing seasons, as they move,
Proclaim Thy constant care.
2 When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness marked its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.
3 The spring's sweet influence, Lord, was
The plants in beauty grew: [Thine;
Thou gav'st refulgent suns to shine,
And soft refreshing dew.
4 These varied mercies from above
Matured the swelling grain:
A kindly harvest crowns Thy love
And plenty fills the plain.
5 We own and bless Thy gracious sway.
Thy hand all nature hails.
Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day,
Summer nor winter, fails.
"The joy in harvest." Isa. ix. 3.
1 GREAT God, as seasons disappear,
And changes mark the rolling year,
Thy favour still has crowned our days,
And we would celebrate Thy praise.
2 The harvest-song would we repeat:
Thou givest us the finest wheat.
The joys of harvest we have known:
The praise, O Lord, is all Thine own.
3 Our tables spread, our garners stored,
Oh, give us hearts to bless Thee, Lord!
Forbid it, Source of light and love,
That hearts and lives should barren prove.
4 Another harvest comes apace:
Ripen our spirits by Thy grace,
That we may calmly meet the blow
The sickle gives to lay us low.
5 That so, when angel-reapers come
To gather sheaves to Thy blest home,
Our spirits may be borne on high
To Thy safe garner in the sky.
59. "He hath not dealt so with any nation."
1 PRAISE to the Lord, who bows His ear
Propitious to His people's prayer;
And, though deliverance long delay,
Answers in His well-chosen day.
2 Lord! let Thy goodness lead our land,
Preserved by Thine Almighty hand,
The tribute of its love to bring
To Thee, our Saviour and our King,
3 So shall each public temple raisé
song of triumph to Thy praise;
And every peaceful private home
To Thee a temple shall become.
4 Still be it our supreme delight,
To walk as in Thine awful sight;
And in Thy precepts and Thy fear,
Till life's last hour, to persevere.
60. "God is known in her palaces for a refuge."
1 GREAT is the Lord; His praise be great!
Ye lands, your tributes bring:
And, Britain, thou His chosen seat,
Be first to praise Thy King.
2 God in thy borders well is known,
A strong and faithful Friend.
Ye tremblers, rest on Him alone,
And He will still defend.
3 Here in Thy courts again we stand,
Thy grace, O Lord, to see:
Soon let it shine on every land,
And win all hearts to Thee.
4 But, Lord, be Britain still Thy choice;
Still walk around her towers.
Still let her sons in Thee rejoice,
And cry, "The Lord is ours!"
61. "He maketh wars to cease." Psalm xlvi. 9. L. M.
1 GREAT Ruler of the earth and skies! A word of Thine Almighty breath Can sink the world, or bid it rise: Thy smile is 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 dyes the hostile plain ; 5 Thy sovereign eye looks calmly down, And marks their course, and bounds their power.
Thy word the angry nations own,
And noise and war are heard no more.
4 Thou great, and wise, and righteous Lord!
All move subservient to Thy will.
Both peace and war await Thy word,
And Thy sublime decrees fulfil.
5 To Thee we raise our grateful songs;
Thy kind protection still implore.
Oh may our hearts, and lives, and tongues
Confess Thy goodness, and adore!
"He sent His word and healed them." Psa. cvii. 20.
L. M.
1 GREAT Source of life, our souls confess,
That Thou hast heard us in distress:
We cried to Thee with trembling voice,
And now within Thy courts rejoice.
2 Thy tender hand preserved our breath,
When threatened with the shafts of death:
Thy voice has silenced all our fears,
And made us hope for future years.
3 These lives are sacred to the Lord,
Kindled by Him, by Him restored:
And while our days renew their race,
Still would we lean upon His grace.
4 So, when by Him our souls are led
Through the dark regions of the dead,
With calm assurance may they move
To seats of nobler life above.
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