may our sons with zeal aspire
To tread the paths their fathers trod!
O may our daughters all desire
To honour thee, their father's God!
[Within these walls may crowds be found,
Christ, as their refuge, to adore;
May the dear Saviour's name resound
When we, who sing, are seen no more!]
Hasten, O Lord! (inspiring thought!)
Those pure delights, those blissful days,
When all the saints, to Zion brought,
Shall shout thy everlasting praise !
343. L. M. The Dominion of God universal.
WILL extol thee, Lord of light!
I will aloud thy love proclaim;
In thee, and in thy word, delight,
And ever bless thy holy name.
Great is the Lord, and to be fear'd
By all who tread this lower earth;
He spake !- obedient nature heard,
And sent her countless myriads forth.
Adoring angels round thy throne
The ceaseless Hallelujah swell;
Thy mercy is a depth unknown!
Thy greatness is unsearchable !
We see thee in the opening morn,
We view thee in the clouds of eve;
And generations, yet unborn,
Shall drink the transport we receive!
The Lord is gracious, and displays,
In all that is, his boundless power;
We hear unutterable praise
From every tree, and leaf, and flower!
Thy works in general concert join
To point to thee our wondering soul; To magnify the hand divine
Which form'd, and still sustains the whole. Let the cold scoffer's clouded sight
No wonders in creation see; Those only can admire aright,
Who have been taught, O Lord! by thee.
Thy saints shall own thy Sovereign sway,
Álike reveal'd in earth and air;
They view, in each returning day,
New proofs of thy paternal care!
Thy kingdom! who shall say its bound?
In vain upon the thought we pore !
When countless years have run their round,
Eternity is still before!
An everlasting kingdom thine!
Thy glory veils the dazzling sun! When moon and stars have ceas'd to shine, Thy boundless reign is but begun!
Thou, who didst every form create,
Hast o'er the earth thy goodness spread; The eyes of all upon thee wait,
And from thy bounteous stores are fed.
Thou art the good man's only trust,
When troubles press, or foes dismay;
Holy art thou in all thou dost,
And righteous in thy darkest way.
No fears thy servants shall alarm ;
Although around they perils see,
Thou wilt preserve them all from harm,
And their eternal portion be.
But while thy guardian arms are spread
Round those who thee their refuge make;
Where shall the sinner hide his head,
When thou, O Lord! shalt reckoning take!
344. C. M. Confidence to be placed alone in
PUT not in feeble man your trust,
His boasted help is vain ;
From dust he came, and to the dust
Will soon return again.
Nor in the mightiest prince confide,
That ever sceptre sway'd;
Ere long and we shall see his pride
In death's dark chamber laid.
But put your confidence alone
In God who reigns on high;
Whose seat is heaven's majestic throne,
Whose home,-eternity.
Happy, thrice happy, are the men
Who on the Lord depend;
Who, through their three-score years and ten,
Make God, their only friend..
That God who form❜d both earth and sky,
With all that see the light;
Who spake, and heaven's vast family
Spangled the vault of night!
Though great, his greatness most we see,
In stooping to survey-
Such frail and sinful worms as we,
The creatures of a day.
He deigns to give the hungry bread,
Th' afflicted mind to cheer;
To raise again the bowed head,
And wipe the falling tear.
His hands the friendless stranger bless,
And unseen springs prepare;
The widow and the fatherless
Are his peculiar care.
O praise him for his mercy's sake,
Unmerited and free;
To God, supreme, sweet concord make,
And bend the willing knee.
But let the harden'd sinner fear,
His mis-spent years bewail;
The hour of reckoning hastens near,
When all his hopes must fail.
I hear him call upon the hills!
I see his trembling frame;
Dread, unconceived, his spirit fills
With soul-consuming shame!
Such terrors are to saints unknown,
Death cannot them dismay;
It leads them to their Father's throne,
To realms of perfect day!
Where all a haven safe shall find,
Beneath a cloudless sky;
Where sorrow shall be left behind,
And every tear be dry!
345. L. M. "He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy."
Psalm 146. v. X. xi. PT. 2.
FATHER of earth, and sea, and air,
Thou bounteous Parent of mankind!
Thou viewest, with thy tender care,
The destitute, the halt, the blind!
Men, shadows and deceptions hail,
The outward garb is their delight;
While oft the fairest forms but veil
The heart, abhorrent in thy sight!
The legs of impious men, and proud,
No beauty in thine eye possess ;
Thou lookest to the souls, endow'd
With faith, and love, and righteousness:
Thou lookest to the spirits just,
To them who thee, their Maker, own; Who in thy mercy hope and trust,
And plead the blood of Christ alone.
346. C. M. Praise due to Jehovah.
WHEN foes on every side appear,
And clouds portentous spread;
Why should our hearts the wicked fear,
Since God will guard our head.
We in his statutes will delight,
His wondrous works proclaim;
He counteth o'er the stars of night,
And calleth them by name.
His power exceeds our highest thought,
Omnipotent he reigns ;
His word the world from nothing brought,
And he the heaven sustains.
Give to the Lord your noblest song,
The pealing anthem raise;
Let the whole earth the strain prolong
Which sings Jehovah's praise!
Saints called upon to magnify
God.
LORY and might to God belong,
GWith willing feet his temple throng!
Let all mankind a tribute bring,
And own their everlasting king!
Let young and old Jehovah seek!
The Lord will beautify the meek:
He will their sins behind him cast,
And crown them with his love at last.
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