4 Ye nations, bend, in reverence bend, Ye monarchs, wait his nod, And bid the song ascend
To celebrate our God!
The Heavens declare the Glory of God. Ps. 19. 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, Doth 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:
Whilst 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 no real voice nor sound Amidst their radiant orbs be found; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice; Forever singing, as they shine- "The hand that made us is divine."
Power and Majesty of God. Ps. 89.
1 WITH reverence let the saints appear, And bow before the Lord;
His high commands with reverence hear, And tremble at his word.
2 How terrible thy glories be! How bright thine armies shine! Where is the power that vies with thee? Or truth compared with thine?
3 The northern pole and southern rest On thy supporting hand;
Darkness and day from east to west Move round at thy command.
4 Thy words the raging winds control, And rule the boisterous deep;
Thou mak'st the sleeping billows roll, The rolling billows sleep.
5 Justice and judgment are thy throne, Yet wondrous is thy grace;
While truth and mercy, joined in one, Invite us near thy face.
98. L. M. WATTS.
God Incomprehensible and Sovereign. 1 CAN creatures to perfection find The eternal, uncreated Mind?
Or can the largest stretch of thought Measure and search his nature out?
2 'Tis high as heaven, 't is deep as hell, And what can mortals know or tell? His glory spreads beyond the sky, And all the shining worlds on high.
3 God is a King, of power unknown; Firm are the orders of his throne: If he resolve, who dare oppose,
Or ask him why, or what he does?
4 He wounds the heart, and he makes whole And calms the tempest of the soul: When he shuts up in long despair, Who can remove the heavy bar?
5 He frowns, and darkness veils the moon, The fainting sun grows dim at noon; The pillars of heaven's starry roof Tremble and start at his reproof.
6 These are a portion of his ways: But who shall dare describe his face? Who can endure his light, or stand To hear the thunders of his hand?
1 ETERNAL and immortal King!
Thy peerless splendors none can bear; But darkness veils seraphic eyes, When God with all his glory's there.
2 Yet faith can pierce the awful gloom, The great Invisible can see ;
And with its tremblings mingle joy, In fixed regard, great GoD! to thee.
3 Then every tempting form of sin, Shamed in thy presence, disappears; And all the glowing raptured soul The likeness it contemplates, wears. 4 O ever conscious to my heart! Witness to its supreme desire : Behold, it presseth on to thee, For it hath caught the heavenly fire. 5 This one petition would it urge- To bear thee ever in its sight;
In life, in death, in worlds unknown, Its only portion and delight!
God Eternal and Unchangeable.
1 ALL-powerful, self-existent God, Who all creation dost sustain !
Thou wast, and art, and art to come, And everlasting is thy reign!
2 Fixed and eternal as thy days, Each glorious attribute divine, Through ages infinite, shall still With undiminished lustre shine.
3 Fountain of being! Source of good! Immutable thou dost remain ! Nor can the shadow of a change Obscure the glories of thy reign.
4 Earth may with all her powers dissolve, If such the great Creator's will;
But thou forever art the same; I AM is thy memorial still.
1 ERE mountains reared their forms sublime, Or the fair earth in order stood, Before the birth of ancient time, From everlasting thou art God.
2 A thousand ages in their flight With thee are as a fleeting day; Past, present, future, to thy sight At once their various scenes display.
3 But our brief life's a shadowy dream, A passing thought, that soon is o'er, That fades with morning's earliest beam, And fills the musing mind no more.
4 To us, O Lord, the wisdom give So every precious hour to spend, That we at length with thee may live, Where life and bliss shall never end.
Immutability of God. Ps. 102.
1 GREAT Former of this various frame! Our souls adore thine awful name; And bow, and tremble, while we praise The Ancient of eternal days.
2 Beyond an angel's vision bright, Thou dwell'st in self-existent light; Which shines with undiminished ray, While suns and worlds in smoke decay.
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