With gaudy hues the fields adorn,
But soon by passing storms are torn.
2 Their boasted beauty reft away,
How quick the vernal blooms decay !
Each in an hour its pride resigns,
And with'ring in the dust reclines.
3 Behold it droop, behold it waste!
Nor can the bed, which late it grac'd,
Point to the fond inquirer's view,
Where once the short lived wonder grew.
4 So transient is the life of man,
At most a brief, contracted span;
It blooms, it fades, and seems to show,
How vain, how frail, are things below.
5 To things above with fix'd desire,
Then let our better hopes aspire;
To realms, where, in eternal day,
No mortals die, nor flowers decay.
God's regard for his frail creatures.
1 Lord we adore thy wondrous name,
And make that name our trust,
Which raised at first this curious frame
From mean and lifeless dust.
2 Awhile these frail machines endure, The fabric of a day;
Then know their vital powers no more,
But moulder back to clay.
3 Yet, Lord! whate'er is felt or feared,
This thought is our repose,
That he, by whom this frame was reared,
Its various weakness knows.
4 Thou view'st us with a pitying eye,
While struggling with our load;
In pains and dangers thou art nigh,
Our Father, and our God!
5 Gently supported by thy love,
We tend to realms of peace,
Where every pain shall far remove,
And every frailty cease.
Divine majesty and goodness in storms and rain.
1 Awake, my soul, to hymns of praise! To God the song of triumph raise; Adorn'd with majesty divine,
What pomp, what glory, Lord, are thine!
2 Light forms his robe, and round his head The heavens their ample curtain spread;
See on the wind's expanded wings
The chariot of the King of kings!
3 Around him ranged in awful state,
Dark silent storms attentive wait;
And thunders, ready to fulfil
The mandates of his sov'reign will.
4 From earth's low margin to the skies,
He bids the dusky vapours rise ;
Then, from his magazines on high,
Commands the imprisoned winds to fly.
5 The lightning's pallid sheet expands, And showers descend on furrowed lands; While down the mountain's channeled side
The torrent rolls in swelling pride;
6 Till spent its wild impetuous force,
And settled in its destined course,
It waters all the fruitful plains,
And life in various forms sustains.
7 Thus clouds, and storms, and fires obey
Thy wise and all-controlling sway;
And while thy terrors round us stand,
We see a father's bounteous hand.
1 O render thanks to God above,
The fountain of eternal love;
Whose mercy firm through ages past.
Has stood and shall for ever last.
2 Who can his mighty deeds express,
Not only vast, but numberless?
What mortal eloquence can raise
His tribute of immortal praise!
3 Happy are they, and only they,
Who from thy judgments never stray;
Who know what's right; nor only so,
But always practise what they know.
4 O may I worthy prove to see
Thy saints in full prosperity;
That I the joyful choir may join,
And count thy people's triumph mine.
Happiness of the good man.
1 That man is bless'd, who stands in awe
Of God, and loves his sacred law ;
His name on earth shall be renown'd,
And with increasing honour crown'd.
See on the wind's expanded wings
The chariot of the King of kings!
3 Around him ranged in awful state,
Dark silent storms attentive wait;
And thunders, ready to fulfil
The mandates of his sov'reign will.
4 From earth's low margin to the skies,
He bids the dusky vapours rise;
Then, from his magazines on high,
Commands the imprisoned winds to fly.
5 The lightning's pallid sheet expands, And showers descend on furrowed lands; While down the mountain's channeled side
The torrent rolls in swelling pride;
6 Till spent its wild impetuous force,
And settled in its destined course,
It waters all the fruitful plains,
And life in various forms sustains.
7 Thus clouds, and storms, and fires obey
Thy wise and all-controlling sway;
And while thy terrors round us stand,
We see a father's bounteous hand.
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