3 It robes in cheerful green the ground,
And pours its flow'ry beauties round,
Whose sweets perfume the gale;
Its bounties richly spread the plain,
The blushing fruit, the golden grain,
And smiles on ev'ry vale.
4 But in thy gospel see it shine
With grace and glories more divine,
Proclaiming sins forgiv❜n;
There, faith, bright cherub, points the way
To realms of everlasting day,
And opens all her heav'n.
Then let the love that makes me blest,
With cheerful praise inspire my breast,
And ardent gratitude:
And all my thoughts and passions tend
To thee my Father and my Friend,
My soul's eternal good.
Praise to God in prosperity and adversity. Hab. iii.
1 PRAISE to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days:
Bounteous source of ev'ry joy,
Let thy praise our tongues employ :
2 For the blessings of the field,
For the stores the gardens yield;
For the vines exalted juice,
For the gen'rous olive's use;
3 Flocks that whiten all the plain,
Yellow sheaves of ripen'd grain,
Clouds that drop their fatt'ning dews,
Suns that temp'rate warmth diffuse;
4 All that spring with bounteous hand
Scatters o'er the smiling land;
All that lib'ral autumn pours
From her rich o'erflowing stores;
5 These to thee, our God! we owe,
Source whence all our blessings flow!
And for these our souls shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise.
6 Yet should rising whirlwinds tear
From its stem the rip'ning ear;
Should the fig-tree's blasted shoot
Drop her green untimely fruit:
7 Should thine alter'd hand restrain
The early and the latter rain;
Blast each op'ning bud of joy,
And the rising year destroy :
8 Still to thee our souls shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise;
And, when ev'ry blessing's flown,
Love thee for thyself alone.
64. L. M. DODDRIDGE.
Praise to God through the whole of our existence.
1 GOD of my life! through all its days
My grateful pow'rs shall sound thy praise;
The song shall wake with op'ning light,
And warble to the silent night.
2 When anxious cares would break my rest, And griefs would tear my throbbing breast, Thy tuneful praises, rais'd on high,
Shall check the murmur and the sigh.
3 When death o'er nature shall prevail,
And all its pow'rs of language fail,
Joy through my swimming eyes shall break,
And mean the thanks I cannot speak.
4 But O! when that blest morn is come,
Which breaks the slumbers of the tomb,
With what glad accents shall I rise
To join the music of the skies!
5 Soon shall I learn th' exalted strains
Which echo o'er the heavenly plains;
And emulate with joy unknown,
The glowing seraphs round thy throne. 6 'Praise shall employ my nobler pow'rs, While immortality endures :'
A work so sweet, a theme so high,
Demands, and crowns eternity.
65. C. M. MRS. ROWE.
The righteous prayer.
1 To thee, O GOD! my pray'r ascends,
But not for golden stores;
Nor covet I the brightest gems
On the rich eastern shores:
2 Nor that deluding, empty joy
Men call a mighty name;
Nor greatness, with its pride and state,
My restless thoughts inflame:
3 Nor pleasure's fascinating charms,
My fond desires allure;
But nobler things than these, from thee,
My wishes would secure.
4 The faith and hope of things unseen
My best affections move;
Thy light, thy favour, and thy smiles,
Thine everlasting love :
5 These are the blessings I desire ;
LORD, be these blessings mine-
And all the glories of the world
I cheerfully resign.
66. C. M. BIRMINGHAM COL.
Aspiration after the christian temper.
1 My God! the Father of mankind!
Of life the only spring!
Creator of unnumber'd worlds!
Supreme, eternal king :
2 Drive from the confines of my heart
Impenitence and pride;
Nor let me in forbidden paths
With thoughtless sinners glide.
3 What'er thine all discerning eye
Sees for thy creature fit,
I'll bless the good, and to the ill
Contentedly submit.
4 With gen'rous pleasure let me view
The prosp'rous and the great;
Malignant hatred let me fly,
And odious self-conceit.
5 Let not despair, nor fell revenge,
Be to my bosom known:
Oh! give me tears for others' woes,
And patience for my own.
6 Feed me with necessary food:
I ask not wealth nor fame
Give me an eye to see thy works,
A heart to bless thy name.
7 Still let my days serenely pass
Without remorse or care;
And growing holiness my soul
For life's last hour prepare.
Heavenly wisdom sought.
1 To thee, supreme, eternal mind, All-wise, all-perfect, ever kind,
My thoughts direct their flight;
Wisdom's thy gift, and all her force
From thee deriv'd, unchanging source,
Of intellectual light.
2 To me her better gifts impart,
Each moral beauty of the heart
By studious thought refin'd;
For wealth, the smiles of glad content,
For power, its amplest, best extent,
An empire o'er the mind.
30 send her sure, her steady ray
To regulate my doubtful way
Thro' life's perplexing road;
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