3 O enter then his temple gate,
Thence to his courts devoutly press;
And still your grateful hymns repeat,
And still his name with praises bless!
4 For he's the Lord, supremely good,
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth, which always firmly stood,
To endless
ages shall endure.
114. C. M.
The Divine Perfections celebrated.
1 WITH reverence let the saints appear,
And bow before the Lord,
His high commands with reverence hear,
And own his sovereign word.
2 Heaven, earth, and sea, confess his hand; He bids the vapours rise;
And wind, and storms, at his command,
Sweep through the sounding skies.
3 His voice can raging winds control,
And rule the boisterous deep;
He bids the sleeping billows roll,
The rolling billows sleep.
4 The northern pole and southern, rest
On his supporting hand;
Darkness and day, from east to west
Move round at his command.
5 Justice and judgment are his throne,
Yet boundless is his grace;
While truth and mercy, joined in one,
Invite us near his face.
All Nations called upon to Praise God. Ps. c.
1 YE nations round the earth! rejoice
Before the Lord, your sovereign King;
Serve him with cheerful heart and voice,
And his unrivalled glories sing.
2 The Lord is God: 'tis he alone
Doth life and all its blessings give;
And still his guardian care we own,
And still upon his bounty live.
3 Enter his gates with songs of joy ;
With praises in his courts appear;
And make it your divine employ
To pay your thanks and honours there.
4 For God, and he alone, is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth hath always firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
116. L. M.
The Divine Perfections celebrated.
1 YE sons of men! in sacred lays,
Attempt the great Creator's praise :
But who an equal song can frame?
What verse can reach the lofty theme?
2 He sits enthroned amidst the spheres,
And glory like a garment wears;
While boundless wisdom, power and grace,
Command our awe, invite our praise.
3 To God, all nature owes its birth;
He formed this ponderous globe of earth;
He raised the glorious arch on high,
And measured out the azure sky.
4 'Tis he who bids the tempests rise,
And rolls the thunder through the skies;
His voice the elements obey;
Wide o'er the earth extends his sway.
5 In every work and way divine,
Omnipotence and wisdom shine;
And goodness fixes still the end,
To which they all unvarying tend.
6 His power we trace on every side;
O may his wisdom be our guide;
And while we live, and when we die,
May his almighty love be nigh!
Power and Goodness of God. Ps. cvii. 31.
1 YE sons of men! with joy record
The various wonders of the Lord;
And let his power and goodness sound,
Through all your tribes, the earth around.
2 Lo! the high heavens your songs invite,-
Those spacious fields of brilliant light,
Where sun, and moon, and planets roll,
And stars, that glow from pole to pole.
3 View the broad sea's majestic plains,
And think how wide its Maker reigns:
That band remotest nations joins,
And on each wave his goodness shines.
4 But O that brighter world above,
Where lives and reigns eternal love!
Thither, my soul! with rapture soar,
There, in the land of praise, adore.
Power and Goodness of God. Ps. xxxiii.
1 YE who delight to serve the Lord,
The honours of his name record!
His sacred name for ever bless :
Where'er the circling sun displays
His rising beams, or setting rays,
Let lands and seas his power confess.
2 Justice and truth he ever loves,
And the whole earth his goodness proves,
His word its firm foundations laid;
And by the orders of his mouth,
Wide as they shine from north to south,
Were all the starry armies made.
3 He gathers the wide flowing seas,
Whose proudest waves his laws obey,
In the vast storehouse of the deep:
He spake, and gave all nature birth;
And winds, and waters, heaven, and earth,
His everlasting orders keep.
4 His goodness, equal to his power,
Loads with its blessings every hour,
And spreads the wide creation o'er: On the whole earth his bounties rest; Through the whole earth his name be blessed; Since all receive, let all adore.
Praise to God from his Works. Ps. cxlviii.
1 YE tribes of Adam! join
With heaven, and earth, and seas,
And offer notes divine
To your Creator's praise.
Wide as he reigns,
By every tongue,
His name be sung
In endless strains.
2 The shining worlds above
In glorious order stand,
Or in swift courses move
By his supreme command.
He spake the word,
From nothing came,
And all their frame
To praise the Lord.
3 All have obeyed his will,
Through unknown ages past,
And shall his word fulfil,
While time and nature last.
In different ways,
His wondrous name,
His works proclaim
And speak his praise.
4 To God, the sovereign Lord,
Your joyful thanks repeat;
To him due praise afford,
As good as he is great:
Wide as he reigns,
By every tongue,
His name be sung
In endless strains.
Watts.
120. 8, 8, 6 M.
All Beings invoked to Praise God.
1 YE works of God! on him alone
In earth his footstool, heaven his throne,
Be all your praise bestowed;
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