233. c. M.
God's Dominion and Decrees.
1 KEEP silence, all created things,
And wait your Maker's nod!
The muse stands trembling while she sings
The honours of her God.
2 Life, death, and hell, and worlds unknown,
Hang on his firm decree;
He sits on no precarious throne,
Nor borrows leave to be.
3 Unnumbered ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought,
Whate'er through endless years should rise, Stood present to his thought.
4 His mighty voice bids ancient night
Her endless realms resign;
And lo! ten thousand globes of light
In fields of azure shine.
5 His wisdom with resistless sway
Guides the vast moving frame;
While all the ranks of beings pay
Deep reverence to his name.
Instructions to the Young, from a Review of past Dispensations of Providence. Ps. lxxviii.
1 LET children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old;
Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.
2 He bids us make his glories known,
His works of power and grace;
And we'll convey his wonders down
Through every rising race.
3 Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs ;
That generations yet unborn
May teach them to their heirs.
4 Thus shall they learn, in God alone
Their hope securely stands ;
That they may ne'er forget his works,
But practise his commands.
235. c. M.
The Creation. Gen. 1.
1 'LET heaven arise, let earth appear!"
Said the Almighty Lord :
The heaven arose, the earth appeared
At his creating word.
2 Thick darkness brooded o'er the deep :
God said 'Let there be light!'
The light shone forth with smiling ray,
And scattered ancient night.
3 He bade the clouds ascend on high;
The clouds ascend and bear
A watery treasure to the sky,
And float upon the air.
4 The liquid element below
Was gathered by his hand; The rolling seas together flow, And leave the solid land.
5 With herbs, and plants, and fruitful trees,
The new-formed globe he crowned,
Ere there was rain to bless the soil,
Or sun to warm the ground.
6 Then, high in heaven's resplendent arch,
He placed those orbs of light;
He set the sun to rule the day,
The moon to rule the night.
7 Next, from the deep, the almighty King
Did vital beings frame;
Fowls of the air of every wing,
And fish of every name.
8 To all the various brutal tribes
He gave their wondrous birth:
At once the lion and the worm
Sprang from the teeming earth.
9 Then, chief o'er all his works below,
At last was Adam made:
His Maker's image blessed his soul,
And glory crowned his head.
10 Fair in the almighty Maker's eye
The whole creation stood;
He viewed the fabric he had raised;
His word pronounced it good.
The Properties of Christian Charity. 1 Cor. xiii.
1 LET men of high conceit and zeal Their fervour and their faith proclaim;If charity be wanting still,
The rest is but a sounding name.
2 Knowledge is apt to bloat the mind, And zeal to set the world on fire; But charity is calm and kind,
And gentle thoughts will still inspire.
3 Patient and meek, she suffers long,
And slowly her resentments rise;
Soon she forgets the greatest wrong,
And rage retires, and malice dies.
4 She envies none their better state,
But makes her neighbour's bliss her own;
Nor vaunts herself with mind elate,
But still a modest air puts on.
5 This is the grace that reigns on high,
And will for ever brightly burn,
When hope shall in fruition die,
And faith to sight triumphant turn.
Peace and Happiness the Portion of the Righteous. Ps. xxxvii.
1 LET none be envious when they see
The wicked in a prosperous state;
Or, tempted by their short success,
Grow bold their crimes to imitate.
2 Think not mere wealth makes happy men;
The portion of the virtuous poor
Is better far than wicked men's
Ill-got, or ill-employed store.
3 Let others foolishly expect
How kind the flattering world will prove:
We'll seek our God alone to please,
And be ambitious of his love.
4 God, who is always good and just,
Those who are like himself will own;
And they shall flourish and abide,
When wicked men are overthrown.
5 Mark, then, the good and perfect man,-
Mark him that's upright in his ways!
Mercy attends him all his life,
And peace and comfort close his days.
238. 10 s. M.
The Providence of God in the Seasons.
1 LET thanks to God, all-sovereign Power, arise
(Who fixed the mountains, and who spread the skies)
From the glad climes, whence morn, in beauty dressed,
Forth goes rejoicing, to the farthest west.
2 On thee alone our whole dependence lies,
And thy rich mercy every want supplies:
O thou great Author of the extended whole!
Revolving seasons praise thee as they roll.
3 By thee, spring, summer, autumn, winter, rise;
Thou giv'st the frowning, thou the smiling skies;
By thy command the softening shower distils,
And genial warmth the teeming furrow fills.
4 Now favouring sunshine o'er the clime extends,
And blessed by thee, the verdant blade ascends;
Next spring's gay products clothe the flowery hills.
And joy the wood, and joy the valley fills.
5 Then soon thy bounty swells the golden ear,
And bids the harvest crown the fruitful year:
Thus all thy works one glorious concert raise,
And nature's face proclaims her Maker's praise.
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