Which crowd our earthly being here,
He portions in His wisdom, and forbears
When heavier than our strength can bear.
All we possess,
Is His, and all we hope for, His;
Pilgrims of earth, His holy name we bless,
And look to heaven for peace and bliss.
(For additional Hymns see 'Creation.")
Blessed be Thy glorious name.-Neh. ix. 5.
`HE glories of my Maker, God,
My joyful voice shall sing,
And call the nations to adore
Their Former and their King.
2 Thy glories blaze all nature round,
And strike the wondering sight,
Through skies and seas and solid ground,
With terror and delight.
3 Infinite strength and equal skill
Shine through the worlds abroad,
Our souls with vast amazement fill,
And speak the Builder, God.
4 With His right hand He shaped our clay,
And wrought this human frame,
But from His own immediate breath
Our nobler spirits came.
5 We bring our mortal powers to God,
And worship with our tongues;
We claim some kindred with the skies,
And join the angelic songs.
96 Fearful in praises, doing wonders.
HE Lord, how fearful is His name!
How wide is His command!
Nature, with all her moving frame,
Rests on His mighty hand.
2 Immortal glory forms His throne,
And light His awful robe ;
While with a smile, or with a frown,
He manages the globe.
3 A word of His almighty breath
Can swell or sink the seas;
Build the vast empires of the earth,
Or break them if He please.
4 Now let the Lord for ever reign,
And sway us as He will;
Sick or in health, in ease or pain,
We are His children still.
5 No more shall peevish passion rise,
Our tongues no more complain ;
'Tis sovereign love that lends our joys,
And love resumes again.
IVE to the Lord, ye sons of fame,
Give to the Lord renown and power;
Ascribe due honours to His name,
And His eternal might adore.
6 Great God, how infinite art Thou ! How frail and helpless we !
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to Thee.
UR God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home:
2 Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure ;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
3 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
4 A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
5 The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their cares and fears,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
6 Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
7 Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our Guard, while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
GOD of glory, God of grace,
From age to age our dwelling place,
Before Thy throne we bow.
Ere the vast mountains rose of yore,
When they and earth shall be no more,
The same, O Lord, art Thou.
2 Man's generations rise and pass
Like morning flowers or summer grass,
The creatures of Thy breath.
Our life runs onward like a stream;
We come and vanish as a dream,
The prey of sin and death.
3 Unnumbered ills beset our path,
Our days are darkened 'neath Thy wrath ;
And yet how heedless we !
O touch with grace each erring heart,
True wisdom to each soul impart,
And win us all to Thee.
4 We sink, we perish 'neath Thy frown;
O send Thy healing mercy down
To light our coming years:
Then, be they many, be they few,
Thy grace will bear us safely through,
Beyond the reach of tears.
EHOVAH reigns, He dwells in light,
Girded with majesty and might;
The world, created by His hands,
Still on its first foundation stands.
2 But ere this spacious world was made,
Or had its first foundations laid,
Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Thyself the ever-living God.
3 Like floods the angry nations rise,
And aim their rage against the skies ;
Vain floods, that aim their rage so high,
At Thy rebuke the billows die.
4 For ever shall Thy throne endure ;
Thy promise stands for ever sure;
And everlasting holiness
Becomes the dwelling of Thy grace.
REAT Former of this various frame,
Our souls adore Thine awful name,
And bow and tremble while they praise
The Ancient of eternal days.
2 Before Thine infinite survey,
Creation rose as yesterday;
And, as to-morrow, shall Thine eye
See earth and stars in ruin lie.
3 Beyond the highest angel's sight,
Thou dwellest in eternal light,
Which shines with undiminished ray,
While suns and systems waste away.
4 Our days a transient period run,
And change with every circling sun;
And while to lengthened years we trust,
Before the moth we sink to dust.
5 But let the creatures fall around;
Let death consign us to the ground;
Let the last general flame arise,
And melt the arches of the skies;
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