The Goodness of God in the Seasons.
1 GREAT GOD! at whose all-powerful call,
At first arose this beauteous frame,
By thee he seasons change, and all
The changing seasons speak thy name.
2 Thy bounty bids the infant year
From winter storms recovered, rise,
When thousand grateful scenes appear,
Fresh opening to our wondering eyes.
3 0, how delightful 't is to see
The earth in vernal beauty dressed!
While in each herb, and flower, and tree,
Thy bright perfections shine confessed!
4 Indulgent God! from every part,
Thy plenteous blessings largely flow,
We see, we taste;-let every heart
With grateful love and duty glow.
1 WITH Songs and honors sounding loud,
Address the Lord on high;
O'er all the heavens he spreads his cloud,
And waters veil the sky.
2 He sends his showers of blessings down,
To cheer the plains below;
He makes the grass the mountains crown
And corn in valleys grow.
3 His steady councils change the face
Of each declining year;
He bids the sun cut short his race,
And wintry days appear.
4 On us his providence has shone,
With gentle, smiling rays;
O, may our lips and lives make known
His goodness and his praise.
Providence acknowledged in the Seasons.
1 REJOICE! the Lord is King:
Your Lord and King adore;
Mortals! give thanks and sing,
And triumph evermore:
Lift up your hearts, lift
up your
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
2 His wintry north winds blow,
Loud tempests rush amain;
Yet his thick showers of snow
Defend the infant grain :
Lift up your hearts, lift
up your voice;
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
3 He wakes the genial spring,
Perfumes the balmy air;
The vales their tribute bring,
The promise of the year;
Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
4 He leads the circling year;
His flocks the hills adorn;
He fills the golden ear,
And loads the field with corn;
O happy mortals! raise your voice;
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
1 PRAISE to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days
Bounteous Source of every joy,
Let thy praise our tongues employ.
2 All that Spring, with bounteous hand,
Scatters o'er the smiling land,-
All that liberal Autumn pours
From her rich o'erflowing stores,—
3 These to that dear Source we owe
Whence our sweetest comforts flow;
These, through all my happy days,
Claim my cheerful songs of praise.
4 Lord, to thee my soul should raise
Grateful, never-ending praise,
And, when every blessing 's flown,
Love thee for thyself alone.
1 ETERNAL Source of every joy!
Well may thy praise our lips employ,
While in thy temple we appear,
To hail thee Sovereign of the year.
2 Wide as the wheels of nature roll,
Thy hand supports and guides the whole
By thee the sun is taught to rise,
And darkness when to veil the skies.
3 The flowery spring, at thy command,
Perfumes the air and paints the land;
The summer suns with vigor shine,
To raise the corn and cheer the vine.
4 Thy hand, in autumn, richly pours Through all our coasts redundant stores; And winters, softened by thy care,
No more the face of horror wear.
5 Seasons, and months, and weeks, and days,
Demand successive songs of praise;
And be the grateful homage paid,
With morning light and evening shade.
The Goodness of God in the Seasons. Ps. 65
1 AT God's command, the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun's declining wheels
Over the tops of western hills.
2 Seasons and times obey his voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit, and dressed in flowers.
3 The desert grows a fruitful field;
Abundant food the valleys yield;
The valleys shout with cheerful voice,
And neighboring hills repeat their joys.
4 Thy works pronounce thy power divine,
O'er every field thy glories shine;
Through every month thy gifts appear:
Great God! thy goodness crowns the year.
The Promises of the Year.
1 THE year begins with promises
Of joyful days to come,
Of Sabbath bells, of times of prayer,
Of thoughts on heaven, our home:
2 Of seed-time, with its gentle winds,
Soft dews and healthful showers,
And streamlets gushing from the hills,
And birds and opening flowers :
3 Of summer, with its warbling choir
Amid the balmy leaves;
Of autumn, with its fragrant herbs
And fruits and bending sheaves:
4 Of countless mercies from our God,
Who rules the changeful years,
Both here and in the world of love,
Beyond the heavenly spheres.
1 GOOD is the heavenly King,
Who makes the earth his care,
Visits the pastures every spring,
And bids the grass appear.
2 Like rivers raised on high,
The clouds, at thy command,
Pour out their blessings from the sky,
To cheer the thirsty land.
3 The hills, on every side,
Rejoice at falling showers:
The meadows, dressed in all their pride,
Perfume the air with flowers.
4 The ridges drink their fill,
And ranks of corn appear;
Thy ways abound with blessings still
Thy goodness crowns the year
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