Nil laudibus nostris eges.
UR praise Thou need'st not; but Thy
love,
Our Father and our Friend,
Would have our prayers thus soar above,
In blessings to descend.
2 Thy secret judgments' depths profound
Still sings the silent night;
The day upon his golden round
Thy pity infinite.
3 The soul lost in astonishment
Would speechless wonder fill;
But, in the ravish'd bosom pent,
Love cannot all be still.
4 Feeble and faint, she fain would tell Of our great Father's love, Tempering the ills that with us dwell,
And pledging good above.
5 Thither would our best thoughts aspire,
But chains on us abide;
O quicken Thou our faint desire,
And to Thy presence guide!
From "A Supplement to the New Version of Psalms," 1703.
PSALM CIV.
WORSHIP the King,
All glorious above;
O gratefully sing
His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender,
The Ancient of days,
Pavilioned in splendour,
And girded with praise.
2 O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
Whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath
Deep thunder-clouds form,
And dark is His path
On the wings of the storm.
3 The earth, with its store
Of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power
Hath founded of old,
Hath 'stablish'd it fast
By a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast,
Like a mantle, the sea.
4 Thy bountiful care,
What tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
It shines in the light;
It streams from the hills,
It descends to the plain,
And sweetly distils
In the dew and the rain.
5 Frail children of dust,
And feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
Nor find Thee to fail:
Thy mercies how tender!
How firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend!
6 O measureless Might!
Ineffable Love!
While angels delight
To hymn Thee above,
The humbler creation,
Tho' feeble their lays,
With true adoration
Shall lisp to Thy praise.
Sir Robert Grant [1839].
the Lord of Heaven, praise Him in the height,
Praise Him, all ye angels, praise Him, stars and light;
Praise Him, skies, and waters, which above the skies,
When His word commanded, 'stablished did arise.
2 Praise the Lord, ye fountains of the deeps and seas,
Rocks and hills and mountains, cedars and all trees;
Praise Him, clouds and vapours, snow, and hail, and fire,
Stormy wind, fulfilling only His desire.
3 Praise Him, fowls and cattle, princes and all kings,
Praise Him, men and maidens, all created things;
For the Name of God is excellent alone;
Over earth His footstool, over heaven His throne.
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