1 GREAT God! in vain man's narrow view
Attempts to look thy nature through;
Our laboring powers with reverence own
Thy glories never can be known.
2 Not the hign seraph's mighty thought,
Who countless years his God has sought,
Such wondrous height or depth can find,
Or fully trace thy boundless mind.
3 And yet thy kindness deigns to show
Enough for mortal minds to know;
While wisdom, goodness, power divine,
Through all thy works and conduct shine.
4 0, may our souls with rapture trace
Thy works of nature and of grace:
Explore thy sacred truth, and still
Press on to know and do thy will.
1 THROUGH endless years thou art the same,
O thou eternal God;
Each future age shall know thy name,
And tell thy works abroad.
2 The strong foundations of the earth
Of old by thee were laid;
By thee the beauteous arch of heaven
With matchless skill was made.
3 Soon may this goodly frame of things
Created by thy hand,
Be, like a vesture, laid aside,
And changed at thy command.
4 But thy perfections, all divine,
Eternal as thy days,
Through everlasting ages shine,
With undiminished rays.
Purposes of God developed by his Providence.
1 GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
2 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
3 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
4 His purposes will ripen fast
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
5 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
"The darkness and the light are both alike to thee."
Hidden alike from view,
I sleep, I wake within His sight,
Who looks existence through.
2 From the dim hour of birth,
Through every changing state
Of mortal pilgrimage on earth,
Till its appointed date;
3 All that I am,-have been,
All that I yet may be,
He sees at once, as he hath seen,
And shall forever see.
Universal Goodness of God.
1 LORD! thou art good: all nature shows
Its mighty Author kind:
Thy bounty through creation flows,
Full, free, and unconfined.
2 The whole, and every part, proclaims
Thine infinite good-will;
It shines in stars, and flows in streams,
And blooms on every hill.
3 We view it o'er the spreading main,
And heavens which spread more wide,
It drops in gentle showers of rain,
And rolls in every tide.
4 Through the vast whole it pours supplies,
Spreads joy through every part:
O, may such love attract my eyes,
And captivate my heart!
5 My highest admiration raise,
My best affections move!
Employ my tongue in songs of praise,
And fill my heart with love!
The Omnipresent Peace of God.
10 THOU, by long experience tried,
Near whom no grief can long abide;-
My Lord, how full of sweet content
My years of pilgrimage are spent!
2 All scenes alike engaging prove,
To souls impressed with sacred love;
Where'er they dwell, they dwell in thee,
In heaven, in earth, or on the sea.
3 To them remains nor place nor time;
Their country is in every clime;
They can be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
4 While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soul finds happiness in none;
But with a God to guide our way,
'T is equal joy to go or stay.
Providence Kind and Bountiful.
1 THY kingdom, Lord, forever stands,
While earthly thrones decay;
And time submits to thy commands,
While ages roll away.
2 Thy sovereign bounty freely gives
Its unexhausted store;
And universal nature lives
On thy sustaining power.
3 Holy and just in all its ways
Is Providence divine;
In all its works, immortal rays
Of power and mercy shine.
4 The praise of God-delightful theme! -
Shall fill my heart and tongue;
Let all creation bless his name,
In one eternal song.
A Holy God. Ps. 99.
EXALT the Lord our God,
And worship at his feet;
His nature is all holiness,
And mercy is his seat.
2 When Israel was his church,
When Aaron was his priest,
When Moses cried, when Samuel prayed,
He gave his people rest.
3 Oft he forgave their sins,
Nor would destroy their race;
And oft he made his vengeance known,
When they abused his grace.
4 Exalt the Lord our God,
Whose grace is still the same;
Still he's a God of holiness,
And jealous for his name.
10 THOU, to whom all creatures bow
Within this earthly frame,
Through all the world how great art thou!
How glorious is thy name!
2 When heaven, thy glorious work on high,
Employs my wondering sight,-
The moon, that nightly rules the sky,
With stars of feebler light,-
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