Whose altars are the mountain-cliffs
That rise along the shore,
Whose anthems, the sublime accord
Of storm and ocean roar-
song
of gratitude is sung
By spring's awakening hours;
Her summer offers at thy shrine
Its earliest, loveliest flowers;
Her autumn brings its ripened fruits,
In glorious luxury given;
While winter's silver heights reflect
Thy brightness back to heaven.
4 On all thou smil'st-and what is man Before thy presence, God?
A breath but yesterday inspired,
To-morrow but a clod.
That clod shall mingle in the vale,
But, kindled, Lord, by thee,
The spirit to thy arms shall spring,
To life, to liberty.
BEING, PERFECTIONS, AND PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
1 ETERNAL God! almighty Cause
Of earth, and sea, and worlds unknown!
All things are subject to thy laws-
All things depend on thee alone.
2 Thy glorious being singly stands,
Of all within itself possessed;
Controlled by none are thy commands;
Thou from thyself alone art blest.
3 To thee alone ourselves we owe-
To thee alone our homage pay;
All other gods we disavow,
Deny their claims, renounce their sway.
4 In thee, O Lord, our hope shall rest,
Fountain of peace, and joy, and love!
Thy favor only makes us blest;
Without thee all would nothing prove.
5 Worship to thee alone belongs-
Worship to thee alone we give;
Thine be our hearts, and thine our songs,
And to thy glory we would live.
6 Spread thy great name through heathen lands, Their idol deities dethrone,
Subdue the world to thy commands,
And reign, as thou art, God alone.
The Great First Cause.
1 THE first almighty Cause,
Who did all things create,
Gave nature all her laws,
Unchangeable as fate,
The source of life, the spring of springs-
His praise all heaven and nature sings.
2 Where'er we cast our eyes,
With raptures we behold,
Below, or in the skies,
Wonders that can't be told: In nature's book, in every line, His wisdom and perfections shine.
3 On him all worlds depend;
To him all bend the knee ;-
But none can comprehend
The boundless deity.
He fills all space, lives everywhere,
Sustains the whole, makes all his care.
1 GOD is a name my soul adores,
Th' Almighty, the Eternal One!
Nature and grace, with all their powers
Confess the Infinite Unknown.
2 Thy voice produced the seas and spheres, Bade planets roll, and suns to shine; But nothing like thyself appears
Through all these spacious works of thine.
3 Still restless nature dies and grows;
From change to change the creatures run
Thy being no succession knows,
And all thy vast designs are one.
4 Thrones and dominions round thee fall,
And worship in submissive forms;
Thy presence shakes this lower ball,-
This humble dwelling-place of worms.
5 Who can behold thy blazing light!
Who can approach consuming flame!—
Thy wisdom only knows thy might;
Thy word alone can speak thy name.
1 THOU art, almighty Lord of all,
From everlasting still the same;
Before thee dazzling seraphs fall,
And veil their faces in a flame,
To see such bright perfections glow-
Such floods of glory from thee flow.
2 What mortal hand shall dare to paint
A semblance of thy glory, Lord?
The brightest rainbow-tints are faint;
The brightest stars of heaven afford
But dim effusions of those rays
Of light that round Jehovah blaze.
3 The sun himself is but a gleam,
A transient meteor, from thy throne;
And every frail and fickle beam
That ever in creation shone,
Is nothing, Lord, compared to thee
In thy own vast immensity.
4 But though thy brightness may create
All worship from the hosts above,
What most thy name must elevate
Is, that thou art a God of love;
And mercy is the central sun
Of all thy glories joined in one.
The Divine Being and Perfections. Ps. 36.
1 HIGH in the heavens, eternal God,
Thy goodness in full glory shines;
Thy truth shall break through every cloud,
That veils and darkens thy designs.
2 Forever firm thy justice stands,
As mountains their foundations keep;
Wise are the wonders of thy hands;
Thy judgments are a mighty deep.
3 Thy providence is kind and large :
Both men and beasts thy bounty share:
The whole creation is thy charge;
But saints are thy peculiar care.
4 My God, how excellent thy grace,
Whence all our hope and comfort springs!
The sons of Adam, in distress,
Fly to the shadow of thy wings.
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