3 Which we from sacred registers Of ancient times have known, And our forefathers' pious care To us has handed down.
4 We will not hide them from our sons; Our offspring shall be taught
The praises of the Lord, whose strength Has works of wonder wrought; -
5 That generations yet to come Should to their unborn heirs Religiously transmit the same, And they again to theirs ;-
6 To teach them that in God alone Their hope securely stands;
That they should ne'er his works forget, But keep his just commands.
God the Deliverer of Nations. Ps. 44.
1 O LORD, our fathers oft have told, In our attentive ears,
Thy wonders in their days performed, And elder times than theirs.
2 As thee their God our fathers owned, Thou art our sovereign King; O, therefore, as thou didst to them, To us deliverance bring.
3 To thee the triumph we ascribe,
From whom the conquest came; In God we will rejoice all day, And ever bless his name.
4 Arise, O Lord, and timely haste To our deliverance make; Redeem us, Lord, if not for ours, Yet for thy mercies' sake.
Israel saved from Enemies. Ps. 76.
1 IN Judah God of old was known, His name in Israel great; In Salem stood his holy throne, And Zion was his seat.
2 Among the praises of his saints. His dwelling there he chose; There he received their just complaints Against their haughty foes.
3 From Zion went his dreadful word, And broke the threatening spear, The bow, the arrows, and the sword And crushed the Assyrian war.
4 What are the earth's wide kingdoms else But mighty hills of prey?
The hill on which Jehovah dwells Is glorious more than they.
5 What power can stand before thy sight, When once thy wrath appears?
When heaven shines round with dreadful light, The earth lies still, and fears.
6 When God, in his own sovereign ways, Comes down to save the oppressed, The wrath of man shall work his praise, And he'll restrain the rest.
God the Dwelling-Place of his People through all Generations.
1 THOU, Lord, through every changing scene, Hast to thy saints a refuge been; Through every age, eternal God, Their pleasing home, their safe abode.
2 In thee our fathers sought their rest; In thee our fathers still are blest; And while the tomb confines their dust, In thee their souls abide and trust.
3 Lo, we are risen, a feeble race, Awhile to fill our fathers' place; Our helpless state with pity view, And let us share their refuge too.
4 Through all the thorny paths we trace, In this uncertain wilderness,
When friends desert, and foes invade, Revive our heart, and guard our head.
5 So, when this pilgrimage is o'er, And we must dwell in flesh no more, To thee our separate souls shall come, And find in thee a surer home.
6 To thee our infant race we leave;
Them may their fathers' God receive, That voices yet unformed may raise Succeeding hymns of humble praise.
1 SING to the Lord, who loud proclaims His various and his saving names;
O, may they not be heard alone, But by our sure experience known. 2 Let great Jehovah be adored,
The eternal, all-sufficient Lord,
He through the world most high confessed, By whom 'twas formed, and is possessed.
3 Awake, our noblest powers, to bless The God of Abram, God of peace; Now by a dearer title known,- Father and God of Christ his Son.
4 Through every age his gracious ear Is open to his servants' prayer; Nor can one humble soul complain That it hath sought its God in vain.
5 What unbelieving heart shall dare In whispers to suggest a fear,
While still he owns his ancient name? The same his power, his love the same.
6 To thee our souls in faith arise, To thee we lift expecting eyes, And boldly through the desert tread, For God will guard where God shall lead.
Imploring the constant Presence of God.
1 WHEN Israel, 'of the Lord beloved, Out of the land of bondage came, Her fathers' God before her moved,
An awful guide, in smoke and flame. 2 By day, along the astonished lands The cloudy pillar glided slow; By night, Arabia's crimsoned sands Returned the fiery column's glow.
3 Thus present still, though now unseen, When brightly shines the prosperous day, Be thoughts of thee a cloudy screen, To temper the deceitful ray!
4 And, O, when stoops upon our path, In shade and storm, the frequent night, Be thou, long-suffering, slow to wrath, A burning and a shining light.
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