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2 Thick darkness brooded o'er the deep;
God said, "Let there be light;
The light shone forth with smiling ray,
And scattered ancient night.

3 He bade the clouds ascend on high;
The clouds ascend, and bear
A watery treasure to the sky,
And float upon the air.

4 The liquid element below

Was gathered by his hand;
The rolling seas together flow,
And leave the solid land.

5 With herbs, and plants, and fruitful trees,
The new-formed globe he crowned,
Ere there was rain to bless the soil,
Or sun to warm the ground.

6 Then, high in heaven's resplendent arch
He placed two orbs of light;
He set the sun to rule the day,

The moon to rule the night.

7 Next, from the deep the Almighty King Did vital beings frame;

Fowls of the air of every wing,
And fish of every name.

8 To all the various brutal tribes
He gave their wondrous birth;
At once the lion and the worm
Sprung from the teeming earth.

9 Then, chief o'er all his works below,
At last was Adam made;

His Maker's image blessed his soul,
And glory crowned his head.

10 Fair in the Almighty Maker's eye
The whole creation stood;

He viewed the fabric he had raised;
His word pronounced it good.

46

C. M.

WATTS.

Praise for Creation and Providence.

1 I SING the almighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise;
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.

2 I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;

The moon shines full at his command,
And all the stars obey.

3 I sing the goodness of the Lord,
That filled the earth with food;
He formed the creatures with his word,
And then pronounced them good.

4 Lord, how thy wonders are displayed,
Where'er I turn my eye,

If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky!

5 There's not a plant or flower below,
But makes thy glories known;
And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from thy throne.

6 Creatures, as numerous as they be,
Are subject to thy care;

There's not a place where we can flee
But God is present there.

7 His hand is my perpetual guard;
He keeps me with his eye:

Why should I, then, forget the Lord,
Who is forever nigh?

47

L. M.

WATTS.

The Creator and Creatures.

1 FROM thy Great Self thy being springs;
Thou art thy own original,
Made up of uncreated things,

And self-sufficience bears them all.

2 Thy voice produced the seas and spheres, Bid the waves roar and planets 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 Who can behold the blazing light?
Who can approach consuming flame?
None but thy wisdom knows thy might,
None but thy word can speak thy name.

48

L. M.

WATTS.

Creation, Dissolution, and Restoration of the World.

1 SING to the Lord that built the skies,
The Lord that reared this stately frame;
Let all the nations sound his praise,
And lands unknown repeat his name.

2 He formed the seas, and formed the hills,
Made every drop and every dust,
Nature and time, with all their wheels,
And pushed them into motion first.
3 Now, from his high, imperial throne,
He looks far down upon the spheres ;
He bids the shining orbs roll on,

And round he turns the hasty years.
4 Thus shall this moving engine last,
Till all his saints are gathered in;
Then for the trumpet's dreadful blast
To shake it all to dust again!

5 Yet, when the sound shall tear the skies, And lightning burn the globe below, Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes; There's a new heaven and earth for you.

49

L. M.

The Perfections of God.

WATTS.

1 BRIGHT King of glory, dreadful God,
Our spirits bow before thy seat;
To thee we lift an humble thought,
And worship at thine awful feet.

2 Thy power hath formed, thy wisdom sways All nature with a sovereign word;

And the bright world of stars obeys

The will of their superior Lord.

3 Mercy and truth unite in one,

And smiling sit at thy right hand;

Eternal justice guards thy throne,

And vengeance waits thy dread command.

4 A thousand seraphs, strong and bright,
Stand round the glorious Deity;
But who, amongst the sons of light,
Pretends comparison with thee?

50

C. M.

The Divine Perfections.

WATTS.

1 HOW shall I praise the eternal God,
That Infinite Unknown?

Who can ascend his high abode,
Or venture near his throne?

2 The great Invisible! he dwells
Concealed in dazzling light;
But his all-searching eye reveals
The secrets of the night.

3 Those watchful eyes, that never sleep,
Survey the world around;

His wisdom is a boundless deep,

Where all our thoughts are drowned.

4 Speak we of strength? his arm is strong,
To save or to destroy;
Infinite years his life prolong,
And endless is his joy.

5 He knows no shadow of a change,
Nor alters his decrees;

Firm as a rock his truth remains,
To guard his promises.

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