2 Thou Lord, with unsurpris'd survey,
Saw'st nature rising yesterday;
And as to-morrow, shall thine eye
See earth and stars in ruin lie.
3 Beyond an angel's vision bright,
Thou dwells't in self-existent light;
Which shines with undiminish'd ray,
While suns and worlds in smoke decay.
4 Our days a transient period run,
And change with ev'ry circling sun;
And in the firmest state we boast,
A moth can crush us into dust.
5 But let the creatures fall around;
Let death consign us to the ground;
Let the last gen'ral flame arise,
And melt the arches of the skies :
6 Calm as the summer's ocean, we
Can all the wreck of nature see,
While grace secures us an abode,
Unshaken as the throne of God.
HYMN 14. L. M.
God's Goodness to the Children of Men.
Psalm cvii. 31.
YE, sons of men with of the Lord;
WE sons of men with joy record
And let his pow'r and goodness sound
Thro' all your tribes the earth around.
2 Let the high heav'ns your songs invite,
Those spacious fields of brilliant light;
Where sun and moon, and planets roll,
And stars that shine from pole to pole.
3 Sing earth in verdant robes array'd,
Its herbs and flow'rs, its fruit and shade;
Peopled with life of various forms,
Fishes and fowls, and beasts and worms.
4 View the broad sea's majestic plains,
And think how wide its Maker reigns;
That band remotest nations joins,
And on each wave His goodness shines.
5 But Oh! that brighter world above,
Where lives and reigns incarnate love!
God's only Son in flesh array'd,
For man a bleeding victim made.
6 Thither, my soul, with rapture soar;
There in the world of praise adore :
This theme demands an angel's lay,
Demands an undeclining day.
HYMN 15. As 113th Psalm.
The Eternal God his People's Refuge and Support. Deut. xxxiii. 27.
EHOLD! the great eternal God,
Spreads everlasting arms abroad,
And calls our souls to shelter there;
Wonders of mingled pow'r and grace,
To all his Israel he displays,
Guarded from danger, and from fear.
2 Thither my feeble soul shall fly,
When terrors press, and death is nigh,
And there will I delight to dwell:
On that high tow'r I rear my head,
Serene, nor knows my heart to dread,
Amidst surrounding hosts of hell.
3 The shadow of th' Almighty's wings Composure unmolested brings,
While threat'ning horrors round me crow'd : In vain the storms of rattling hail
The walls of this retreat assail,
And the wild tempest roars aloud.
4 In louder strains my fearless tongue
Shall warble its victorious song,
My father's graces to proclaim:
He bears his infant offspring on,
To glory radiant as his throne,
And joys eternal as his name.
HYMN 16. Eights and Sevens.
To the Blessed Spirit.
OLY GHOST, dispel our sadness,
Pierce the clouds of sinful night:
Come thou source of sweetest gladness,
Breathe thy life and spread thy light:
Loving SPIRIT, GOD of peace,
Great distributer of grace,
Rest upon this congregation!
Hear, Oh, hear our supplication.
2 From that height which knows no measure,
As a gracious shower descend:
Bringing down the richest treasure
Man can wish, or God can send.
O thou GLORY shining down
From the FATHER and the SON,
Grant us thy illumination!
Rest upon this congregation.
3 Come thou best of all donations
GOD can give, or we implore :
Having thy sweet consolations,
We need wish for nothing more;
Come with unction and with pow'r,
On our souls thy graces show'r;
Author of this new creation,
Make our hearts thy habitation.
4 Manifest thy love for ever,
Fence us in on every side,
In distress be our reliever;
Guard and teach, support and guide.
Let thy kind effectual grace
Turn our feet from evil ways;
Show thyself our new creator,
And conform us to thy nature.
5 Be our friend on each occasion;
God omnipotent to save!
When we die be our salvation;
When we're buried, be our grave ; And when from the grave we rise, Take us up above the skies;
Seat us with thy saints in glory,
There for ever to adore Thee.
Invocation of the Holy Spirit.
GRACIOUS Spirit, Dove divine!
Let thy light within me shine;
All my guilty fears remove,
Fill me full of heav'n and love.
2 Speak thy pard'ning grace to me,
Set the burthen'd sinner free;
Lead me to the Lamb of God,
Wash me in his precious blood.
3 Life and peace to me impart;
Seal salvation on my heart:
Breathe Thyself into my breast,
Earnest in immortal rest.
4 Let me never from Thee stray,
Keep me in the narrow way,
Fill my soul with joy divine,
Keep me, Lord, for ever thine.
HYMN 18. C. M.
The All-seeing God.
ALMIGHTY GOD, thy psoring ey
Strikes thro' the shades of night;
And our most secret actions lie
All open to thy sight.
2 There's not a sin that we commit,
Nor wicked word we say,
But in thy dreadful book 'tis writ
Against the Judgment day.
3 And must the crimes that I have done
Be read and publish'd there,
Be all expos'd before the sun,
While men and angels hear?
4 Lord, at thy foot asham'd I lie,
Upwards I dare not look;
Pardon my sins before I die,
And blot them from thy book.
5 Remember all the dying pains
That my Redeemer felt,
And let his blood wash out my stains,
And answer for my guilt.
6 Oh, may I now for ever fear
T' indulge a sinful thought,
Since the great GOD can see and hear And writes down every fault.
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