Government and Providence of GOD.
130. C. M. JERVIS.
The being, omnipresence, and providence of
GOD.
1 GREAT GOD! how vast is thine abode !
Mysterious are thy ways!
Unseen, thy footsteps in the air,
And trackless in the seas.
2 Yet the whole peopled world bespeaks
Thy being and thy pow'r;
'Midst the resplendent blaze of day,
And awful midnight hour.
3 Nor all the peopled world alone,
Rich fields and verdant plains,
But lonely wilds by man untrod,
Where death-like silence reigns.
4 Tempests and storms that sweep the sky,
And cataracts sublime;
Volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes,
That waste the torrid clime;
5 Vast caverns deep, and cloud-topt hills,
Huge mountains rude and bare,
Terrific rocks and swelling waves-
Thy grandeur all declare.
6 Through all creation's widest range
The hand of heav'n is near:
Where'er I wander in the world,
Lo! GoD is present there.
131. L. M. WATTS.
The divine nature, providence, and grace.
1 PRAISE ye the LORD; 'tis good to raise
Our hearts and voices in his praise:
His nature and his works invite
To make this duty our delight.
2 Great is the LORD! and great his might,
And all his glories infinite:
His wisdom's vast, and knows no bound;
A deep where all our thoughts are drown'd.
3 He loves the meek, rewards the just,
Humbles the wicked in the dust,
Melts and subdues the stubborn soul,
And makes the broken spirit whole.
4 The good are precious in his sight;
He views his children with delight;
He sees their hope, he knows their fear,
Approves, and loves his image there.
132. C. M. WATTS.
Fore-knowledge and providence of GOD.
1 LET the whole race of creatures lie
Abas'd before the LORD!
Whate'er his pow'rful hand has form'd,
He governs with a word.
2 Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought;
All the long years and worlds to come,
Stood present to his thought.
3 There's not a sparrow, or a worm,
O'erlook'd in his decrees:
He raises monarchs to a throne,
Or sinks with equal ease.
4 If light attend the course I go,
"Tis he provides the rays;
And 'tis his hand that hides the sun,
If darkness cloud my days.
5 Trusting his wisdom and his love,
I would not wish to know
What in the book of his decrees
Awaits me here below.
6 Be this alone my fervent pray'r,
Whate'er my lot shall be:
Or joys or sorrows, may they form
My soul for heav'n, and thee!
133. S. M. WATTS.
GOD's universal dominion.
1 THE LORD, the sov'reign King,
Hath fix'd his throne on high;
O'er all the heav'nly world he rules,
And all beneath the sky.
Ye angels, great in might,
And swift to do his will!
Bless ye the LORD, whose voice ye hear,
Whose pleasure ye fulfil.
3 While all his wondrous works
Thro' his vast kingdom, show
Their Maker's glory, thou, my soul!
Shalt sing his praises too.
134. C. M. WATTS.
GOD's eternal dominion.
1 GREAT GOD! how infinite art thou!
How frail and helpless we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.
2 Thy throne eternal ages stood,
E'er seas or stars were made
Thou art the everliving God,
;
Were all the nations dead.
3 Nature and time all open lie
To thine immense survey,
From the formation of the sky,
To the last awful day.
4 Eternity, with all its years,
Stands present to thy view;
To thee there's nothing old appears,
Great Gon! there's nothing new.
5 Our lives thro' various scenes are drawn,
And vex'd with trifling cares,
While thine eternal thought moves on,
Thine undisturb'd affairs.
6 Great GOD! how infinite art thou!
How frail and helpless we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow,
And pay their praise to thee.
135. P. M. DODDRIDGE.
GOD's government Zion's joy. 1 YE subjects of the LORD, proclaim The royal honours of his name;
"JEHOVAH reigns," be all your song.
"Tis he thy God, O Zion, reigns.
Prepare thy most harmonious strains,
Glad hallelujahs to prolong.
2 Ye princes, boast no more your crown,
But lay the glittering trifle down
In lowly honour at his feet;
A span your narrow empire bounds;
He reigns beyond created rounds,
In self-sufficient glory great.
3 Tremble, ye pageants of a day,
Form'd, like your slaves, of brittle clay;
Down to the dust your sceptres bend;
To everlasting years He reigns,
And undiminish'd pomp maintains,
When kings, and suns, and time shall
4 So shall his favour'd Zion live; In vain confed'rate nations strive
Her sacred turrets to destroy;
|