But fleeting life must soon be o'er;
Soon will thy hands again require
This transient spark of heavenly fire,
And this frail heart shall heave no more.
5 But thou, O Spirit, prompt to save,
Wilt still regard the shrouded grave,
In thy protecting care we trust;
Death shall resign his iron sway,
And love, that beams eternal day,
Shall warm our ashes in the dust.
God the father and friend of all.
1 The earth and all the heavenly frame Their great Creator's love proclaim ; He gives the sun his genial power And sends the soft, refreshing shower.
2 The ground with plenty blooms again,
And yields her various fruits to men;
To men, who from thy bounteous hand.
Receive the gifts of every land.
3 Nor to the human race alone
Is thy paternal goodness shown ;
The tribes of earth and sea and air
Enjoy thy universal care.
4 Not ev❜n a sparrow yields its breath,
Till God permit the stroke of death;
He hears the ravens when they call,
The Father and the Friend of all!
Glory to God, the giver and guard of life.
1 Lauded be thy name for ever,
Thou of life the Guard and Giver!
Thou who slumber'st not, nor sleepest,
Bless'd are they thou kindly keepest!
God of stillness and of motion,
Of the rainbow and the ocean,
Of the mountain, rock, and river,
Blessed be thy name for ever!
2 God of ev'ning's yellow ray!
God of yonder dawning day,
That rises from the distant sea
Like breathings of eternity!
Thine the flaming sphere of light,
Thine the darkness of the night!
God of life, that fade shall never!
Glory to thy name for ever!
Praise of divine goodness.
1 My God, the sov'reign of my
To thee my heart would soar;
The cup, which thy kind bounties fill,
At thy command runs o'er.
2 Honour be given to thee alone;
Thy providence is true;
And streams of plenty from thy throne
Each morning flow anew.
3 Be on my left, and on my right,
To guard my erring soul
From pleasure's wiles, from sorrow's might,
And passion's fierce control.
4 Give me but grace to sing thy praise,
My lips shall wake the lay;
With friendly care prolong my days,
And grateful vows I'll pay.
5 My spirit swells with hopes divine,
And longs for perfect rest;
Lo! I am thine, and thou art mine ;
In thee my soul is blest.
The unceasing goodness of our heavenly Father.
1 Jehovah God! thy gracious power
On every hand we see ;
O may the blessings of each hour
Lead all our thoughts to thee!
2 If on the wings of morn we speed To earth's remotest bound,
Thy hand will there our footsteps lead,
Thy love, our path surround.
3 Thy power is in the ocean deeps,
And reaches to the skies;
Thine eye of mercy never sleeps,
Thy goodness never dies.
4 From morn till noon, till latest eve,
The hand of God we see ;
And all the blessings we receive,
Ceaseless proceed from thee.
5 In all the varying scenes of time,
On thee our hopes depend;
Through every age, in every clime,
Our Father and our Friend!
1 My God! thy boundless love I praise; How bright on high its glories blaze! How sweetly bloom below!
It streams from thine eternal throne;
Through heaven its joys for ever run,
And o'er the earth they flow.
2 "Tis love that paints the purple morn,
And bids the clouds, in air upborne,
Their genial drops distill;
In every vernal beam it glows,
And breathes in every gale that blows,
And glides in every rill.
3 It robes in cheerful green the ground,
And pours its flow'ry beauties round,
Whose sweets perfume the gale;
Its bounties richly spread the plain,
The blushing fruit, the golden grain,
And smile on every vale.
4 But in thy word I see it shine
With grace and glories more divine,
Proclaiming sins forgiven;
There faith, bright cherub, points the way
To realms of everlasting day,
And opens all her heaven.
5 Then let the love that makes me bless'd, With cheerful praise inspire my breast, And ardent gratitude;
And all my thoughts and passions tend
To thee, my Father and my Friend,
My soul's eternal good!
|