4 Aloft, full beaming, reigns the sun,
And light and genial heat conveys;
And, while he leads the seasons on,
From thee derives his quick'ning rays.
5 Around us, in the teeming field,
Stands the rich grain, or purpled vine;
At thy command they rise, to yield
The strength'ning bread, or cheering
6 Indulgent God! from every part
Thy plenteous blessings richly flow;
We see; we taste;-let every heart
With grateful love and duty glow.
HYMN CVI. P.M.
Thanksgiving for fruitful seasons.
1 Rejoice! the Lord is king!
Your Lord and King adore;
Mortals, give thanks and sing,
And triumph evermore;
Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
2 His wintry north winds blow,
Loud tempests rush amain;
Yet his thick flakes of snow
Defend the infant grain ;
Lift up your hearts, &c.
3 He wakes the genial spring,
Perfumes the balmy air;
The vales their tribute bring,
The promise of the year;
Lift up your hearts, &c.
4 High from th' etherial plain
Bright suns their influence fling;
He gives the welcome rain,
That makes the valleys sing;
Lift up your hearts, &c.
5 He leads the circling year,
His flocks the hills adorn ;
He fills the golden ear,
And loads the fields with corn;
O happy mortals, raise your voice, &c.
6 Lead on your fleeting train,
Ye years, ye months, and days!
O bring th' eternal reign
Of love, and joy, and praise;
Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice,
Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice.
HYMN CVII. L. M.
God's goodness manifested in each season.
1 Great God! let all our tuneful powers Awake, and sing thy mighty name;
Thy hand rolls on our circling hours,
The hand, from which our being came.
2 Seasons and moons, revolving round
In beauteous order, speak thy praise;
And years, with smiling mercy crown'd,
To thee, successive honours raise.
3 To thee we raise the annual song;
To thee the grateful tribute give;
Our God doth still our years prolong,
And, midst unnumber'd deaths, we live.
4 Each changing season on our souls
Its sweetest, kindest influence sheds;
And ev'ry period, as it rolls,
Show'rs countless blessings on our heads.
5 Our lives, our health, our friends, we owe
All to thy vast, unbounded love;
Ten thousand precious gifts below,
And hope of nobler joys above.
The year crowned with divine goodness.
1 Eternal Source of every joy!
Well may thy praise our lips employ,
While in thy temple we appear,.
Whose goodness crowns the circling year.
2 Wide as the wheels of nature roll,
Thy hand supports the steady pole;
The sun is taught by thee to rise,
And darkness when to veil the skies.
3 The flow'ry spring at thy command Embalms the air, and paints the land; The summer beams with vigour shine, To raise the corn and cheer the vine.
4 Thy hand in autumn richly pours Through all our an 1 a bundant stores ; And winters, soften'd by thy care,
No more a face of horror wear.
5 Seasons, and months, and weeks, and days,
Demand successive songs of praise; Still be the cheerful homage paid, With op'ning light, and ev'ning shade.
6 Here in thy house shall incense rise,
As circling sabbaths bless our eyes;
Still will we make thy mercies known,
Around thy board, and round our own.
7 O may our more harmonious tongues
In worlds unknown pursue the songs;
And in those brighter courts adore,
Where days and years revolve no more!
HYMN CIX. C.M.
Reflections in winter.
1 Now winter throws his icy chains, Encircling nature round;
How bleak, how comfortless the plains,
With verdure lately crown'd!
2 The sun withdraws his vital beams,
And light and warmth depart;
And drooping, lifeless nature seems
An emblem of my heart.
3 My heart, where mental winter reigns,
In night's dark mantle clad,
Confin'd in cold, inactive chains,
How desolate and sad!
4 Ere long the sun, with genial ray,
Shall cheer the mourning earth;
And blooming flowers, and verdure gay,
Renew their annual birth.
5 So, if my soul's bright Sun impart
His all-enliv'ning smile,
The vital ray shall cheer my heart,
Till then a frozen soil.
6 Then faith and hope and love shall rise, Renew'd to lively bloom,
And breathe, accepted to the skies,
Their humble, sweet perfume.
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