God's power and goodness.
1 To God the mighty Lord
Your joyful thanks repeat;
To him due praise afford,
As good as he is great:
For God does prove Our constant friend,
Shall never end.
His boundless love
2 By his almighty hand
Amazing works are wrought;
The heav'ns by his command
Were to perfection brought;
For God, &c.
3 He spread the ocean round
About the spacious land;
And made the rising ground
Above the waters stand:
For God, &c.
4 He, in our depth of woes,
On us with favour thought,
And from our cruel foes
In peace and safety brought:
For God, &c.
5 He does the food supply,
On which all creatures live;
To God, who reigns on high,
Eternal praises give:
For God will prove Our constant friend, His boundless love Shall never end.
1 Lift your voice, and joyful sing Praises to our heavenly King; For his mercies far extend,
And his bounty knows no end. .
2 Honor pay to heaven's high Lord,
And his wond'rous deeds record;
Through the various realms of earth,
Praise him all of human birth.
3 Him, whose wisdom throned on high,
Built the mansions of the sky;
And the orbs that gild the pole
Bade through boundless ether roll.
- 4 Him, who o'er this earthly ball,
Looks with equal eye on all,
And to every thing which lives,
Rich supplies of blessings gives.
5 To the great eternal King
Raise your voice, and joyful sing;
For his mercies wide extend,
And his bounty knows no end.
Judah in bondage, or remembrance of captivity.
1 When we, our weary limbs to rest,
Sat down by proud Euphrates' stream,
We wept, with doleful thoughts opprest;
And Sion was our mournful theme.
2 Our harps, that when with joy we sung,
Were wont their tuneful parts to bear,
With silent strings neglected hung
On willow trees, that wither'd there.
3 Meanwhile our foes, who all conspir'd To triumph in our slavish wrongs, Music and mirth of us requir'd,
4 How shall we tune our voice to sing,
Or touch our harps with skilful hands;
Shall hymns of joy to God, our King,
Be sung by slaves in foreign lands?
5 O Salem, our once happy seat!
When I of thee forgetful prove,
Let then my trembling hand forget
The speaking strings with art to move!
6 If I to mention thee forbear,
Eternal silence seize my tongue;
Or if I sing one cheerful air,
Till thy deliv'rance is my song.
PSALM CXXXIX. First Part. L. M.
God's omnipresence and omniscience.
1 Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known
My rising up and lying down;
My secret thoughts are known to thee,
Known long before conceiv'd by me.
2 Thine eye my bed and path surveys,
My public haunts and private ways;
Thou know'st what 'tis my lips would
vent,
My yet unutter'd words intent.
3 Surrounded by thy pow'r I stand;
On ev'ry side I find thy hand;
O skill, for human reach too high!
Too dazzling bright for mortal
4 O, could I so perfidious be,
To think of once deserting thee.
Where, Lord, could I thy influence shun?
Or whither from thy presence run?
5 If up to heav'n I take my flight,
"Tis there thou dwell'st enthron'd in light;
If down to hell's infernal plains,
"Tis there almighty vengeance reigns.
6 If I the morning's wings could gain,
And fly beyond the eastern main,
Thy swifter hand would first arrive,
And there arrest thy fugitive.
7 Or, should I try to shun thy sight,
Beneath the sable wings of night;
One glance from thee, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.
8 The veil of night is no disguise,
No screen from thy all-searching eyes;
Through midnight shades thou find'st
thy way,
As in the blazing noon of day.
9 O! may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where'er I rove, where'er I rest ;
Nor let my rising passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.
10 Search, try, O God, my thoughts and heart,
If mischief lurk in any part;
Correct me where I go astray,
And guide me in thy perfect way.
PSALM CXXXIX. Second Part. L. M.
Gratitude to God for innumerable mercies.
1 In glad amazement, Lord! I stand, Amidst the bounties of thy hand;
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