A thousand starry beauties there,
A thousand radiant marks appear,
Of boundless power and skill divine.
2 From night to day, from day to night,
The dawning and the dying light
Lectures of heavenly wisdom read;
With silent eloquence they raise
Our thoughts to our Creator's praise,
And neither sound nor language need.
3 Yet their divine instructions run
Far as the journeys of the sun,
And every nation knows their voice;
The sun, in robes of splendor drest,
Breaks from the chambers of the east,
Rolls round, and makes the earth rejoice.
4 Where'er he spreads his beams abroad,
He smiles, and speaks his maker, God;
All nature joins him in the praise.
Thus God in every creature shines;
Fair is the book of nature's lines,
But fairer is the book of grace.
Nature inviting to praise God.
1 THOU great Creator, wise and good!
To thee our songs we raise :
Nature, through all her various scenes,
Invites us to thy praise.
2 At morning, noon, and evening mild,
Fresh wonders strike our view;
And while we gaze, our hearts exult
With transports ever new.
3 Thy glory beams in every star
Which gilds the gloom of night;
It decks the smiling face of morn
With rays of cheerful light.
4 The lofty hill, the humble vale,
With countless beauties shine; The silent grove, the awful shade, Proclaim thy power divine.
5 Great nature's God! still may these scenes Our serious hours engage;
Still may our grateful hearts consult
Thy works' instructive page.
6 And while, in all thy wondrous works,
Thy varied love we see,
Still may the contemplation lead
Our hearts, O God, to thee.
Praise to the Lord of Nature.
1 O THOU, through all thy works adored!
Great power supreme! almighty Lord!
Author of life, whose sovereign sway
Creatures of every tribe obey!
2 To thee, Most High, to thee belong
The suppliant prayer, the joyful song;
To thee we will attune our voice,
And in thy wondrous works rejoice.
3 Planets, those wandering worlds above,
Guided by thee, incessant move;
Suns, kindled by a ray divine,
In honor of their Maker shine.
4 From thee proceed heaven's varied store,-
The changing wind, the fruitful shower,
The flying cloud, the colored bow,
The moulded hail, the feathered snow.
5 Tempests obey thy mighty will:
Thine awful mandate to fulfil,
The forked lightnings dart around,
And rive the oak, and blast the ground.
6 Yet, pleased to bless, kind to supply,
Thy hand supports thy family,
And fosters, with a parent's care,
The tribes of earth and sea and air.
Uniting with Nature in God's Praise.
1 THERE seems a voice in every gale,
A tongue in every opening flower,
Which tells, O Lord, the wondrous tale
Of thine indulgence, love and power.
The birds that rise on quivering wing
Appear to hymn their Maker's praise,
And all the mingling sounds of Spring
To thee a general pæan raise.
2 And shall my voice, great God, alone
Be mute 'mid Nature's loud acclaim!
No! let my heart, with answering tone,
Breathe forth in praise thy holy name.
And Nature's debt is small to mine
Thou bad'st her being bounded be;
But (matchless proof of love divine!)
Thou gav'st immortal life to me.
3 The Savior left his heavenly throne
A ransom for our souls to give;
Man's suffering state he made his own,
And deigned to die that we might live.
But thanks and praise for love so great
No mortal tongue can e'er express;
Then let me, bowed before thy feet,
In silence love thee, Lord, and bless.
God's Works and Law show forth his Glory. Ps. 19.
1 Lo, what a speaking lustre shines
In all the works of God!
His wisdom writ in fairest lines
His power declared abroad.
2 The heavens, adorned with moon and stars, Express his glorious skill;
The day his strong impression bears;
The night attends his will.
3 Their language through the earth is heard:
One all-extending voice
Proclaims abroad the cheering word,
And bids the world rejoice.
4 Behold yon glowing, radiant sun,
Great source of blissful light!
Rejoicing in his course to run,
And shed effulgence bright.
5 Such is thy law, O God of grace!
Which renovates the soul,-
A law of love, and truth, and peace,
That makes the sinner whole.
6 Nor shall its moral light grow dim
Or ever fade away;.
The present gentle, rising beam
Shall shed a boundless day.
Nature and Scripture. Ps. 19.
1 THE heavens declare thy glory, Lord;
In every star thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold thy word,
We read thy name in fairer lines.
2 The rolling sun, the changing light,
And nights and days thy power confess;
But the blest volume thou hast writ
Reveals thy justice and thy grace.
3 Sun, moon, and stars convey thy praise
Round the whole earth, and never stand;
So when thy truth began its race,
It touched and glanced on every land.
4 Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest
Till through the world thy truth has run-
Till Christ hath all the nations blest
That see the light or feel the sun.
5 Great Sun of righteousness! arise;
Bless the dark world with heavenly light; -
Thy gospel makes the simple wise;
Thy laws are pure- thy judgments right.
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