Thy saints shall tune diviner lays, And love inspire their songs.
4 Thy power and grandeur they shall sing, The glories of thy reign;
Thy wondrous deeds, almighty King, Shall fill the raptur'd strain.
1 The Lord upholdeth them that fall, And makes the lowly rise;
On his kind aid all creatures call, And get their full supplies.
2 Whate'er their various wants require With plenteous hand he gives; And so fulfils the just desire Of every thing that lives.
3 How holy is the Lord, how just, How righteous all his ways!
How nigh to him, who with firm trust For his assistance prays.
4 He grants the full desires of those Who humbly him adore;
And all their troubles will compose, When they his aid implore.
1 I'll praise My maker with my breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers; My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life, and thought, and being last, Or immortality endures.
2 Why should I make a man my trust? Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood: Their breath departs; their pomp and power, And thoughts, all vanish in an hour; . Nor can they make their promise good. 3 Happy the man whose hopes rely On Israel's God, who built the sky,
And earth, and seas, and all their train: He saves the oppress'd, he feeds the poor; His truth forever stands secure,
And none shall find his promise vain. 4 The Lord gives eye-sight to the blind; The Lord supports the fainting mind, And whispers to the mourner peace; He helps the stranger in distress, The widow and the fatherless,
And grants the prisoner sweet release: 5 He loves his saints; he knows them well; But turns the wicked down to hell; Thy God, O Zion, ever reigns:
Let every tongue, let every age In this exalted work engage-
Praise him in everlasting strains!
PSALM CXLVII.
The verses which the church has selected for thanksgiving day.
1 Praise ye the Lord! O blissful theme, To sing the honours of his name! 'Tis pleasure! 'tis divine delight! And praise is lovely in his sight.
2 His Salem now the Lord restores; No more her ruin she deplores; The wand'ring outcasts all return, And Israel's sons no longer mourn.
3 No more their breaking hearts despair; He binds their wounds with tend'rest care; His healing hand removes their pain, And cheerful comfort smiles again.
4 He veils the sky with treasur'd show'rs, On earth the plenteous blessing pours; The mountains smile in lovely green, And fairer blooms the flow'ry scene. 5 His bounteous hand, great spring of good, Provides the brute creation food; He feeds the ravens when they cry; All nature lives beneath his eye.
6 Jerusalem his honours raise;
Thy God, O Zion, claims thy praise; His mighty arm defends thy gates; His blessing on thy children waits. 7 Sweet peace, to crown the happy scene, O'er thy fair border smiles serene; The finest wheat luxuriant grows, And joyful plenty round thee flows.
1 Jehovah speaks: swift from the skies, To earth the sovereign mandate flies; Observant nature hears his word, And bows obedient to her Lord.
2 Now thick descending flakes of snow, O'er earth a fleecy mantle throw;
And glitt'ring frost o'er all the plains, Binds nature fast in icy, chains. 3 He speaks: the ice and snow obey, And nature's fetters melt away; Softly the vernal breezes blow, And murm❜ring waters gently flow. 4 But nobler works his grace record; To Israel he reveals his word; To Jacob's happy sons alone, He makes his sacred precepts known. 5 Such bliss no other nation shares; The laws of heav'n are only theirs; Ye favor'd tribes your voices raise, And bless your God in songs of praise.
1 Begin my soul th' exalted lay; Let each enraptur'd thought obey, And praise th' Almighty name;
Let heav'n and earth, and seas and skies, In one melodious concert rise,
To swell th' inspiring theme.
2 Ye fields of light, celestial plains, Where everlasting beauty reigns, Ye scenes divinely fair;
Your Maker's wondrous power proclaim; Tell how he form'd your shining frame, And breath'd the fluid air.
3. Angels, archangels swell the sound, While all th' adoring thrones around,
His boundless glories sing; Let all who fill the realms above, Awake the tuneful soul of love,
And touch the sweetest string. 4 Join, all ye stars, the vocal choir: Thou, dazzling orb of liquid fire, The mighty chorus aid;
And soon as evening veils the plain, Thou, moon, unite thy silver strain, And praise him in the shade.
5 Thou heav'n of heavens, his vast abode; Ye clouds proclaim your maker God, Who call'd the world from night; "Ye shades dispel"-the eternal said, At once th' involving darkness fled, And nature sprung to light.
1 Let every element rejoice:
Ye thunders, burst with pealing voice To him who bids you
His praise in softer notes declare,
Each whisp'ring breeze of yielding air, And breathe it to the soul.
2 To him ye graceful cedars bow; Ye tow'ring mountains bending low, Your great Creator own;
Ye flocks, that haunt the humble vale; Ye insects, fluttering on the gale, Keep up the general song.
3 Wake, all ye feather'd tribes and sing, Ye cheerful warblers of the spring,
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