Thy grace supports our tott'ring days,
And guides our giddy youth;
Holy and just are all thy ways,
And all thy words are truth.
Thou know'st the pains thy servants feel;
Thou hear'st thy children's cry;
And their best wishes to fulfill
Thou art for ever nigh.
Thy mercy never shall remove
From men of heart sincere,
From those whose fervent humble love
Is join'd with holy fear.
HYMN XXXVIII.
Confidence in the Divine Protection.
THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care:
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountains pant,
To fertile vales, and dewy meads,
My weary wand'ring steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers soft and slow
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
Though in the paths of death I tread
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly arm shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dismal shade.
Dependence upon Providence.
GREAT Lord of earth, and seas, and skies,
Thy wealth the needy world supplies;
On thee alone the whole depends,
Thy care to ev'ry part extends.
To thee perpetual thanks we owe,
For all our comforts here below:
Our daily bread thy bounty gives,
And ev'ry rising want relieves.
The wastes of life thy pow'r repairs,
Thy mercy stills tempestuous cares;
And safe beneath thy guardian arm
We live secur'd from ev'ry harm.
To thee we cheerful homage bring;
In grateful hymns thy praises sing;
Direct to thee our waiting eyes,
And humbly look for fresh supplies.
And should thy measures seem severe,
Calmly may we thy chast'ning bear;
Without complaint to thee submit,
Th' unerring judge of what is fit.
God the Preserver of all Things.
THE earth, and all the heav'nly frame,
Their great Creator's love proclaim;
He gives the sun his genial pow'r,
And sends the soft refreshing show'r.
The ground with plenty blooms again,
And yields her various fruits to men ;
To men, who from thy bounteous hand
Receive the gifts of ev'ry land.
Nor to the human race alone
Is thy paternal goodness shown;
The tribes of earth, and sea, and air,
Partake thine universal care.
Not e'en a sparrow yields its breath
Till God permits the stroke of death:
He hears the ravens when they call,
The source of life and joy to all.
God's providential Care.
LORD, how thy wonders are display'd
Where'er we turn our eye!
If we survey the ground we tread,
Or gaze upon the sky.
There's not a plant or flow'r below,
But makes thy glories known;
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order from thy throne.
Creatures (as num'rous as they be)
Are subject to thy care: There's not a place where we can flee, But God is present there.
Thy hand is our perpetual guard,
Thou keep'st us with thine eye: Why should we then forget thee, Lord, Who art for ever nigh?
A good Conscience the best Support.
WHILE Some in folly's pleasures roll,
And court the joys which hurt the soul;
Be mine, that silent calm repast,
A peaceful conscience, to the last :—
That tree which bears immortal fruit,
Without a canker at the root;
That friend, who never fails the just,
When other friends betray their trust.
With this companion in the shade,
My soul no more shall be dismay'd;
But fearless meet the midnight gloom,
And the pale monarch of the tomb.
Though Heav'n afflict, I'll not repine :
The noblest comforts still are mine;
Comforts which over death prevail,
And journey with me through the vale.
Amidst the various scenes of ills,
Each stroke some kind design fulfils :
And shall I murmur at my God,
When love supreme directs the rod ?
TEACH me, O teach me, Lord! thy way;
That to my life's remotest day,
By thine unerring precepts led,
My feet thy heav'nly paths may tread.
Inform'd by thee, with sacred awe,
My heart shall meditate thy law;
And with celestial wisdom fill'd,
To thee a pure obedience yield.
Give me to know thy will aright,
Thy will, my glory and delight;
That, rais'd above. the world, my mind
In thee its highest good may find.
O turn from vanity mine eye;
To me thy quick'ning strength supply;
And with thy promis'd mercy cheer
A heart devoted to thy fear.
Man mortal, and God eternal.
THROUGH ev'ry age, eternal God!
Thou art our rest, our safe abode;
High was thy throne ere heav'n was made,
Or earth, thy humble footstool, laid.
Long hadst thou reign'd ere time began,
Or dust was fashion'd into man;
And long thy kingdom shall endure,
When earth and time shall be no more.
With thee a thousand years amount
Scarce to a day in our account:
Like yesterday's departed light,
Or an unnotic'd watch of night.
Ah! what is life in all its pride?
A rapid year, an ebbing tide,
A winter's gleam, a morning flow'r,
That fades and withers in an hour.
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