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4 Amidst a thousand snares I stand,
Upheld and guarded by Thy hand;
Thy words my fainting soul revive,
And keep my dying faith alive.

5 Grace will complete what grace begins,
To save from sorrows or from sins;
The work that wisdom undertakes
Eternal mercy ne'er forsakes.

C.M.

73 Thou understandest my thought afar

1

IN

off-Ps. 139, 2.

N all my vast concerns with Thee,
In vain my soul would try

To shun Thy presence, Lord, or flee
The notice of Thine eye.

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2 Thine all-surrounding sight surveys
My rising and my rest;

My public walks, my private ways,
And secrets of my breast.

3 My thoughts lie open to the Lord,
Before they're formed within ;
And, ere my lips pronounce the word,
He knows the sense I mean.

4 O wondrous knowledge, deep and high!
Where can a creature hide?
Within Thy circling arms I lie,
Beset on every side.

5 So let Thy grace surround me still,
And like a bulwark prove,

To guard my soul from every ill,
Secured by Sovereign Love.

74 The Lord is good to all.—Ps. 145, 9.

1

SWEET is the memory of thy grace,
My God, my heavenly King;

Let age to age Thy righteousness
In sounds of glory sing.

2 God reigns on high; but not confines
His goodness to the skies;

[shines,

Through the whole earth His bounty
And every want supplies.

3 With longing eyes Thy creatures wait On Thee for daily food;

Thy liberal hand provides their meat,
And fills their mouth with good.

4 How kind are Thy compassions, Lord!
How slow Thine anger moves!
But soon He sends His pardoning word
To cheer the souls He loves.

5 Creatures, with all their endless race,
Thy power and praise proclaim;
But saints, that taste Thy richer grace,
Delight to bless Thy name.

C.M.

75 They shall abundantly utter the me

1

mory of Thy great goodness.-Ps. 145.7. HY goodness, Lord, our souls confess, Thy goodness we adore;

THY

A spring whose blessings never fail,
A sea without a shore!

2 Sun, moon, and stars, Thy love attest, In every golden ray;

Love draws the curtains of the night,
And love brings back the day.

3 Thy bounty every season crowns,
With all the bliss it yields;

With joyful clusters loads the vines,
With strengthening grain the fields.
4 But chiefly Thy compassion, Lord,
Is in the gospel seen;

There, like a sun, Thy mercy shines
Without a cloud between.

5 Pardon, acceptance, peace, and joy,
Through Jesus' name are given;
He on the cross was lifted high,
That we might reign in heaven.

113th.

76 While I live will I praise the Lord.—

1 I

2

Ps. 146, 2.

'LLpraise 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.

Happy the man whose hopes rely On Israel's God; He made the sky, And earth, and seas with all their train:

3

4

His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves the opprest, He feeds the
poor;

And none shall find His promise vain.
The Lord gives eyesight to the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
Hesends the labouring conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow and the fatherless,

And grants the prisoner sweet release.
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.

77

1

C.M.

I will keep thee in all places whither
thou goest.-Gen. 28, 15.

GOD of Bethel! by whose hand
Thy people still are fed;

Who through this earthly pilgrimage
Hast all our fathers led.

2 Our fervent prayers we now present
Before Thy throne of grace;

God of our fathers! be the God
Of their succeeding race.

3 Through each perplexing path of life
Our wandering footsteps guide;
Give us each day our daily bread,
And raiment fit provide.

4 O spread Thy covering wings around,
Till all our wanderings cease;
And at our Father's loved abode
Our souls arrive in peace.

5 Now, with the humble voice of prayer, Thy mercy we implore;

Then, with the grateful voice of praise,
Thy goodness we'll adore.

C.M.

78 The Lord hath His way in the whirl

wind and in the storm.-Nah. 1, 3.

1G His wonders to perform;

OD moves in a mysterious way,

He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

2 Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,

He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.

3 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

5 His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain ;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

79

C.M.

He will not forsake thee, neither de stroy thee.-Deut. 4, 31.

1 FATHER of mercies! God of love!

My Father and my God!

I'll sing the honours of Thy name,
And spread Thy praise abroad.
2 My soul, in pleasing wonder lost,
Thy various love surveys;
Where shall my grateful lips begin,
Or where conclude Thy praise?

3 In every period of my life

Thy kindest thoughts appear;
Thy mercies gild each transient scene
And crown each circling year.

4 In all these mercies may my soul
A Father's bounty see,

Nor let the gifts Thy grace bestows
Estrange my heart from Thee.

5 Teach me in times of deep distress,
To own Thy hand, my God!
And in submissive silence learn
The lessons of Thy rod.

6 In every varying mortal state,
Each bright, each dreary scene,
Give me a meek and humble mind,
Still equal and serene.

7 Then shall I close my eyes in death,
Without one anxious fear:

For death itself, my God, is life,
If Thou art with me there.

80

1

S.M.

His compassions fail not.-Lam. 3, 22.
OW various and how new

HOW

Are Thy compassions, Lord! Each morning shall Thy mercies show, Each night Thy truth record.

2 Thy goodness, like the sun,
Dawned on our early days,
Ere infant reason had begun
To form our lips to praise.

3

Each object we beheld
Gave pleasure to our eyes;
And nature all our senses held
In bands of sweet surprise.
4 But pleasures more refined
Awaited that blest day,

When light arose upon our mind,
And chased our sins away.

5 How new Thy mercies, then!
How sovereign and how free!
Our souls, that had been dead in sin,
Were made alive to Thee.

6 And we expect a day

Still brighter far than this,

When Christ shall bear our souls away To realms of light and bliss.

7 Nor shall that radiant day So joyfully begun,

S

In evening shadows die away,
Beneath the setting sun.

How various and how new
Are Thy compassions, Lord!
Eternity Thy love shall show,
And all Thy truth record.

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