3 In Zion God is known,
A refuge in distress;
How bright has His salvation shone
Through all her palaces!

4 Oft have our fathers told,
Our eyes have often seen,
How well our God secures the fold
Where His own sheep have been.

5 In every new distress

We'll to His house repair;

We'll think upon His wondrous grace,
And seek deliverance there.

S.M.

659 This God is our God for ever and

ever.-Ps. 48, 14.

1 FAR as Thy name is known

2

3

The world declares Thy praise; Thy saints, O Lord, before Thy throne Their songs of honour raise.

With joy let Judah stand

On Zion's chosen hill;

Proclaim the wonders of Thy hand,

And counsels of Thy will.

Let strangers walk around

The city where we dwell;

Compass and view Thine holy ground, And mark the building well;

4. The order of Thy house,

The worship of Thy court,

The cheerful songs, the solemn vows; And make a fair report.

5

How decent and how wise!

How glorious to behold!

Beyond the pomp that charms the eyes,

And rites adorned with gold.

6 The God we worship now

Will guide us till we die,

Will be our God while here below,
And ours above the sky.

C.M.

660 The general assembly and church

of the firstborn.-Heb. 12, 23.

1 NOT to the terror of the Lord,

The tempest, fire, and smoke;

Not to the thunder of that word
Which God on Sinai spoke:

2 But we are come to Zion's hill,
The city of our God,

Where milder words declare His will,
And spread His love abroad.

8 Behold the innumerable host.
Of angels clothed in light!
Behold the spirits of the just
Whose faith is turned to sight!
4 Behold the blest assembly there,
Whose names are writ in heaven!
And God, the Judge of all, declares
Their vilest sins forgiven.

5 The saints on earth, and all the dead,
But one communion make;
All join in Christ their living Head,
And of His grace partake.

6 In such society as this

My weary soul would rest;
For all who dwell where Jesus is,
Must be for ever blest.

112th.

661 re are come unto mount Zion the

1

NOT

heavenly Jerusalem.-Heb. 12, 23.
OT to the mount that burned with
fire,
To darkness, tempest, and the sound
Of trumpet waxing high and higher,
Nor voice of words that rent the ground,
While Israel heard, with trembling awe,
Jehovah thunder forth His law :-
2 But to Mount Zion we are come,
The city of the living God,--
Jerusalem, our heavenly home,
The courts by angel-legions.trod;
Where meet in everlasting love,
The church of the first-born above:
3 To God, the Judge of quick and dead,
The perfect spirits of the just.

Jesus, our great new-covenant Head,
The blood of sprinkling, from the dust,
That better things than Abel's cries,
And pleads a Saviour's sacrifice.

4 O hearken to the healing voice, [mild!
That speaks from heaven in tones so
To-day are life and death our choice;
To-day, through mercy reconciled,
Our all to God we yet may give:
Now let us hear His voice and live.

7.6.7.6.7.7.7.6.

662 4 river, the streams whereof shall

1

make glad the cityof God.-Ps.46,4 the throne of God there springs A pure, a crystal stream:

FROM

Lite and peace and joy it brings
To His Jerusalem.

Rivers of refreshing grace
Through the sacred city now,
Watering all the hallowed place
Where God resides below.
2 God most merciful, most high,
Doth in His Zion dwell:-
Kept by Hin, her towers defy
The strength of earth and hell.
Guardian of the chosen race,
Jesus doth His church defend;
Saves them by His timely grace,
And saves them to the end.

L.M.

663 God is our refuge and strength.-

1

Ps. 46, 1.

GOD is the refuge of His saints,

When storms of sharp distress
invade;

Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold Him present with His aid!

2 Let mountains from their seats be hurled

Down to the deep and buried there;
Convulsions shake the solid world,
Our faith shall never yield to fear.
3 There is a stream whose gentle flow
Supplies the city of our God;

Life, love, and joy still gliding through,
And watering our divine abode.

4 That sacred stream, Thine holy word,
That all our raging fear controls:
Sweet peace Thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.

5 Zion enjoys her monarch's love, Secure against a threatening hour; Nor can her firm foundations move, Built on His truth, and armed with power.

8.7.

664 Glorious things are spoken of thee,

1

O city of God.-Ps. 87, 3.

GLORIOUS things of thee are spoken,

Zion, city of our God!

He whose word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for His own abode:
On the Rock of Ages founded,

What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
Thou mayest smile at all thy foes.
2 See! the streams of living waters
Springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
And all fear of want remove.
Round each habitation hovering,
See! the cloud and fire appear,
For a glory and a covering,

Showing that the Lord is near.

Blest inhabitants of Zion,

Washed in the Redeemer's blood!

Jesus, whom their souls rely on,

Makes them Kings and Priests to God:

Tis His love His people raises
Over self to reign as kings:
And as priests His solemn praises
Each for a thank-offering brings.

4 Saviour, if of Zion's city

I through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in Thy name:
Fading is the worldling's pleasure,
All his boasted pomp and show!
Solid joys and lasting treasure,
None but Zion's children know.

C.M.

665 The Highest Himself shall establish

her.-Ps. 87.5.

1UPON the holy mountains high

Are His foundations still

Though silent, sad, and desolate,
Is Zion's ruined hill;
God hath a lofty city, where
His standard is unfurled;

[hearts,

His one church, reared on faithful
That rise above the world!

2 Beyond earth's mists its turrets stand
In the clear light of heaven;
And there, Jehovah dwells in power,
There, is His spirit given:
Jehovah loves His children's homes,
But more His own abode;
All glorious is Thy destiny
O city of our God!

3 The Highest shall establish Thee
To glorify His name;

All nations soon shall flocking press,
In Thee a place to claim:

Within Thy safe and beauteous walls,
The songs shall never cease,
In Thee are all our springs of joy,
The fountains of our peace!

L.M.

666 Happy art thou, O Israel.-Deut.

1

33, 29.

ISRAEL, blest beyond compare!
Unrivalled all thy glories are;

Jehovah deigns to fill thy throne,"
And calls thine interest all His own.
2 He is thy Saviour, He thy Lord,
His shield is thine, and thine His sword;
Review in ecstacy of thought,

The great redemption He has wrought 3 From Satan's yoke He sets thee free, Opens thy passage through the sea; He through the desert is thy Guide, And heaven for Canaan will provide. 4 Not Jacob's sons of old could boast Such favours to their chosen host Their glories, which through ages shine, Are but dim shades and types of thine. 5 Celestial Spirit! teach our tongue Sublimer strains than Moses sung, Proportioned to the sweeter name Of God the Saviour, and the Lamb.