VIII.

The heavens declare the glory of God,

And the firmament showeth the work of His hands.

Day unto day uttereth speech;

Night unto night showeth knowledge.

They have no speech, nor language,

And their voice is not heard;

Yet their sound has gone out through all the earth,
And their word to the end of the world.

In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun,

Which cometh forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

He goeth forth from one end of the heaven,
And his circuit is unto the other end of it,

And there is nothing hid from his heat.
The works of the Lord are great and glorious;

They are done in truth and righteousness, and stand fast
forever.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men.

For the heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the people see His glory.

The law of the Lord is perfect, giving life to the soul.

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

M.

C.

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the

eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous alto

gether.

More to be desired are they than gold.

Sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.

Moreover by them is Thy servant warned,

And in keeping of them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors?

Cleanse Thou me from secret faults.

Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins,

Let them not have dominion over me,

Then shall I be upright,

And I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth,

And the meditations of my heart,

Be acceptable in Thy sight,

O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.

All. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Choir. Amen.

M.

C.

IX.

Let us now remember the works of the Lord;
Let us declare the things which we have seen.
How excellent are the works of His wisdom;

We shall be filled with beholding His glory.

The pride of the height, the clear firmament,

The sun when it riseth declares the work of the Most

High.

Great is the Lord who made it,

And at His command it runneth swiftly.

He made the moon also to serve in her season;

The month is called after her name, increasing with her

changes.

The beauty of the heaven is the glory of the stars.
They give light in the high places of the Lord.
At His command they stand in their order,

And they never faint in their watches.

Look upon the rainbow, and praise Him that made it.
Very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof.

It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle,
And the hands of the Most High have bended it.
The noise of His thunder maketh the earth tremble.

He sendeth swiftly the lightning of His judgment.

As birds flying, He scattereth the snow.

The falling down thereof is as the lighting of grasshoppers.

M.

C.

The eye marvelleth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof,
The heart is astonished at the raining of it.

The cold north wind clotheth the water with a breast-plate;
It devoureth the mountains, it consumeth the grass as
fire.

At His will the south wind bloweth ;

Like a dew coming after heat it refresheth.

We may speak much and yet come short,
Wherefore, in sum, He is all.

He is from everlasting to everlasting,

And by His will all things exist.

How shall we be able to magnify Him?

He is great above His works, marvellous is His power. When ye glorify the Lord exalt Him as much as ye can,

For even yet He will far exceed;

When ye exalt Him put forth all your strength,

For ye never can go far enough.

For Thou, Lord hast made all things,

And we have seen but a few of Thy works.

The whole world before Thee is as the small dust of the

balance,

Yea, as a drop of morning dew that falleth upon the

earth.

All. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Choir. Amen.

X.

M. Canst thou by searching find out God?

C.

Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?
He is high as heaven, what canst thou do?

Deeper than the grave, what canst thou know?
Behold I go forward, but He is not there;

And backwards, but I cannot perceive Him;

On the left hand where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him;
He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see

Him;

But He knoweth the way that I take;

When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

IIe is of one mind, who can turn Him?

If He cut off or shut up, or gather together, who can

hinder Him?

He is wise in heart and mighty in strength.

He removeth the mountains and they know it not.

He shaketh the earth out of its place, the pillars thereof tremble.
He spreadeth out the heavens and walketh on the waves

of the sea.

He knoweth the place where light dwelleth, and where is the place of darkness.

He laid the foundations of the earth, and placed the

corner-stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together,

And all the sons of God shouted for joy.