4 If I should try to shun Thy sight
Beneath the spreading veil of night,
One glance of Thine, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.
5 Amazing knowledge, vast and great!
What large extent, what lofty height!
My soul, with all the powers I boast,
Is in the boundless prospect lost.
6 O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where'er I rove, where'er I rest;
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin; for God is there.
1 In sleep's serene oblivion laid,
I safely passed the silent night:
Again I see the breaking shade,
I drink again the morning light.
2 New born, I bless the waking hour;
Once more, with awe, rejoice to be:
My conscious soul resumes her power,
And springs, my guardian God! to Thee.
3 O guide me through the various maze
My doubtful feet are doomed to tread;
And spread Thy shield's protecting blaze
Where dangers press around my head.
4 A deeper shade shall soon impend,
A deeper sleep mine eyes oppress;
Yet then Thy strength shall still defend,
Thy goodness still delight to bless.
5 That deeper shade shall break away,
That deeper sleep shall leave mine eyes:
Thy light shall give eternal day;
Thy love, the rapture of the skies.
1 Lord! Thou art good; all nature shows
Its mighty Author kind;
Thy bounty through creation flows,
Full, free, and unconfined.
2 The whole, and every part, proclaims
Unlimited good-will;
It shines in stars, and flows in streams,
And broods on every hill.
3 It spreads through all the spreading main, And heavens which spread more wide: It drops in every shower of rain,
And rolls on every tide.
4 Still hath it been diffused and free,
Through ages past and gone;
Nor ever can exhausted be,
But still keeps flowing on.
5 Through the vast whole it pours supplies, Spreads joy through every part;
Lord! let such goodness draw mine eyes, And captivate my heart.
6 High admiration let it raise,
And strong affection move;
Employ my tongue in songs of praise,
And fill my heart with love.
1 Lift your voice, and thankful sing
Praises to your heavenly King;
For His blessings far extend,
And His mercy knows no end.
2 Be the Lord your only theme,
Who of gods is God supreme;
He to whom all lords beside
Bow the knee and veil their pride:
3 Who asserts His just command,
By the wonders of His hand;
He whose wisdom, throned on high,
Built the mansions of the sky;
4 He who bade the watery deep
Under earth's foundation sleep;
And the orbs that gild the pole
Through the boundless ether roll.
5 On our sorrows, from on high
He with pity casts an eye:
In each danger, o'er our heads
He the shield of safety spreads.
6 Lift your voice, and thankful sing
Praise to heaven's eternal King
For His blessings far extend,
And His mercy knows no end.
1 In all my vast concerns with Thee,
In vain my soul would try
To shun Thy presence, Lord, or flee
The notice of Thine eye.
2 Thy 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 The beams of noon, the midnight hour, Are both alike to Thee;
I ne'er provoke that power
From which I cannot flee!
1 How shall I praise the eternal God,
That infinite Unknown?
Who can ascend His high abode,
Or venture near His throne?
2 The great Invisible, He dwells
Concealed in dazzling light;
But His all-searching eye reveals
The secrets of the night.
3 Those watchful eyes, that never sleep,
Survey the world around:
His wisdom is a boundless deep,
Where all our thoughts are drowned.
4 Speak we of strength, His arm is strong, To save or to destroy:
To Him eternal years belong,
And never-ending joy.
5 He knows no shadow of a change,
Nor alters His decrees;
Firm as a rock His truth remains,
To guard His promises.
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