3. Thy quick'ning hand restores our breath,
When trembling on the verge of death:
Gently it wipes away our tears,
And lengthens life to future years.
4. Our lives are sacred to the Lord,
Kindled by him, by him restor'd;
And, while our hours renew their race,
May sin no more these hours disgrace!
5. So when, at length, by thee we're led
Through unknown regions of the dead,
With hope triumphant may we move
To scenes of nobler life above.
HYMN 24. L. M.
1. IN glad amazement, Lord, I stand,
Amidst the bounties of thy hand.
How numberless these bounties are!
How rich, how various, and how fair!
2. But O! what poor returns I make !
What lifeless thanks I pay thee back'
Lord! I confess with humble shame,
My off'rings scarce deserve the name.
3. Fain would my lab'ring heart devise
To bring some nobler sacrifice.
It sinks beneath the mighty load:
What shall I render to my God?
4. To him I consecrate my praise,
And vow the remnant of my days,
Yet, what, at best, can I pretend,
Worthy such gifts from such a friend ?
5. In deep abasement, Lord, I see,
My emptiness and poverty.
Enrich my soul with grace divine,
And make me worthier to be thine.
6. Give me at length an angel's tongue,
That heav'n may echo with my song.
The theme too great for time shall be
The joy of long eternity.
HYMN 25. s. M.
Lord, our heav'nly King!
Thy name is all divine.
Thy glories round the earth are spread,
And o'er the heav'ns they shine.
2. When to thy works above
I raise my wond'ring eyes,
And see the moon thy hands have form'd In all her splendour rise:
3. When I survey the stars,
That fill the vaulted sky :Lord, what is man, that he should stand In thy regard so high?
4. Or what the son of man,
That he should be thy care, And in the bounties of thy grace Possess so large a share?
5. Tho' offspring of the dust,
(How vast the debt we owe !) Next to thine angels are we plac'd, And lords of all below.
6. Appointed for our use,
The subject beasts obey,
And birds that cut the air with wings,
And fish that cleave the sea.
7. How rich thy favours are!
How wondrous are thy ways!
Of dust and worms thy pow'r can frame,
A monument of praise.
HYMN 26. c. M.
1. ALMIGHTY Father! Gracious Lord!
Kind Guardian of my days!
Thy mercies let my heart record
In songs of grateful praise.
2. In life's first dawn, my tender frame
Was thy indulgent care,
Long ere I could pronounce thy name,
Or breathe the infant pray'r.
3. When reason with my stature grew,
How weak her brightest ray!
How little of my God I knew
How apt from thee to stray
4. Around my path what dangers rose!
What snares o'erspread my road!
No pow'r could guard me from my foes,
But my Preserver, God.
5. When life hung trembling on a breath,
Twas thy unceasing love
That sav'd me from impending death,
And bade my fears remove.
6. Lord, though this mortal frame decays,
And earthly comfort flies;
Complete the wonders of thy grace,
And raise me to the skies.
7. Then shall my joyful pow'rs unite
In more exalted lays,
And join the happy sons of light
In everlasting praise.
HYMN 27. c. M.
God, what blessings round me shone,
Where'er I turn'd mine eye!
How many pass'd almost unknown,
Or unregarded by !
2. Each rolling year new favours brought
From thy exhaustless store.
But, ah! in vain my lab'ring thought
Would count thy mercies o'er:
3. While sweet reflection, thro' my days,
Thy bounteous hand would trace;
Still dearer blessings claim my praise,
The blessings of thy grace.
4. Yes, I adore thee, gracious Lord!
For favours more divine;
That I have known thy sacred word,
Where all thy glories shine.
5. My highest praise, alas, how poor!
How cold my warmest love!
My Father! teach me to adore
As angels do above.
THEN all thy mercies, O my God!
My rising soul surveys:
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.
2. O how shall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravish'd heart!
But thou canst read it there.
3. Thy providence my life sustain'd,
And all my wants redress'd,
When in the silent womb I lay
Or hung upon the breast.
4. To all my weak complaints and cries
Thy mercy lent an ear,
Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learnt
To form themselves in pray'r.
5. Unnumber'd comforts on my soul
Thy tender care bestow'd'
Before my infant heart conceiv'd
From whom those comforts flow'd.
6. When in the slipp'ry paths of youth,
With heedless steps, I ran;
Thine arm, unseen, convey'd me safe,
And led me up to man.
7. Through hidden dangers, toils and deaths, It gently clear'd my way;
And through the pleasing snares of vice,
More to be fear'd than they.
8. When worn with sickness, oft hast thou With health renew'd my face;
And, when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Reviv'd my soul with grace.
9. Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss, Hath made my cup run o'er,
And in a kind and faithful friend
Hath doubled all my store.
10. Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart
Which tastes those gifts with joy.
11. Through ev'ry period of my life
Thy goodness I'll pursue;
And, after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.
12. When nature fails, and day and night
Divide thy works no more,
My ever grateful heart, O Lord!
Thy mercy shall adore.
13. Through all eternity to thee
A joyful song I'll raise :--
But oh! eternity's too short
To utter all thy praise!
CHARACTER AND PERFECTIONS OF GOD.
HYMN 29. L. M.
God incomprehensible.
1. GREAT God, in vain man's narrow view
Attempts to look thy nature through.
Our lab'ring pow'rs with rev'rence own,
Thy glories never can be known.
2. Not the high seraph's mighty thought,
Who countless years his God has sought,
Such wondrous height or depth can find,
Or fully trace thy boundless mind.
3. Yet Lord, thy kindness deigns to show
Enough for mortal men to know;
While wisdom, goodness, pow'r divine
Thro' all thy works and conduct shine.
4. O! may our souls with rapture trace
Thy works of nature and of grace,
Explore thy sacred truth, and still
Press on to know and do thy will!
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