OD moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the fea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treafures up His deep defigns,
And works His Sovereign will.
Ye fearful faints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye fo much dread
Are big with mercy, and fhall break
In bleffings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble fense,
But truft Him for His grace:
Behind a frowning Providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But fweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is fure to err,
And fcan His works in vain :
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
OD of my life, to Thee I call;
Afflicted, at Thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fail!
Friend of the friendless and the faint!
Where fhall I lodge my deep complaint?
Where but with Thee, whofe open door
Invites the helpless and the poor?
Did ever mourner plead with Thee,
And Thou refuse that mourner's plea ?
Does not the word ftill fixed remain,
That none shall feek Thy face in vain ?
That were a grief I could not bear,
Didft Thou not hear and answer prayer;
But a prayer-hearing, answering God
Supports me under every load.
Fair is the lot that's caft for me,
I have an advocate with Thee;
They, whom the world careffes most,
Have no fuch privilege to boast.
Poor though I am, defpifed, forgot,
Yet God, my God, forgets me not;
And he is fafe, and muft fucceed,
For whom the Lord vouchfafes to plead.
TERNAL Power! whofe high abode
Becomes the grandeur of a God,
Infinite lengths beyond the bounds
Where ftars revolve their little rounds.
Thee, while the firft archangel fings,
He hides his face beneath his wings;
And ranks of fhining thrones around,
Fall worshipping, and fpread the ground.
Lord, what fhall earth and ashes do?
We would adore our Maker too!
From fin and duft to Thee we cry,
The Great, the Holy, and the High.
Earth from afar hath heard Thy fame,
And worms have learned to lifp Thy name,
But, oh! the glories of Thy mind,
Leaving all our foaring thoughts behind.
God is in heaven, and men below,
Be fhort our tunes; our words be few;
A folemn reverence checks our fongs,
And praise fits filent on our tongues.
GOD! our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the ftormy blaft,
And our eternal home!
Under the fhadow of Thy throne,
Thy faints have dwelt fecure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is fure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the fame.
A thousand ages in Thy fight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch than ends the night
Before the rifing fun.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And loft in following years.
Time like an everlasting stream,
Bears all its fins away
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
Like flowery fields the nations stand
Pleased with the morning light;
The flowers beneath the mower's hand
Lie withering ere 'tis night.
O God! our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
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