FOURTH VERSION. V. 20-26.
Sincerity proved and rewarded.
1 LORD, thou hast seen my soul sincere, Hast made thy truth and love appear: Before mine eyes I set thy laws,
And thou hast owned my righteous cause. 2 What sore temptations broke my rest! What wars and strugglings in my breast! But through thy grace that reigns within, I guard against my darling sin.
3 The sin that close besets me still,
That works and strives against my will,-
When shall thy Spirit's sovereign power
Destroy it, that it rise no more?
4 With an impartial hand, the Lord
Deals out to mortals their reward:
The kind and faithful soul shall find
A God as faithful and as kind.
5 The just and pure shall ever say,
Thou art more pure, more just than they;
And men that love revenge shall know,
Thou hast an arm of vengeance too.
FIFTH VERSION. V. 30-35, 46-50.
Salvation and triumph in God.
1 JUST are thy ways, and true thy word, Great Rock of my secure abode;
Who is a God beside the Lord?
Or where's a refuge like our God?
2 'Tis he that girds me with his might,
Gives me his holy sword to wield;
And while with sin and hell I fight,
Spreads his salvation for my shield.
3 He lives-and blesséd be my Rock-
The God of my salvation lives;
The dark designs of hell he broke:
Sweet is the peace my Father gives.
4 Before the scoffers of the age
I will exalt my Father's name,
Nor tremble at their mighty rage,
But meet reproach and bear the shame.
5 To David and his royal seed
Thy grace forever shall extend:
Thy love to saints, in Christ their head,
Knows not a limit, nor an end.
SIXTH VERSION. V. 46-49.
Triumphing in Christ's victory.
1 LO! the Lord Jehovah liveth!
He's my rock, I bless his name:
He, my God, salvation giveth;
All ye lands, exalt his fame.
2 O'er his enemies exalted,
See the great Redeemer rise!
Though by powers of hell assaulted,
God supports him to the skies.
3 God, Messiah's cause maintaining,
Shall his righteous throne extend:
O'er the world the Saviour reigning,
Earth shall at his footstool bend.
The book of nature and scripture compared.
1 THE heavens declare thy glory, Lord,
In every star thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold thy word,
We read thy name in fairer lines.
2 The rolling sun, the changing light,
And nights and days thy power confess,
But the blest volume thou hast writ,
Reveals thy justice and thy grace.
3 Sun, moon, and stars, convey thy praise
Round the whole earth, and never stand:
So, when thy truth began its race,
It touched and glanced on every
4 Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest,
Till through the world thy truth has run;
Till Christ has all the nations blessed
That see the light, or feel the sun.
5 Great Sun of righteousness, arise;
Bless the dark world with heavenly light:
Thy gospel makes the simple wise,
Thy laws are pure, thy judgments right.
6 Thy noblest wonders here we view,
In souls renewed, and sins forgiven;
Lord, cleanse my sins, my soul renew,
And make thy word my guide to heaven.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 7—9, 11, 14.
For a Lord's-Day morning.
1 BEHOLD the lofty sky
Declares its maker, God,
And all his starry works on high
Proclaim his power abroad.
2 The darkness and the light
Still keep their course the same;
While night to day, and day to night,
Divinely teach his name.
3 In every different land
Their general voice is known:
They show the wonders of his hand,.
And orders of his throne.
4 Ye christian lands rejoice;
Here he reveals his word:
We are not left to nature's voice
To bid us know the Lord.
5 His statutes and commands
Are set before our eyes;
He puts his gospel in our hands,
Where our salvation lies.
6 His laws are just and pure;
His truth without deceit;
His promises forever sure,
And his rewards are great.
7 While of thy works I sing,
Thy glory to proclaim,
Accept the praise, my God, my King,
In my Redeemer's name.
THIRD VERSION. V. 1-9.
God's word most excellent.
1 BEHOLD the morning sun
Begins his glorious way;
His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey.
2 But where the gospel comes
It spreads diviner light;
It calls dead sinners from their tombs,
And gives the blind their sight.
3 How perfect is thy word!
And all thy judgments just!
Forever sure thy promise, Lord,
And men securely trust.
4 My gracious God, how plain
Are thy directions given!
O may I never read in vain,
But find the path to heaven.
FOURTH VERSION.
The glory of God in his works.
1 THY glory, Lord, the heavens declare,
The firmament displays thy skill;
The changing clouds, the viewless air,
Tempest and calm, thy word fulfill;
Day unto day doth utter speech,
And night to night thy knowledge teach.
2 Though voice nor sound inform the ear,
Well known the language of their song,
When one by one the stars appear,
Led by the silent moon along,
Till round the earth, from all the sky,
Thy beauty beams on every eye.
3 Waked by thy touch, the morning sun
Comes like a bridegroom from his bower
And, like a giant, glad to run
His bright career with speed and power,—
Thy flaming messenger, to dart
Life through the depth of nature's heart.
4 While these transporting visions shine,
Along the path of Providence,
Glory eternal, joy divine,
Thy word reveals, transcending sense;
My soul thy goodness longs to see,
Thy love to man, thy love to me.
FIFTH VERSION. V. 1-6.
1 THE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
2 Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display;
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.
3 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale;
And nightly, to the listening earth,
Repeats the story of her birth;—
4 While all the stars that round her burn.
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
5 What though in solemn silence all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball,-
What though no real voice nor sound
Amid their radiant orbs are found,—
6 In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing as they shine,-
'The hand that made us is divine.'
SIXTH VERSION. V. 7, 8, 11.
The glory of God in his word.
1 THE starry firmament on high,
And all the glories of the sky,
Yet shine not to thy praise, O Lord,
So brightly as thy written word:
The hopes that holy word supplies,
Its truths divine and precepts wise-
In each a heavenly beam I see,
And every beam conducts to thee.
2 Almighty Lord! the sun shall fail,
The moon forget her nightly tale,
And deepest silence hush on high
The radiant chorus of the sky;-
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