3 His hand provides my constant food,
He fills my daily cup;
Much am I pleased with present good,
And more rejoice in hope.
4 God is my portion, and my joy;
His counsels are my light:
He gives me sweet advice by day,
And gentle hints by night.
5 My soul would all her thoughts approve
To his all-seeing eye;
Not death nor hell my hope shall move,
While such a friend is nigh.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3.
Humility and love to the saints.
1 PRESERVE me, Lord, in time of need!
For succor to thy throne I flee;
But have no merits there to plead ;
My goodness cannot reach to thee.
2 Oft have my heart and tongue confessed,
How empty and how poor I am;
My praise can never make thee blest,
Nor add new glories to thy name.
3 Yet, Lord, thy saints on earth may reap
Some profit by the good we do;
These are the company I keep,
These are the choicest friends I know.
4 Let others choose the sons of mirth, To give a relish to their wine;
I love the men of heavenly birth,
Whose thoughts and language are divine.
THIRD VERSION. V. 48.
Christ's all-sufficiency.
1 HOW fast their guilt and sorrows rise
Who haste to seek some idol-god;
I will not taste their sacrifice,
Their offerings of forbidden blood.
2 My God provides a richer cup,
And nobler food to live upon;
He for my life hath offered up
Jesus, his best beloved Son.
3 His love is my perpetual feast;
By day his counsels guide me right:
And be his name forever blest,
Who gives me sweet advice by night.
4 I set him still before mine eyes;
At my right hand he stands prepared
To keep my soul from all surprise,
And be my everlasting guard.
FOURTH VERSION. V. 8-11.
Hope of the resurrection.
1 WHEN God is nigh, my faith is strong,
His arm is my almighty prop:
Be glad my heart, rejoice my tongue,
My dying flesh shall rest in hope.
2 Though in the dust I lay my head,
Yet, gracious God, thou wilt not leave
My soul forever with the dead,
Nor lose thy children in the grave.
3 My flesh shall thy first call obey,
Shake off the dust and rise on high;
Then shalt thou lead the wondrous way
Up to thy throne above the sky.
4 There streams of endless pleasure flow;
And full discoveries of thy grace,
Which we but tasted here below,
Spread heavenly joys through all the place.
FIFTH VERSION. V. 8-11.
1 1 SET the Lord before my face,
He bears my courage up;
My heart and tongue their joy express,
My flesh shall rest in hope.
2 My spirit, Lord, thou wilt not leave
Where souls departed are;
Nor leave my body in the grave,
To see corruption there.
3 Thou wilt reveal the path of life,
And raise me to thy throne:
Thy courts immortal pleasure give;
Thy presence joys unknown.
FIRST VERSION. V. 3, 13-15.
The portions of saints and sinners.
1 LORD, I am thine; but thou will prove
My faith, my patience, and my love:
When men of spite against me join,
They are the sword, the hand is thine.
2 Their hope and portion lie below,
'Tis all the happiness they know;
'Tis all they seek; they take their shares.
And leave the rest among their heirs.
3 What sinners value I resign;
Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine:
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.
4 This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world, to which I go,
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake and find me there?
5 O glorious hour! O blest abode !
I shall be near and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more control
The sacred pleasures of the soul.
6 My flesh shall slumber in the ground,
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.
SECOND VERSION. V. 13-15.
1 ARISE, my gracious God,
And make the wicked flee;
They are but thy chastising rod
To drive thy saints to thee.
2 Behold the sinner dies,
His haughty words are vain;
Here, in this life, his pleasure lies,
And all beyond is pain.
3 Then let his pride advance,
And boast of all his store:
The Lord is my inheritance,
My soul can wish no more.
B*
4 I shall behold the face
Of my forgiving God;
And stand complete in righteousness,
Washed in my Saviour's blood.
5 There's a new heaven begun
When I awake from death,
Dressed in the likeness of thy Son,
And draw immortal breath.
FIRST VERSION. V. 1-6, 10, 15-18, 49.
Deliverance from despair.
1 THEE will I love, O Lord, my strength,
My rock, my tower, my high defence;
Thy mighty arm shall be my trust,
For I have found salvation thence.
2 Death, and the terrors of the grave,
Stood round me with their dismal shade;
While floods of high temptations rose,
And made my sinking soul afraid.
3 I saw the opening gates of hell,
With endless pains and sorrows there,
Which none, but they that feel, can tell,-
While I was hurried to despair.
4 In my distress I called my God,
When I could scarce believe him mine;
He bowed his ear to my complaint;
Then did his grace appear divine.
5 With speed he flew to my relief,
As on a cherub's wing he rode;
Awful and bright as lightning shone
The face of my deliverer God.
6 Temptations fled at his rebuke,—
The blast of his almighty breath:
He sent salvation from on high,
And drew me from the deeps of death.
7 My song forever shall record
That terrible, that joyful hour;
And give the glory to the Lord,
Due to his mercy and his power.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 10, 14, 50.
Victory and triumph over temporal enemies.
1 WE love thee, Lord, and we adore;
Now is thine arm revealed;
Thou art our strength, our heavenly tower,
Our bulwark and our shield.
2 We fly to our eternal Rock,
And find a sure defence;
His holy name our lips invoke,
And draw salvation thence.
3 When God, our leader, shines in arms,
What mortal heart can bear
The thunder of his loud alarms,
The lightning of his spear?
4 He rides upon the wingéd wind,
And angels in array,
In millions, wait to know his mind,
And swift as flames obey.
5 He speaks, and at his fierce rebuke
Whole armies are dismayed;
His voice, his frown, his angry look,
Strikes all their courage dead.
6 Oft has the Lord whole nations blessed
For his own children's sake;
The powers that give his people rest
Shall of his care partake.
THIRD VERSION. V. 9-11.
God appearing in majesty.
1 THE Lord descended from above,
And bowed the heavens most high;
And underneath his feet he cast
The darkness of the sky.
2 On cherub and on cherubim
Full royally he rode,
And on the wings of mighty winds
Came flying all abroad.
3 He sat serene upon the floods,
Their fury to restrain;
And he, as sovereign Lord and King,
For evermore shall reign.
|