2 But ere this spacious world was made,
Or had its first foundations laid,
Thy throne eternal ages stood,
Thyself the ever-living God.

3 Like floods the angry nations rise,
And aim their rage against the skies;
Vain floods, that aim their rage so high;
At thy rebuke the billows die.

4 For ever shall thy throne endure;
Thy promise stands for ever sure :
And everlasting holiness

Becomes the dwellings of thy grace.

93

1

SECOND PART.

"The Lord reigneth."

10. 11.

THE Lord of glory reigns, he reigns on high, His robes of state are strength and majesty; This wide creation rose at his command, Built by his word, and 'stablished by his hand: Long stood his throne ere he began creation, And his own Godhead is the firm foundation. 2 God is th' eternal King: thy foes in vain Raise their rebellion, to confound thy reign: In vain the storms, in vain the floods arise, And roar, and toss their waves against the skies, Foaming at heaven, they rage with wild commotion; But heaven's high arches scorn the swelling ocean. 3 Ye tempests, rage no more; ye floods, be still; And the mad world, obedient to his will: Built on his truth, his church must ever stand: Firm are his promises, and strong his hand: See his own sons, when they appear before him, Bow at his footstool, and with fear adore him.

HE Lord Jehovah reigns,

THE

And royal state maintains;

His head with awful glories crowned;
Arrayed in robes of light,

Begirt with sovereign might,

And rays of majesty around.

P. M.

2

Upheld by thy commands,
The world securely stands,

And skies and stars obey thy word:
Thy throne was fixed on high,
Before the starry sky:
Eternal is thy kingdom, Lord.
3 In vain the noisy crowd,

4

5

Like billows fierce and loud, Against thine empire rage and roar; In vain with angry spite

The surly nations fight,

And dash like waves against the shore.

Let floods and nations rage,
And all their powers engage;
Let swelling tides assault the sky:
The terrors of thy frown

Shall beat their madness down;
Thy throne for ever stands on high.

Thy promises are true,

Thy grace is ever new;

There fixed, thy church shall ne'er remove:

Thy saints, with holy fear

Shall in thy courts appear,

And sing thine everlasting love.

94

FIRST PART.

Ver. 1, 2, 7-14. Instructive Afflictions.

1 GOD, to whom revenge belongs,
Proclaim thy wrath aloud;

Let sovereign power redress our wrongs;
Let justice smite the proud.

2 They say, "The Lord nor sees nor hears ;"
When will the fools be wise?

Can he be deaf who formed their ears,
Or blind who made their eyes?

3 He knows their impious thoughts are vain,
And they shall feel his power;

C. M.

His wrath shall pierce their souls with pain,
In some surprising hour.

4 But if thy saints deserve rebuke,

Thou hast a gentler rod;

Thy providences and thy book

Shall make them know their God.

5 Bless'd is the man thy hands chastise,
And to his duty draw;

Thy scourges make thy children wise,
When they forget thy law.

6 But God will ne'er cast off his saints,
Nor his own promise break;

He pardons his inheritance
For their Redeemer's sake.

94

1

WHO

SECOND PART.

Ver. 16-23. God our Support. HO will arise, and plead my right Against my numerous foes, While earth and hell their force unite, And all my hopes oppose?

2 Had not the Lord, my Rock, my Help,
Sustained my fainting head,

My life had now in silence dwelt,
My soul amongst the dead.

3 "Alas, my sliding feet," I cried,-
Thy promise was my prop;

Thy grace stood constant by my side,
Thy Spirit bore me up.

4 While multitudes of mournful thoughts
Within my bosom roll,

Thy boundless love forgives my faults,
Thy comforts cheer my soul.

5 Powers of iniquity may rise,

And frame pernicious laws;
But God, my refuge, rules the skies;
He will defend my cause.

6 Let malice vent her rage aloud;

Let bold blasphemers scoff;

The Lord our God shall judge the proud,
And cut the sinners off.

95

1

A Psalm before Prayer.

SING to the Lord Jehovah's name,
And in his strength rejoice;

When his salvation is our theme,
Exalted be our voice.

C. M.

C. M.

2 With thanks approach his awful sight,
And psalms of honor sing;

The Lord's a God of boundless might,
The whole creation's King.

3 Let princes hear, let angels know,
How mean their natures seem,
(Those gods on high, and gods below,)
When once compared with him.

4 Earth, with its caverns dark and deep,
Lies in his spacious hand;

He fixed the seas what bounds to keep,
And where the hills must stand.

5 Come, and with humble souls adore;
Come, kneel before his face;
Oh may the creatures of his power
Be children of his grace.

6 Now is the time; he bends his ear,
And waits for your request;

Come, lest he rouse his wrath and swear-"Ye shall not see my rest."

95

1

2

3

A Psalm before Sermon.

COME, sound his praise abroad,
And hymns of glory sing;

Jehovah is the sovereign God,
The universal King.

He formed the deeps unknown,
He gave the seas their bound;
The watery worlds are all his own,
And all the solid ground.

Come, worship at his throne;
Come, bow before the Lord:
We are his work, and not our own,
He formed us by his word.

4 To-day attend his voice,

Nor dare provoke his rod;
Come, like the people of his choice,

And own your gracious God.

5 But if your ears refuse

The language of his grace,

S. M.

And hearts grow hard, like stubborn Jews,
That unbelieving race;

6 The Lord, in vengeance dressed,
Will lift his hand and swear-
"You that despise my promised rest,
Shall have no portion there."

95

1

Ver. 1, 2, 3, 6—11.

A Warning to delaying Sinners.

COME, let our voices join to raise
A sacred song of solemn praise;
God is a sovereign King, rehearse
His honors in exalted verse.

2 Come, let our souls address the Lord,
Who framed our natures with his word;
He is our Shepherd; we the sheep
His mercy chose, his pastures keep.
3 Come, let us hear his voice to-day,
The counsels of his love obey;

Nor let our hardened hearts renew
The sins and plagues that Israel knew.
4 Israel, that saw his works of grace,
Tempted their Maker to his face;
A faithless, unbelieving brood,
That tired the patience of their God!

L. M.

5 Thus saith the Lord, "How false they prove!
Forget my power; abuse my love:
Since they despise my rest, I swear
Their feet shall never enter there."

6 Look back, my soul, with holy dread,
And view those ancient rebels dead:
Attend the offered grace to-day,
Nor lose the blessing by delay.

7 Seize the kind promise while it waits,
And march to Zion's heavenly gates:
Believe, and take the promised rest;
Obey, and be for ever bless'd.

96

Ver. 1-10, &c.

Christ's first and second Coming.

1 SING to the Lord, ye distant lands,
Ye tribes of every tongue;

His new discovered grace demands
A new and nobler song.

C. M.