Part 36 (1/2)
1 Great G.o.d, how infinite art thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow And pay their praise to thee.
2 Thy throne eternal ages stood, Ere seas or stars were made; Thou art the ever-living G.o.d Were all the nations dead.
3 Nature and time quite naked lie To thine immense survey, From the formation of the sky To the great burning day.
4 Eternity with all its years Stands present in thy view; To thee there's nothing old appears, Great G.o.d, there's nothing new.
5 Our lives thro' various scenes are drawn, And vex'd with trifling cares; While thine eternal thought moves on Thine undisturb'd affairs.
6 Great G.o.d, how infinite art thou!
What worthless worms are we!
Let the whole race of creatures bow And pay their praise to thee.
Hymn 2:68.
The humble wors.h.i.+p of heaven.
1 Father, I long, I faint to see The place of thine abode, I'd leave thy earthly courts and flee Up to thy seat, my G.o.d!
2 Here I behold thy distant face, And 'tis a pleasing sight; But to abide in thine embrace Is infinite delight.
3 I'd part with all the joys of sense To gaze upon thy throne; Pleasure springs fresh for ever thence, Unspeakable, unknown.
4 [There all the heavenly hosts are seen, In s.h.i.+ning ranks they move, And drink immortal vigour in, With wonder and with love.
5 Then at thy feet with awful fear Th' adoring armies fall With joy they shrink to _nothing_ there, Before th' Eternal All.
6 There I would vie with all the host In duty and in bliss, While _less than nothing_ I could boast, And _vanity_ confess.] _[1]_
7 The more thy glories strike mine eyes, The humbler I shall lie; Thus while I sink, my joys shall rise Unmeasurably high.
_[1]_ Isaiah 40:17.
Hymn 2:69.
The faithfulness of G.o.d in his promises.
1 [Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme, And speak some boundless thing, The mighty works, or mightier name Of our eternal King.
2 Tell of his wondrous faithfulness, And sound his power abroad, Sing the sweet promise of his grace, And the performing G.o.d.
3 Proclaim ”salvation from the Lord ”For wretched dying men;”
His hand has writ the sacred word With an immortal pen.
4 Engrav'd as in eternal bra.s.s, The mighty promise s.h.i.+nes; Nor can the powers of darkness rase Those everlasting lines.]
5 [He that can dash whole worlds to death And make them when he please, He speaks, and that almighty breath Fulfils his great decrees.