1Lord! thou art good: all nature shows

Thy bounty through creation flows,

2The whole, and every part, proclaims

It shines in stars, and flows in streams,

3We view it o'er the spreading main,

It drops in gentle showers of rain,

4Through the vast whole it pours supplies,

O, may such love attract my eyes,

5My highest admiration raise,

Employ my tongue in songs of praise,

1O Thou, by long experience tried,

Near whom no grief can long abide;--

My Lord, how full of sweet content

My years of pilgrimage are spent!

2All scenes alike engaging prove,

To souls impressed with sacred love;

Where'er they dwell, they dwell in thee,

In heaven, in earth, or on the sea.

3To them remains nor place nor time;

Their country is in every clime;

They can be calm and free from care

On any shore, since God is there.

4While place we seek, or place we shun,

The soul finds happiness in none;

But with a God to guide our way,

'Tis equal joy to go or stay.

1Thy kingdom, Lord, forever stands,

And time submits to thy commands,

2Thy sovereign bounty freely gives

And universal nature lives

3Holy and just in all its ways

In all its works, immortal rays

4The praise of God--delightful theme!--

Let all creation bless his name,

His nature is all holiness,

When Moses cried, when Samuel prayed,

And oft he made his vengeance known,

Still he's a God of holiness,

1O Thou, to whom all creatures bow

Through all the world how great art thou!

2When heaven, thy glorious work on high,

The moon, that nightly rules the sky,

3Lord, what is man, that he is blessed

Why on his offspring is conferred

4O Thou, to whom all creatures bow

Through all the world how great art thou!

1God of the universe! whose hand

Round which, obeying thy command,

2How vast the region, where thy will

Pleased the wide cup with joy to fill,

3Lord! while we thank thee, let us learn

Those praise thee best, whose bosoms burn

1Holy as thou, O Lord, is none!

Thy holiness is all thine own;

A drop of that unbounded sea

Is ours, a drop derived from thee.

2And when thy purity we share,

Only thy glory we declare;

And humbled into nothing own,

Holy and pure is God alone.

3Sole self-existent God and Lord,

By all the heavenly hosts adored!

Let all on earth bow down to thee,

And own thy peerless majesty.

1The God who reigns alone

Let man with praises own,

2Him all in heaven above,

The exhaustless Source of love,

3He formed the living flame,

Then only He may claim

4So taught his only Son,

The Eternal is but one,

1Jehovah God! thy gracious power

O may the blessings of each hour

2If, on the wings of morn, we speed

Thy hand will there our footsteps lead,

3Thy power is in the ocean deeps,

Thine eye of mercy never sleeps,

4In all the varying scenes of time,

Through every age, in every clime,

1Almighty God! thy wondrous works

An angel's perfect mind exceed,

2Stupendous heights! amazing depths!

Or, if a transient glimpse we gain,

3Though all the mysteries lie concealed

Grant us the knowledge of ourselves,

1Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known

My rising up and lying down;

My secret thoughts are known to thee,

Known long before conceived by me.

2O could I so perfidious be,

To think of once deserting thee!

Where, Lord, could I thy influence shun?

Or whither from thy presence run?

3If I the morning's wings could gain,

And fly beyond the western main,

Thy swifter hand would first arrive,

And there arrest thy fugitive.

4Or should I try to shun thy sight

Beneath the sable wings of night,

One glance from thee, one piercing ray,

Would kindle darkness into day.

5Search, try, O God, my thoughts and heart,

If mischief lurks in any part;

Correct me where I go astray,

And guide me in thy perfect way.

1Thou art, almighty Lord of all,

Before thee dazzling seraphs fall,

To see such bright perfections glow--

Such floods of glory from thee flow.

2What mortal hand shall dare to paint

The brightest rainbow-tints are faint;

But dim effusions of those rays

Of light that round Jehovah blaze.

3The sun himself is but a gleam,

And every frail and fickle beam,

Is nothing, Lord, compared to thee

In thy own vast immensity.

4But though thy brightness may create

What most thy name must elevate

And mercy is the central sun

Of all thy glories joined in one.

1Can creatures to perfection find

Th' eternal, uncreated Mind?

Or can the largest stretch of thought

Measure and search his nature out?

2God is a King of power unknown;

Firm are the orders of his throne;

If he resolve, who dare oppose,

Or ask him why or what he does?

3He frowns, and darkness veils the moon

The fainting sun grows dim at noon:

The pillars of heaven's starry roof

Tremble and start at his reproof.

4These are a portion of his ways:

But who shall dare describe his face?

Who can endure his light, or stand

To hear the thunders of his hand?

1Since o'er thy footstool here below

O what magnificence must glow,

So brilliant here these drops of light--

There the full ocean rolls--how bright!

2If night's blue curtain of the sky--

Hung like a royal canopy

Be, Lord, thy temple's outer veil,

What splendor at the shrine must dwell!

3The dazzling sun, at noon-day hour--

Flinging o'er earth the golden shower

But shows, O Lord, one beam of thine:

What, then, the day where thou dost shine?

4O how shall these dim eyes endure

Or how our spirits so impure,

Anoint, O Lord, anoint our sight,

And fit us for that world of light.

1The Lord descended from above,

And underneath his feet he cast

2On cherubim and seraphim

And on the wings of mighty winds

3He sat serene upon the floods,

And he, as sovereign Lord and King,

1Let the whole race of creatures lie

Whate'er his mighty hand has formed

2Ten thousand ages ere the skies

All the long years and worlds to come

3Trusting thy wisdom, God of love,

What, in the book of thy decrees,

4Be this alone our fervent prayer,--

Or joys, or sorrows, may they form

1All-powerful, self-existent God,

Thou wast, and art, and art to come,

2Fixed and eternal as thy days,

Through ages infinite, shall still

3Fountain of being! Source of good!

Nor can the shadow of a change

4Earth may with all her powers dissolve,

But thou forever art the same,

1There's not a place in earth's vast round,

Where skill and wisdom are not found,

2Around, within, below, above,

There heaven displays its boundless love,

3Then rise, my soul, and sing his name,

Who spread abroad earth's wondrous frame,

4Where'er thine earthly lot is cast,

Nor think the mighty theme too vast,

1Thy ways, O Lord, with wise design,

And every dark or bending line

2With feeble light, and half obscure,

Not knowing that the least are sure,

3They neither know nor trace the way;

None of their feet to ruin stray,

4My favored soul shall meekly learn

Too weak thy secrets to discern,

1Be thou, O God, exalted high;

And as thy glory fills the sky,

So let it be on earth displayed,

Till thou art here, as there, obeyed.

2O God, our hearts are fixed and bent

Their thankful tribute to present;

And, with the heart, the voice, we'll raise

To thee, our God, in songs of praise.

3Thy praises, Lord, we will resound

To all the listening nations round;

Thy mercy highest heaven transcends;

Thy truth beyond the clouds extends.

4Be thou, O God, exalted high;

And as thy glory fills the sky,

So let it be on earth displayed,

Till thou art here, as there, obeyed.

1Holy, holy, holy Lord,

Be thy glorious name adored;

Lord, thy mercies never fail;

Hail, celestial goodness, hail!

2Though unworthy, Lord, thine ear,

Deign our humble songs to hear;

Purer praise we hope to bring,

When around thy throne we sing.

3There no tongue shall silent be;

All shall join in harmony;

That, through heaven's capacious round,

Praise to thee may ever sound.

4Lord, thy mercies never fail;

Hail, celestial goodness, hail!

Holy, holy, holy Lord,

Be thy glorious name adored.

1O, worship the King, all glorious above,

And gratefully sing his wonderful love,

Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

2Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air, it shines in the light,

It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,

And sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.

3Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail;

Thy mercies how tender! how firm to the end!

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

4Father Almighty, how faithful thy love!

While angels delight to hymn thee above,

The humbler creation, though feeble their lays

With true adoration shall lisp to thy praise.

1Praise ye the Lord; on every height

Ye angel hosts, ye stars of night,

2O fire and vapor, hail and snow,

O stormy winds, that only blow

3Mountains and rocks, to heaven that rise

Creatures of life that wing the skies,

4Judges of nations; kings, whose hand

O youths and virgins of the land;

5Praise ye his name, to whom alone

Whose glory, from th' eternal throne,

1Let us, with a gladsome mind,

Praise the Lord, for he is kind;

For his mercies shall endure,

Ever faithful, ever sure.

2Let us sound his name abroad,

For of gods he is the God;

Who, with all-commanding might,

Filled the new-made world with light;

3Caused the golden-tressed sun

All day long his course to run;

And the moon to shine by night,

'Mongst her spangled sisters bright.

4His own people he did bless,

In the wasteful wilderness;

He hath, with a piteous eye,

Viewed us in our misery.

5All his creatures he doth feed;

His full hand supplies their need;

Let us, therefore, warble forth

His high majesty and worth.

1O render thanks to God above,

The fountain of eternal love;

Whose mercy firm through ages past

Has stood and shall forever last.

2Who can his mighty deeds express?--

Not only vast, but numberless!

What mortal eloquence can raise

His tribute of immortal praise?

3Happy are they, and only they,

Who from thy judgments never stray;

Who know what's right, nor only so,

But always practise what they know.

4Extend to me that favor, Lord,

Thou to thy chosen dost afford:

When thou return'st to set them free,

Let thy salvation visit me.

1Glory be to God on high,

God, whose glory fills the sky;

Peace on earth to man forgiven,

Man, the well-beloved of Heaven.

2Favored mortals! raise the song;

Endless thanks to God belong;

Hearts o'erflowing with his praise,

Join the hymns your voices raise.

3Mark the wonders of his hand!

Power no empire can withstand;

Wisdom, angel's glorious theme;

Goodness, one eternal stream.

4Awful Being! from thy throne

Send thy promised blessings down;

Let thy light, thy truth, thy peace,

Bid our raging passions cease.

1To thee, great Source of light!

And all my powers unite

And, till my voice is lost in death,

May praise employ my every breath.

2And when this feeble tongue

My soul shall dwell among

Then, with the shining hosts above,

In nobler strains I'll sing thy love.

1Praise ye the Lord, around whose throne

Whose glory fills the worlds unknown--

2With mingling souls and voices join;

Repeat his name with joy divine,

3All-gracious God, to thee we owe

Light, life, and health, and all below,

4Thine be the praise, for thine the love

That freely all our sins forgave,

Pointed our dying eyes above,

And showed us life beyond the grave.

1My God, my King, thy various praise

Shall fill the remnant of my days;

Thy grace employ my humble tongue

Till death and glory raise the song.

2The wings of every hour shall bear

Some thankful tribute to thine ear;

And every setting sun shall see

New works of duty done for thee.

3Let distant times and nations raise

The long succession of thy praise,

And unborn ages make my song

The joy and labor of their tongue.

4But who can speak thy wondrous deeds?

Thy greatness all our thoughts exceeds

Vast and unsearchable thy ways:

Vast and immortal be thy praise.

1Praise ye Jehovah's name;

Praise through his courts proclaim;

High o'er the heavens above

Sound his great acts of love,

While his rich grace we prove,

2Now let the trumpet raise

Sounds of triumphant praise

There let the harp be found;

Organs, with solemn sound,

Roll your deep notes around,

3While his high praise ye sing,

Shake every sounding string:

He vital breath bestows:

Let every breath that flows

His noblest fame disclose--

1Ye boundless realms of joy,

His praise your songs employ

2Let all adore the Lord,

By whose almighty word

1Begin, my soul, th' exalted lay;

Let each enraptured thought obey,

Lo, heaven and earth and seas and skies

In one melodious concert rise

2Thou heaven of heavens, his vast abode--

Ye clouds, proclaim your Maker, God;

Lo, on the lightning's rapid wings

In triumph rides the King of Kings:

3Ye deeps with roaring billows rise

To join the thunders of the skies--

His praise in softer notes declare,

Each whispering breeze of yielding air,

4Wake, all ye soaring throngs, and sing;

Ye cheerful warblers of the spring,

To him who shaped your finer mould,

Who tipped your glittering wings with gold,

5Let man, by nobler passions swayed,

The feeling heart, the reasoning head,

Spread the Creator's name around,

Till heaven's wide arch repeat the sound--

1O praise ye the Lord--prepare a new song,

With voices united the anthem prolong,

2Let praise to the Lord, who made us, ascend;

The God whom we worship our songs will attend,

3Be joyful, ye saints sustained by his might,

For those who obey him are still his delight--

4Then praise ye the Lord--prepare a glad song,

With voices united the anthem prolong,

1Wide as his vast dominion lies,

Loud as his thunders speak his praise,

2Jehovah!--'tis a glorious word;

But saints, who best have known the Lord,

3Speak of the wonders of that love

From all below, and all above,

1O God, we praise thee, and confess,

And everlasting Father art,

2To thee all angels cry aloud--

Both cherubim and seraphim,

3"O holy, holy, holy Lord,

The world is with the glory filled

4Th' apostles' glorious company,

With all the martyrs' noble host,

5The holy church throughout the world,

That thou eternal Father art

1Praise to thee, thou great Creator;

Join, my soul, with every creature,

2Father, source of all compassion,

Hail the God of our salvation;

3For ten thousand blessings given,

Sound his praise through earth and heaven,

4Joyfully on earth adore him,

There, enraptured, fall before him,

1All, from the sun's uprise,

Resound in jubilees,

2Man drew from man his birth,

Built of the ruddy earth,

3O to his portals press

With thanks his power profess,

1Hail! Source of light, of life, and love,

In whom all creatures live and move:

2All space is with thy presence crowned:

Each spot in nature's ample round,

3Attuned to praise be every voice;

Jehovah reigns! Let earth rejoice;

4Then sound the anthem loud and long,

And be the burden of the song,

1Great God! the heavens' well ordered frame

Declares the glory of thy name,

A thousand starry beauties there,

A thousand radiant marks appear,

2From night to day, from day to night,

The dawning and the dying light

With silent eloquence they raise

Our thoughts to our Creator's praise,

3Yet thy divine instructions run

Far as the journeys of the sun:

We see thy smile in Nature's face,

And in the pages of thy grace