67

HYMN 83. B. 1. C. M.

Durham, Windsor.

Afflictions and death under providence.

1 NOT from the dust affliction grows,
Nor troubles rise by chance;

Yet we are born to cares and woes;
A sad inheritance!

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2 As sparks break out from burning coals, And still are upwards borne ;

So grief is rooted in our souls,

And man grows up to mourn.

3 Yet with my God I leave my cause,.
And trust his promis'd grace:
He rules me by his well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.

4 Not all the pains that e'er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace;

For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.

68

HYMN 13. B. 2. L. M.

Luton, Nantwich, Truro.

The creation, and dissolution of the world.
1 SING to the Lord who built the skies,
The Lord who rear'd this stately frame;
Let all the nations sound his praise,
And lands unknown repeat his name.

2 He form'd the seas, and form'd the hills,
Made every drop, and every dust-
Nature and time with all their wheels,
And push'd them into motion first.
3 Now, from his high imperial throne,
He looks far down upon the spheres ;
He bids the shining orbs roll on,
And round he turns the hasty years.

4 Thus shall this moving engine last,
Till all his saints are gather'd in:
Then for the trumpet's dreadful blast,
To shake it all to dust again.

5 Yet when the sound shall tear the skies, And lightning burn the globe below, Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes, 'There's a new heaven and earth for you.

69

PSALM 107. 4th Part. L. M.

Eaton, Nantwich, Blendon.

The seaman's song.

1 WOULD you behold the works of God, His wonders in the world abroad?

Go with the mariners, and trace The unknown regions of the seas. 2 They leave their native shores behind, And seize the favour of the wind, Till God command, and tempests rise, That heave the ocean to the skies. S Now to the heav'ns they mount amain; Now sink to dreadful deeps again; What strange affright young sailors fell, And like a staggering drunkard reel! 4 When land is far, and death is nigh, Lost to all hope, to God they cry: His mercy hears their loud address, And sends salvation in distress.

5 He bids the winds their wrath assuage,
The furious waves forget their rage:
'Tis calm; and sailors smile to see
The haven where they wish'd to be.

6 O may the sons of men record
The wondrous goodness of the Lord!
Let them their private off'rings bring,
And in the church his glory sing.

70

PSALM 107. C. M.
Cambridge, Rochester, Abridge.
The mariner's psalm.

1 THY works of glory, mighty Lord,
Thy wonders in the deeps,
The sons of courage shall record,
Who trade in floating ships.

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2 At thy command the winds arise,
And swell the towering waves;
The men, astonish'd, mount the skies,
And sink in gaping graves.

3 [Again they climb the watery hills,
And plunge in deeps again:
Each like a tott'ring drunkard reels,
And finds his courage vain.

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4 Frighted to hear the tempest roar,
They pant with flutt'ring breath;
And, hopeless of a distant shore,
Expect immediate death.]

5 Then to the Lord they raise their cries;
He hears their loud request,
And orders silence through the skies,
And lays the floods to rest.

6 Sailors rejoice to lose their fears,
And see the storm allay'd:

Now to their eyes the port appears;
There let their vows be paid.

7 'Tis God that brings them safe to land; Let stupid mortals know

That waves are under his command,
And all the winds that blow.

8 O that the sons of men would praise
The goodness of the Lord!

And those that see thy wondrous ways, Thy wondrous love record.

71}

HYMN 109. B. 2. L. M.
Bath, Putney.

The darkness of providence.

1 LORD, we adore thy vast designs,
Th' obscure abyss of providence!
Too deep to sound with mortal lines,
Too dark to view with feeble sense.

2 Now thou array'st thine awful face
In angry frowns, without a smile:
We through the cloud believe thy grace,
Secure of thy compassion still.

I

3 Through seas and storms of deep distress We sail by faith, and not by sight; Faith guides us in the wilderness, Through all the terrors of the night. 4 Dear Father, if thy lifted rod Resolve to scourge us here below; Still let us lean upon our God,

Thine arm shall bear us safely through.

72}

PSALM 73. S. M.

Sutton, Hopkins.

The mystery of providence unfolded.

1 SURE there's a righteous God,

Nor is religion vain;

Though men of vice may boast aloud,

And men of grace complain.

2 I saw the wicked rise,

And felt my heart repine,

While haughty fools, with scornful eyes, In robes of honour shine.

3 [Pamper'd with wanton ease,

Their flesh looks full and fair;

Their wealth rolls in like flowing seas,
And grows without their care.

4

Free from the plagues and pains
That pious souls endure,

Through all their life oppression reigns,
And racks the humble poor.

5 Their impious tongues blaspheme
The everlasting God:

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Their malice blasts the good man's name,

And spreads their lies abroad.

But I, with flowing tears,
Indulg'd my doubts to rise;

"Is there a God that sees or hears
"The things below the skies ?"1

The tumults of my thought

Held me in hard suspense,

Till to thy house my feet were brought,
To learn thy justice thence.

Thy word with light and power
Did my mistakes amend;

I view'd the sinners' life before,
But here I learnt their end.

On what a slippery steep
The thoughtless wretches go:
And O, that dreadful fiery deep,
That waits their fall below!

10 Lord, at thy feet I bow,

My thoughts no more repine;
I call my God my portion now;
And all my powers are thine.

73}

PSALM 73.

1st Part. C. M.

London, Dundee.

Afflicted saints happy, and prosperous sinners cursed.

1 NOW I'm convinc'd the Lord is kind To men of heart sincere:

Yet once my foolish thoughts repin'd,
And border'd on despair.