3 Howl, winds of night! your force combine Without his high behest,

Ye shall not in the mountain pine
Disturb the sparrow's nest.

His voice sublime is heard afar;
In distant peals it dies;

He yokes the whirlwinds to his car,
And sweeps the sounding skies.

5 Ye nations bend, in reverence bend;
Ye monarchs, wait his nod,
And bid the choral song ascend
To celebrate our God!

L. M.

156.

WATTS.

Greatness of God. Psalm 145.

1 My 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.

2 The 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.

3 Thy works with sovereign glory shine,
And speak thy majesty divine;
Let every realm with joy proclaim.
The sound and honor of thy name.

4 But who can speak thy wondrous deeds?
Thy greatness all our thoughts exceeds;
Vast and unsearchable thy ways;
Vast and immortal be thy praise!

C. M.

157.

COWPER.

Mysteries of Providence.

1 GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform:
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

2 Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

3 Ye fearful saints! fresh courage take:
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and will break
In blessings on your head.

4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace :
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

5 His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour:

The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain :
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

8 & 7s. M.

158.

God is Love.

BOWRING.

1 God is love; his mercy brightens All the path in which we rove;

Bliss he wakes and woe he lightens :
God is wisdom, God is love.

2 Chance and change are busy ever;
Man decays, and ages move;
But his mercy waneth never:
God is wisdom, God is love.

3 E'en the hour that darkest seemeth
Will his changeless goodness prove;
From the gloom his brightness streameth:
God is wisdom, God is love.

4 He with earthly cares entwineth
Hope and comfort from above;
Everywhere his glory shineth:
God is wisdom, God is love.

L. M.

159.

WATTS.

The Goodness of God in the Seasons. Psalm 65.

1 AT God's command, the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun's declining wheels
Over the tops of western hills.

2 Seasons and times obey his voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit, and dressed in flowers.

3 'T is from his watery stores on high
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth his enriching drops dispense.

4 The desert grows a fruitful field;
Abundant food the gardens yield;
The valleys shout with cheerful voice,
And neighboring hills repeat their joys.

5 Thy works pronounce thy power divine;
O'er every field thy glories shine;
Through every month thy gifts appear:
Great God! thy goodness crowns the year.

L. M.

160.

To the Invisible Author of Nature.

WATTS.

1 THY hand unseen sustains the poles
On which this vast creation rolls;
The starry arch proclaims thy power,
Thy pencil glows in every flower.

2 In thousand shapes and colors rise
Thy painted wonders to our eyes;
While beasts and birds, with laboring throats,
Teach us a God in thousand notes.

3 The meanest part in nature's frame
Marks out some letter of thy name;
Where sense can reach, or fancy rove,
From hill to hill, from field to grove,

4 Across the waves, around the sky,
There's not a spot, or deep or high,
Where the Creator has not trod,
And left the footsteps of a God.

--

5 Fain would I trace the immortal way,
That leads to courts of endless day,
Where the Creator stands confessed,
In his own fairest glories dressed.

L. M.

161.

DODDRIDGE.

Immutability of God. Psalm 102.

1 GREAT Former of this various frame!
Our souls adore thine awful name;
And bow, and tremble, while we praise
The Ancient of eternal days.

2 Beyond an angel's vision bright,
Thou dwell'st in self-existent light;
Which shines with undiminished ray,
While suns and worlds in smoke decay.

3 Our days a transient period run,
And change with every circling sun;
And, in the firmest state we boast,
A moth can crush us into dust.

4 But let the creatures fall around;
Let death consign us to the ground;
Let the last general flame arise,
And melt the arches of the skies;

5 Calm as the summer's ocean, we
Can all the wreck of nature see,
While grace secures us an abode,
Unshaken as the throne of God.

S. M.

162.

WATTS.

1

Abounding Compassion of God. Psalm 103.

My soul, repeat his praise Whose mercies are so great; Whose anger is so slow to rise, So ready to abate.