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HYMN CLVII. L. M.

Thy Statutes have been my Song in the House of my Pilgrimage.

I.

THILE on the melancholy way,
That journey of a winter's day,
Of human life, I pass along,
Wherever, as my wand'ring guest,
I bend my weary head to rest,

Thy laws, O LORD! have been my song.

II.

Though all the horrid shapes of fear,
Of danger and of death are near,

Yet I perceive thee at my side:

Though shades of genuine night profound Enwrap my wretched head around,

Thy hand alone shall be my guide.

III.

Though here the snares of faithless foes,
There torrents of involving woes,

And there extend the jaws of hell:
Though tempests gather in the sky,
And wing'd with fate though arrows fly,
Thy presence shall my tears expel.

1v.

Though from the dreadful storm to fly,
No cave, nor hermitage is nigh;

Where I in safety may retire:

Yet, while I wander through the gloom
Of all my pilgrimage to come,

Thy statutes shall my voice inspire.

V.

My weary steps for ever tend
Uncertain, to a certain end;

The space is short, the toil is fong:
And though my voice is faint and weak,
Yet shall my soul in silence speak
Of thee; the subject of my song.

HYMN CLVIII. C. M.
God's Omnipresence.

I.

ORD, thou with an unnerring beam
Surveyest all my pow'rs;

My rising steps are watch'd by thee,
By thee my resting hours.

II.

My thoughts scarce struggling into birth,
Great GOD, are known to thee:
Abroad, at home, still I'm inclos'd
With thine immensity.

III.

To thee the labyrinths of life
In open view appear;

Nor steals a whisper from my lips
Without thy list'ning ear.

IV.

Behind I glance, and thou art there;
Before me shines thy name;
And 'tis thy strong almighty hand
Sustains my tender frame.

V.

Such knowledge mocks the vain essays
Of my astonish'd mind,
Nor can my reason's soaring eye
Its tow'ring summit find.

VI.

Where from thy spirit shall I stretch
The pinions of my flight?

Or where, thro' nature's spacious range,
Shall I elude thy sight?

VII.

Scal'd I the skies: the blaze divine
Would overwhelm my soul:
Plung'd. I to hell; there I should hear
Eternal thunders roll.

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If on a morning's darting ray
With matchless speed I rode,
And flew to the wild lonely shore,
That bounds the ocean's flood;

IX.

Thither. thine hand, All-present GOD,
Must guide the wond'rous way,
And thine omnipotence support.
The fabric of my clay.

X.

Should I involve myself around

With clouds of tenfold night,

The clouds would shine like blazing noon Before thy piercing sight.

XI.

The darkness scatters at thine eye,
And sparkles into day,

And light and shade alike appear
To thy resplendent ray.

XII.

Thee will. I honour, for I stand
A volume of thy skill,
Stupendous are thy works, and they
My contemplations fill.

XIII.

How precious are the streaming joys
That from thy love descends,
Would I rehearse their numbers o'er,
Where would their numbers end?

HYMN CLIX. C. M.
The Works of Nature and of Grace.

1.

NDULGENT father! how divine! How bright thy bounties are! Through nature's ample round they shine, Thy goodness to declare.

II.

But in the nobler works of grace, .
What sweeter mercy smiles,
In my benign Redeemer's face,
And ev'ry fear beguiles!

III.

Such wonders, LORD! while I survey,
To thee my thanks shall rise,

When morning ushers in the day,
Or ev❜ning veils the skies.

IV.

When glimm'ring life resigns its flame,
Thy praise shall tune my breath;
The dear memorials of thy name.
Shall gild the shades of death.

V.

But oh how sweet my song
shall rise,
When freed from feeble clay,
And all thy glories meet mine eyes,
In one eternal day!

VI.

Not Seraphs, who resound thy name,
Through yon ethereal plains,
Shall glow with a diviner flame,
Or raise sublimer strains.

HYMN CLX. C. M.
Aspiring to the Divine Life.

FAIN

1.

AIN would my soul enjoy her GOD,
And feel the sunshine of his face,

Be dead to this terrestrial clod,

And tune her songs to endless grace:

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But oh these treach'rous ears and eyes Tempt some fresh snare where'er I go, Drink in the world's tumultuous cries, And fasten on its gilded shew.

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