Hymns and Spiritual Songs Part 37

4 Let groveling beasts of every shape, And fowls of every wing, And rocks, and trees, and fires, and seas, Their various tribute bring.

5 Ye planets, to his honour s.h.i.+ne, And wheels of nature roll, Praise him in your unwearied course Around the steady pole.

6 The brightness of our Maker's Name The wide creation fills, And his unbounded grandeur flies Beyond the heavenly hills.

Hymn 2:72.

The Lord's Day; or, The resurrection of Christ.

1 Bless'd morning, whose young dawning rays Beheld our rising G.o.d, That saw him triumph o'er the dust, And leave his dark abode.

2 In the cold prison of a tomb, The dead Redeemer lay, Till the revolving skies had brought The third, th' appointed day.

3 h.e.l.l and the grave unite their force To hold our G.o.d in vain, The sleeping Conqueror arose, And burst their feeble chain.

4 To thy great Name, Almighty Lord, These sacred hours we pay, And loud hosannas shall proclaim The triumph of the day,

5 [Salvation and immortal praise To our victorious King, Let heaven, and earth, and rocks, and seas, With glad hosannas ring.]

Hymn 2:73.

Doubts scattered; or, Spiritual joy restored.

1 Hence from my soul, sad thoughts, be gone, And leave me to my joys, My tongue shall triumph in my G.o.d, And make a joyful noise.

2 Darkness and doubts had veil'd my mind, And drown'd my head in tears, Till sovereign grace with s.h.i.+ning rays Dispell'd my gloomy fears.

3 O what immortal joys I felt, And raptures all divine, When Jesus told me, I was his, And my Beloved mine.

4 In vain the tempter frights my soul, And breaks my peace in vain, One glimpse, dear Saviour, of thy face, Revives my joys again.

Hymn 2:74.

Repentance from a sense of divine goodness; or, A complaint of ingrat.i.tude.

1 Is this the kind return, And these the thanks we owe, Thus to abuse eternal love, Whence all our blessings flow?

2 TO what a stubborn frame Has sin reduc'd our mind!

What strange rebellious wretches we, And G.o.d as strangely kind!

3 [On us he bids the sun Shed his reviving rays, For us the skies their circles run To lengthen out our days.

4 The brutes obey their G.o.d, And bow their necks to men, But we more base, more brutish things Reject his easy reign.]

5 Turn, turn us, mighty G.o.d, And mould our souls afresh, Break, sovereign grace, these hearts of stone, And give us hearts of flesh.

6 Let old ingrat.i.tude Provoke our weeping eyes, And hourly as new mercies fall Let hourly thanks arise.

Hymn 2:75.

Spiritual and eternal joys; or, The beatific sight of Christ.

1 From thee, my G.o.d, my joys shall rise, And run eternal rounds, Beyond the limits of the skies And all created bounds.

2 The holy triumphs of my soul Shall death itself out-brave, Leave dull mortality behind, And fly beyond the grave.

3 There, where my blessed Jesus reigns In heaven's unmeasur'd s.p.a.ce, I'll spend a long eternity In pleasure and in praise.

4 Millions of years my wondering eyes Shall o'er thy beauties rove, And endless ages I'll adore The glories of thy love.

5 [Sweet Jesus, every smile of thine Shall fresh endearments bring, And thousand tastes of new delight From all thy graces spring.

6 Haste, my beloved, fetch my soul Up to thy bless'd abode, Fly, for my spirit longs to see My Saviour and my G.o.d.

Hymn 2:76.

The resurrection and ascension of Christ.

1 Hosanna to the Prince of Light, That cloth'd himself in clay, Enter'd the iron gates of death, And tore the bars away.

2 Death is no more the king of dread Since our Immanuel rose, He took the tyrant's sting away, And spoil'd our h.e.l.lish foes.

3 See how the Conqueror mounts aloft, And to his Father flies, With scars of honour in his flesh, And triumph in his eyes.

4 There our exalted Saviour reigns, And scatters blessings down, Our Jesus fills the middle seat Of the celestial throne.

5 [Raise your devotion, mortal tongues, To reach his bless'd abode, Sweet be the accents of your songs To our incarnate G.o.d.

6 Bright angels, strike your loudest strings, Your sweetest voices raise, Let heaven, and all created things, Sound our Immanuel's praise.]

Hymn 77.

The Christian warfare.

1 [Stand up, my soul, shake off thy fears, And gird the gospel-armour on, March to the gates of endless joy Where thy great Captain-Saviour's gone.

2 h.e.l.l and thy sins resist thy course, But h.e.l.l and sin are vanquish'd foes, Thy Jesus nail'd them to the cross, And sung the triumph when he rose.]

3 [What tho' the prince of darkness rage, And waste the fury of his spite, Eternal chains confine him down To fiery deeps, and endless night.

4 What tho' thine inward l.u.s.ts rebel, 'Tis but a struggling gasp for life The weapons of victorious grace Shall slay thy sins, and end the strife.]

5 Then let my soul march boldly on, Press forward to the heavenly gate, There peace and joy eternal reign, And glittering robes for conquerors wait.

6 There shall I wear a starry crown, And triumph in almighty grace, While all the armies of the skies Join in my glorious leader's praise.

Hymn 2:78.