Unchangeable, all-perfect Lord! Essential life’s unbounded sea! What lives and moves, lives by thy word; It lives, and moves, and is, from thee! Whate’er in earth, or sea, or sky, Or shuns, or meets, the wandering thought, Escapes, or strikes, the searching eye, By thee was to existence brought.
2 High is thy power above all hight; Whate’er thy will decrees is done: Thy wisdom, holiness and might Can by no finite mind be known. What our dim eyes could never see, Is plain and naked in thy sight; What thickest darkness vails, to thee Shines clearly as the morning light.
3 Thine, Lord, is holiness, alone: Justice and truth before thee stand: Yet, nearer to thy sacred throne, Love ever dwells at thy right hand. And to thy love and ceaseless care, Father! this light, this breath, we owe; And all we have, and all we are, From thee, great source of life! doth flow.
32 L. M. The all-seeing God.
Lord, thou hast searched and seen me thro’; Thine eye commands with piercing view My rising and my resting hours, My heart and flesh with all their powers.
2 My thoughts, before they are my own, Are to my God distinctly known; He knows the words I mean to speak, Ere from my opening lips they break.
3 Within thy circling power I stand; On every side I find thy hand: Awake, asleep, at home, abroad, I am surrounded still with God.
4 Amazing knowledge, vast and great! What large extent! what lofty hight! My soul, with all the powers I boast, Is in the boundless prospect lost.
33 L. M. Psalm 139.
Lord, thou hast formed mine every part, Mine inmost thought is known to thee; Each word, each feeling of my heart, Thine ear doth hear, thine eye doth see.
2 Though I should seek the shades of night, And hide myself in guilty fear, To thee the darkness seems as light, The midnight as the noonday clear.
3 The heavens, the earth, the sea, the sky, All own thee ever present there; Where’er I turn, thou still art nigh, Thy Spirit dwelling everywhere.
4 O may that Spirit, ever blest, Upon my soul in radiance shine, Till welcomed to eternal rest, I taste thy presence, Lord, divine!
34 L. M. 6 lines God praised in all his works.
Thou art, O Lord, the boundless source, Whence all our thousand blessings flow; And nature, through her endless course, Proclaims thy love to all below; While all above join in the strain Of ceaseless praises to thy name.
2 The sun on golden chariot rides, And sends to earth his rays of light; While darkness from his brightness hides, And vanishes from human sight; This sunlight, when it comes to earth, Declares thy goodness gave it birth.
3 The moon and stars, that rule at night, And smile upon this world of wrong, Bear on each trembling chord of light The notes of this sweet, sacred song; “Thou, Lord, didst make all things that move; All are the creatures of thy love.”
4 Then help my poor, unworthy heart To join aloud in nature’s praise; And may my song, in every part, Proclaim the wonders of thy ways; And when I reach the heavenly plains, I’ll sing thy love in nobler strains.
35 C. M. Lord, thou hast searched me, etc. Psalm 139:1.
Lord, all I am is known to thee; In vain my soul would try To shun thy presence, or to flee The notice of thine eye.
2 Thy all-observing eye surveys My rising and my rest, My public walks, my private ways, The secrets of my breast.
3 My thoughts lie open to thee, Lord, Before they’re formed within, And ere my lips pronounce the word, Thou knowest all I mean.
4 O let thine arms surround me still, And like a bulwark prove, To guard my soul from every ill, Secured by sovereign love.
36 C. M. Holy, holy, holy Lord.
O God, we praise thee, and confess That thou the only Lord And everlasting Father art, By all the earth adored.
2 To thee all angels cry aloud, To thee the powers on high, Both cherubim and seraphim, Continually do cry—
3 O holy, holy, holy Lord, When heavenly hosts obey; The world is with the glory filled Of thy majestic sway.
4 The apostles’ glorious company, The prophets crowned with light, With all the martyrs’ noble host, Thy constant praise recite.
5 The holy Church, throughout the world, O Lord, confesses thee, That thou th’ eternal Father art Of boundless majesty.
37 C. M. His praise endureth for ever. Psalm 111:10.
Songs of immortal praise belong To my Almighty God; He has my heart, and he my tongue, To spread his name abroad.
2 How great the works his hand has wrought; How glorious in our sight; And men in every age have sought His wonders with delight.
3 How most exact is nature’s frame, How wise the Eternal mind; His counsels never change the scheme That his first thoughts designed.