3 In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas, He executes his firm decrees; And by his saints it stands confest, That what he does is ever best.
4 Wait then, my soul, submissive wait, Prostrate before his awful seat; And, ’midst the terrors of his rod, Trust in a wise and gracious God.
70 L. M. 6 lines. Psalm 23.
The Lord my pasture shall prepare, And feed me with a shepherd’s care; His presence shall my wants supply, And guard me with a watchful eye: My noonday walks he shall attend, And all my midnight hours defend.
2 When in the sultry glebe I faint, Or on the thirsty mountains pant, To fertile vales and dewy meads My weary, wandering steps he leads, Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow, Amid the verdant landscape flow.
3 Though in a bare and rugged way, Through devious, lonely wilds I stray, His bounty shall my pains beguile; The barren wilderness shall smile, With lively greens and herbage crowned, And streams shall murmur all around.
4 Though in the paths of death I tread, With gloomy horrors overspread, My steadfast heart shall fear no ill, For thou, O Lord! art with me still; Thy friendly crook shall give me aid, And guide me through the dismal shade.
71 L. M. Who is like unto thee, O Israel? Deut. 33:29.
With Israel’s God, who can compare? Or who, like Israel, happy are? O, people saved by the Lord, He is our shield and great reward.
2 Upheld by everlasting arms, We are secure from foes and harms; In vain their plots, and false their boasts— Our refuge is the Lord of hosts!
72 L. P. M. Psalm 146.
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers: My days of praise shall ne’er be past, While life and thought and being last, And immortality endures.
2 Happy the man whose hopes rely On Israel’s God: he made the sky, And earth, and seas, with all their train. His truth for ever stands secure: He saves th’ oppressed, he feeds the poor, And none shall find his promise vain.
3 The Lord pours eyesight on the blind; The Lord supports the fainting mind, He sends the laboring conscience peace: He helps the stranger in distress, The widow and the fatherless, And grants the prisoner sweet release.
4 I’ll praise him while he gives me breath, And when my voice is lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers: My days of praise shall ne’er be past, While life, and thought, and being last, And immortality endures.
73 C. M. God of Bethel. Gen. 20:19-22.
O God of Bethel, by whose hand Thy people still are fed; Who through this weary pilgrimage Hast all our fathers led—
2 Our vows, our prayers we now present Before thy throne of grace; God of our fathers, be the God Of their succeeding race.
3 Through each succeeding path of life, Our wandering footsteps guide; Give us each day our daily bread, And raiment fit provide.
4 O spread thy covering wings around, Till all our wanderings cease, And at our Father’s loved abode Our souls arrive in peace.
74 C. M. God the trust of his saints.
O thou my light, my life, my joy, My glory and my all! Unsent by thee, no good can come, Nor evil can befall.
2 Such are thy schemes of providence, And methods of thy grace, That I may safely trust in thee Through all this wilderness.
3 ’Tis thine outstretched and powerful arm Upholds me in the way; And thy rich bounty well supplies The wants of every day,
4 For such compassion, O my God! Ten thousand thanks are due; For such compassion I esteem Ten thousand thanks too few.
75 C. M. Our dwelling place in all generations. Psalm 90.
Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home!
2 Under the shadow of thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure: Sufficient is thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.
3 Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting thou art God, To endless years the same.
4 A thousand ages in thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun.
5 Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten as a dream Dies at the opening day.
6 Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home.
76 C. M. The goodness of God.
Sweet is the memory of thy grace, My God, my heavenly King; Let age to age thy righteousness In songs of glory sing.
2 God reigns on high, but ne’er confines His goodness to the skies: Through the whole earth his bounty shines, And every want supplies.