3 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd 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 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
O PRAISE THE LORD, ALL YE HEATHEN; PRAISE HIM
ALL YE NATIONS. Ps. cxvii.
FROM Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand;
Where Afric's sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error's chain.
2 What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile?
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strown;
The heathen, in his blindness,
Bows down to wood and stone.
3 Shall we, whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Shall we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! oh salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learnt Messiah's name.
4 Waft, waft, ye winds, His story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till o'er our ransom'd nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.
THE FALL OF THE LEAF.
WE ALL DO FADE AS A LEAF; AND OUR INIQUITIES, LIKE
THE WIND, HAVE TAKEN US AWAY.
Is. LXIV.
SEE the leaves around us falling,
Dry and wither'd, to the ground;
Thus to thoughtless mortals calling,
With a sad and solemn sound:-
2 "Sons of Adam (once in Eden,
Where, like us, he blighted fell,)
Hear the lesson we are reading;
Mark the awful truth we tell.
3 Ye, on length of days presuming,
Who the paths of pleasure tread,
View us,-late in beauty blooming,-
Number'd now among the dead.
4 What though yet no losses grieve you,
Gay with health and many a grace:
Let not cloudless skies deceive you;
Summer gives to autumn place.
5 Yearly in our course returning,
Messengers of shortest stay;
Still we bid frail man be learning,
'Heaven and earth shall pass away.'
6 On the Tree of life eternal
Oh let all our hopes be laid!
This alone, for ever vernal,
Bears a leaf that may not fade.
THE GRASS WITHERETH, THE FLOWER FADETH; BUT THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOR EVER. ISAIAH XL.
113 HARVEST THANKSGIVING.
FOUNTAIN of mercy! God of love,
How rich Thy bounties are!
The rolling seasons, as they move,
Proclaim Thy constant care.
2 When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness mark'd its secret birth
And sent the early rain.
3 The spring's sweet influence, Lord, was Thine, The plants in beauty grew;
Thou gav'st the summer suns to shine,
The mild refreshing dew.
4 These various mercies from above
Matur'd the swelling grain;
A kindly harvest crowns Thy love,
And plenty fills the plain.
5 We own and bless Thy gracious sway;
Thy hand all nature hails;
Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day,
Summer nor winter, fails.
PRAISE to God, immortal praise
For the love that crowns our days ;
For the blessings of the field,
For the stores the gardens yield :
2 Flocks that whiten all the plain,
Yellow sheaves of ripened grain,
Clouds that drop their fattening dews,
Suns that temperate warmth diffuse;
3 All that Spring with bounteous hand
Scatters o'er the smiling land,
All that liberal Autumn pours
From her rich o'erflowing stores;
4 These to Thee, great God, we owe,
Source whence all our blessings flow;
And for these our souls shall raise
Grateful notes of solemn praise.
115 OFFERTORY DAYS, ALMSGIVING.
LORD, when our offerings we present
Before Thy gracious throne,
We but return what Thou hast lent,
And give Thee of Thine own.
2 The earth with all its wealth is Thine,
The heavens with all their host:
Why should we then in want repine,
Or in abundance boast?
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