Sacred poetry, selected and amended...

Introduction

Dear Brethren — In pursuance of your Resolution, passed at the last meeting of your Convention, I have compiled this little Book. Owing to the impracticability of meeting, the other members of your Compiling Committee requested me to proceed alone ; which I did, and now present you with this token of my very high respect and esteem.

I found the work much more arduous than I had supposed, owing to the very great want of arrangement and classification in most of the works I had to consult, and to the miscellaneous character of many good pieces, rendering it doubtful, under what heading they should be placed. I hope, however, that I have succeeded, at least in some measure, in so classifying and arranging these selections, that the brotherhood will be able, with very little trouble, to find something worthy of being sung on the most impor-

INTRODUCTION.

tant and prominent subjects of the Christian Scriptures.

There are many excellent hymns in this volume, in metres which are not common, but they are, in all other respects, so deserving to be sung, that I have trusted to the skill of our brethren who conduct this pleasant and profitable part of the praises of God, to select and familiarize corresponding musical compositions.

In regard to the propriety — the pleasure — the utility, and the obligation of this part of public worship, it is needless to say anything to those who are acquainted with the Sacred Writings. Such know the prominent place it has occupied in the devotions or the wisest — the best — and the most devout intelligences.

When the foundations of the earth were fastened, and the corner-stone thereof was laid — then the morning stars sang in coocert — then the elder sons of God shouted for joy.

When the emancipated tribes of Israel stood.

" faced about," on the eastern shore of the Red

Sea — then Moses and the children of Israel sang

their triumph — then the pious prophetess, the

INTRODUCTION.

sister of Aaron, with all her sex, and with timbrels in hand, responded in joyful song.

When the City of David was honored with the birth of the Prince of the Universe — then did a multitude of the Army of Heaven, his body guard, chant in strains seraphic, " Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace and good will towards men."

When this Prince was about to enter the Celestial Palace, and, by the abdication of the Eternal Father in his favor, to take his seat on the Throne — then did cherubim and seraphim sing, in " strains sublime," " Lift up your heads, you gates ; and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of Glory will come in."

When seated on the Throne, encircled with an emerald rainbow, illuminated by the seven spirits of God, and surrounded by the twentyfour Presbyters attired in white and crowned with gold, with the opened Volume in his hand — then did the four Living Creatures and Twenty-Four Elders in dignified and heavenly concert sing, " Thou art worthy to take the Volume, and to open the seals thereof ; for Thou 1* 5

INTRODUCTION.

wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy

blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and

people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our

God, Kings and Priests ; and we shall reign

with Thee on the earth."

With such themes, and such examples before

us, who can forbear to sing ?

PSALMS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS.

GOD.

1 There is a God — all nature speaks,

Through earth, and air, and sea, and skies j See, from the clouds his glory breaks, When first the beams of morning rise.

2 The rising sun, serenely bright,

O'er the wide world's extended frame Inscribes, in characters of light, His mighty Maker's glorious name.

3 The flowery tribes, all blooming, rise

Above the weak attempts of art ; Their bright, inimitable dyes

Speak sweet conviction to the heart.

4 Ye curious minds, who roam abroad,

And trace creation's wonders o'er, Confess the footsteps of a G-od ; Come, bow before him, and adore.

GOD.

2 C. P. M

We sing of God, the mighty source Of all things, the stupendous force

On which all things depend ; From whose right arm, beneath whose eyes, All period, power, and enterprise

Commence, and reign, and end.

The world, the clustering spheres he made, The glorious light, the soothing shade ;

Dale, plain, and grove and hill ; The multitudinous abyss, Where nature joys in secret bliss,

And wisdom hides her skill.

Tell them, I Am, Jehovah said

To Moses, while earth heard in dread,

And smitten to the heart, At once above, beneath, around, All nature, without voice or sound,

Replied, Lord, Thou Art !

1 The first almighty Cause,

Who did all things create, Gave nature all her laws,

Unchangeable as fate, The Source of life, the Spring of springs, His praise all heaven and nature sings.

GOD.

2 Where'er we cast our eyes,

With rapture we behold, Below, or in the skies,

Wonders that can't be told : In nature's book, in every line, His wisdom and perfections shine.

3 On him all worlds depend, •

To him all bend the knee ; But none can comprehend

The boundless Deity.

He sees all space, moves everywhere, Sustains the whole, makes all his care.

1 All-powerful, self-existent God, Who all creation dost sustain ! Thou wast, and art, and art to come, And everlasting is thy reign !

2 Fixed and eternal as thy days, Each glorious attribute divine, Through ages infinite, shall still With undiminished lustre shine.

3 Fountain of being ! Source of good ! Immutable thou dost remain ! f Nor can the shadow of a change Obscure the glories of thy reign.

GOD.

Earth may with all her powers dissolve, If such the great Creator's will ; But thou forever art the same ; I Am, is thy memorial still.

1 Ere mountains reared their forms sublime, Or the fair earth in order stood,

Before the birth of ancient time, From everlasting thou art God.

2 A thousand ages in their flight With thee are as a fleeting day ; Past, present, future, to thy sight At once their various scenes display.

3 But our brief life's a shadowy dream, A passing thought, that soon is o'er, That fades with morning's earliest beam, And fills the musing mind no more.

4 To us, Lord the. wisdom give So every precious hour to spend, That we at length with thee may live, Where life and bliss shall never end.

GOD.

1 We sing the majesty of God,

Whose wisdom spread the heavens abroad ; To him creation owes its birth, His mighty arm sustains the earth.

2 The evening shade, the morning light, The sun by day, and stars by night, Unite their voices, to proclaim

The awful grandeur of his name.

3 He sees our griefs with pitying eyes, His liberal hand our need supplies ; From him full streams of mercy flow, To cheer this gloomy vale below.

4 Thou God of grace and matchless power, With reverence we thy name adore ;

To thee our grateful songs we raise, Though feeble are our notes of praise.

1 Jehovah reigns ! he dwells in light, Girded with majesty and might : The world, created by his hands, Still on its first foundation stands.

GOD.

2 But ere this spacious world was made. Or had its first foundation laid,

His throne eternal ages stood, Himself the ever-living God.

3 Like floods the angry nations rise, And aim their rage against the skies ; Vain floods that aim their rage so high ! At his rebuke the billows die.

4 Forever shall his throne endure: His promise stands forever sure ; And everlasting holiness Becomes the dwellings of his grace.

The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great original proclaim. The unwearied sun, from day to day, Doth his Creator's power display ; And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty hand. 12

GOD.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,

The moon takes up the wondrous tale.

And nightly to the listening earth

Repeats the story of her birth :

Whilst all the stars which round her burn.

And all the planets in their turn,

Confirm the tidings as they roll,

And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What though, in solemn silence, all Move round this dark terrestrial ball : What though no real voice nor sound Amidst their radient orbs be found ; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth "a glorious voice ; Forever singing as they shine — " The hand that made us is divine."

DOXOLOGY.

To Thee, Supreme, the ever-blest, Ee praise in thankful notes addressed ; Such as the stars of morning sung, When earth was on its balance hung ; Such praise as from angelic choirs, And saints, whom zeal like theirs inspires, In heaven above, and earth below. Still flows, and shall forever flow. 2 13

THE GLORY OF GOD.

S. M.

1 The Lord, the sovereign King,

Hath fixed his throne on high ; O'er all the heavenly world he rules, And all beneath the sky.

2 You angels great in might,

And swift to do his will, Bless ye the Lord, whose voice you hear, Whose pleasure you fulfil.

3 Let the bright hosts who wait

The orders of their King, And guard his churches when they pray, Join in the praise they sing.

4 While all his wondrous works

Through his vast kingdom show Their Maker's glory, thou, my soul, Shall sing his praises too.

1 Lord, our heavenly King, Thy name is all divine ; Thy glories round the earth are spread, And o'er the heavens they shine. 14

THE GLORY OF GOD.

2 t When to thy works on high

I raise my wondering eyes, And see the moon* complete in light, Adorn the darksome skies :

3 When I survey the stars, And all their shining forms,

Lord, what is man, that feeble thing, Akin to dust and worms !

4 Lord, what is feeble man, That thou shouldst love him so !

Next to thine angels is he placed, And lord of all below.

5 How rich thy bounties are ! And wondrous are thy ways ;

Of dust and worms thy power can frame A monument of praise.

1 Eternal and immortal King !

Thy peerless splendors none can bear ; : But darkness veils seraphic eyes, When God with all his glory 's there.

2 Yet faith can pierce the awful gloom, The great Invisible can see ;

And with its tremblings mingle joy, In fixed regard, great God ! to thee.

THE GLORY OF GOD.

3 Then every tempting form of sin, Shamed in thy presence, disappears ; And all the glowing rap'tured soul The likeness it contemplates, wears.

-4 ever conscious to my heart ! Witness to its supreme desire : Behold, it presseth on to thee, For it hath caught the heavenly fire.

5 This one petition would it urge — To bear thee ever in its sight ; In life, in death, in worlds unknown, Its only portion and delight !

1 Great former of this various frame ! Our souls adore thine awful name ; And bow, and tremble, while we praise The Ancient of eternal days.

2 Beyond an angel's vision bright, Thou dwell'st in self-existent light; Which shines with undiminished ray, While suns and worlds in smoke decay.

3 Our days a transient period run, And change with every circling sun ; And, in the firmest state we boast, A moth can crush us into dust.

THE GLORY OF GOD.

4 But let the creatures fall around ; Let death consign us to the ground ; Let the last general flame arise, And melt the arches of the skies ;

5 Calm as the summer's ocean, we Can all the wreck of nature see, While grace secures us an abode, Unshaken as the throne of God.

1 Begin, my soul, the lofty lay ;

Let each enraptured thought obey, And praise thy Maker's name ;

Lo ! heaven and earth, and seas and skies

In one melodious concert rise, To swell the glad'ning theme.

2 Thou heaven of heavens, his vast abode, Ye clouds, proclaim your Maker, God ;

Ye thunders, speak his power ; Lo ! on the lightning's rapid wings, In triumph rides the King of kings ;

Astonished worlds adore.

3 Ye deeps, with roaring billows, rise, To join the thunder of the skies ;

Praise him who bids you roll : His praise in softer notes declare, Each whispering breeze of yielding air 3

And breathe it to the soul.

2* 17

THE GLORY OF GOD.

Let man, by nobler passions swayed, The feeling heart, the reasoning head,

In heavenly praise employ : Spread the Creator's name around, Till heaven's wide arch repeat the sound,

The general burst of joy.

1 Father, how wide thy glory shines !

How high thy wonders rise ! Known through the earth by thousand signs, By thousands through the skies.

2 Those mighty orbs proclaim thy power ;

Their motions speak thy skill ; And on the wings of every hour We read thy patience still.

3 Part of thy name divinely stands

On all thy creatures writ ; They show the labor of thy hands, The impress of thy feet.

4 But when we view thy grand design

To save rebellious man, Where wisdom, power and goodness shine In mercy's wondrous plan. — 18

THE GLORY OF GOD.

5 Our thoughts are lost in reverend awe ;

We love, and we adore ;

The holy angels never saw

So much of God before.

6 may I bear some humble part

In that immortal song ; Wonder and joy shall tune my heart, And love command my tongue.

1 worship the King, all glorious above, And gratefully sing his wonderful love, Our Shield and defender, the Ancient of Days, Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

2 tell of his might, and sing of his grace, Whose robe is the light, whose canopy, space ; His chariots of wrath the deep-thunder clouds

form And dark is his path on the wings of the storm. ,

3 Thy bountiful care what tongue can recite % It breathes in the air, it shines in the light, It streams from the hills, it descends to the

plain, And sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.

THE GLORY OF GOD.

4 Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, In thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail ; Thy mercies how tender ! how firm to the end, Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

5 Father Almighty, how faithful thy love ! While angels delight to hymn thee above, The humbler creation, though feeble their

lays, With true adoration shall lisp to thy praise.

DOXOLOG Y.

By knowledge supreme, by wisdom divine, God governs this earth with gracious design ; O'er beast, bird, and insect, his providence

reigns, Whose will first created, whose love still sustains.

You saints, praise the Lord, speak good of

his name !

His mercies record, his bounties proclaim : To God, their creator, let all creatures raise The song of thanksgiving, the chorus of praise ! 20

THE IiOVE OP GOO.

1 Thy goodness, Lord, our souls confess,

Thy goodness we adore — A spring whose blessings never fail, A sea without a shore.

2 Sun, moon, and stars, thy love attest

In every golden ray ; Love draws the curtains of the night, And love returns the day.

3 Thy bounty every season crowns

With all the bliss it yields ; With joyful clusters loads the vine, With strengthening grain the fields.

4 But chiefly thy compassions, Lord,

Are in the gospel seen ; There, like the sun, thy mercy shines, Without a cloud between.

5 Pardon, acceptance, peace and joy,

Through Jesus' name are given, He on the cross was lifted high, That we might reign in heaven.

THE LOVE OF GOD.

1 Faithful, Lord, thy mercies are,

A rock that cannot move : A thousand promises declare Thy constancy of love.

2 Thou waitest to be gracious still ;

Thou dost with sinners bear, That, saved, we may thy goodness feel, And all thy grace declare.

3 Its streams the whole creation reach,

So plentious is the store ; Enough for all, enough for each, Enough forevermore.

4 Throughout the universe it reigns ;

It stands forever sure ; And while thy truth, God, remains, Thy goodness shall endure.

1 Come, ye that know and love the Lord, And raise your thoughts above ; Let every heart and voice accord To sing that God is Love. 22

THE LOVE OF GOD.

2 This precious truth his word cle clares,

And all his mercies prove ;

Jesus, the gift of gifts, appears

To show that God is Love.

3 Behold his patience bearing long

With those who from him rove, Till mighty grace their hearts subdue, To teach them God*is Love.

4 may we all, while here below,

This blessing well improve, Till nobler praise, in brighter worlds, Proclaim that God is Love.

1 Eternal Power, Almighty God,

Who can approach thy throne ? Accessless light is thine abode, To angel eyes unknown.

2 Before the radience of thine eye,

The heavens no longer shine ; And all the glories of the sky Are but the shade of thine.

3 Great God, and wilt thou condescend

To cast a look below ?

To this dark world thy notice bend,— These seats of sin and woe ?

THE LOVE OF GOD.

How strange, how wondrous is thy love !

With trembling we adore : Not all the exalted minds above

Its wonders can explore.

While golden harps and angel tongues

Resound immortal lays, Great God, permit our humble songs

To rise and sound tky praise.

1 Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,

And sing thy great Redeemer's praise ; He justly claims a song from me ; His loving kindness, how free !

2 Though numerous hosts of mighty foes. Though earth and sin, my way oppose, He safely leads my soul along ;

His loving kindness, O how strong!

3 When trouble, like a gloomy cloud, Has gathered thick, and thundered loud. He near my soul has always stood ;

His loving kindness, how good !

4 Soon shall I pass the gloomy vale ; Soon all my mortal powers must fail ; may my last, expiring breath

His loving kindness sing in death.

*4

THE LOVE OF GOD.

1 for a song of joy,

Loud as the theme we sing ! To this divine employ

Your hearts and voices bring ; Sound, sound, through' all the earth abroad. The love, th' eternal love, of God.

2 Unnumbered myriads stand,

Of seraphs bright and fair, Or bow at his right hand, And pay their homage there ; But strive in vain, with loudest chord, To sound the wondrous love of God.

3 Yet sinners saved by grace,

In songs of lower key, In every age and place,

Have sung the mystery ; Have told, in strains of sweet accord, The love, the sovereign love, of God.

4 Though earth and hell assail,

And doubts and fears arise, The weakest shall prevail,

And grasp the heavenly prize, And through an endless age record The love, th' unchanging love, of God. 3 25

THE LOVE OF GOD.

5 for a song of joy,

Loud as the theme we sing ! To this divine employ

Your hearts and voices bring ; Sound, sound, through all the earth abroad, The love, th' eternal love, of G-ocl.

Thou art, Almighty Lord of all, From everlasting still the same ;

Before thee dazzling seraphs fall, And veil their faces in a flame,

To see such bright perfections glow,

Such floods of glory from thee flow.

What mortal hand shall dare to paint A semblance of thy glory, Lord ?

The brightest rainbow tints are faint, The brightest stars of heaven afford

A dim effusion of those rays

Of light, that round Jehovah blaze.

The sun himself is but a gleam,

A transient meteor from thy throne ;

And every frail and fickle 'beam, That ever in creation shone,

Is nothing, Lord, compared to thee,

In thy own vast immensity. 2tf

THE LOVE OF GOD.

But though thy brightness may create All worship from the hosts above.

What most thy name must elevate Is, that thou art a Grod of love,

And mercy is the central sun

Of all thy glories joined in one.

1 God of the world ! thy glories shine, Through earth and heaven, with rays divine ; Thy smile gives beauty to the flower, Thine anger to the tempest power.

2 God of our lives ! the throbbing heart Doth at thy beck its action start, — Throbs on, obedient to thy will,

Or ceases, at thy fatal chill.

3 God of eternal life ! thy love Doth every stain of sin remove ;

The cross, the cross — its hallowed light Shall drive from earth her cheerless night.

4 G-od of all goodness ! to the skies Our hearts in grateful anthems rise ; And to thy service shall be given The rest of life — the whole of heaven.

THE LOVE OF GOD.

1 My God, thy boundless love I praise ; How bright on high its glories blaze !

How sweetly bloom below ! It streams from thine eternal throne ; Through heaven its joys forever run.

And all the earth o'erflow.

2 ,r Fis love that paints the purple morn, And bids the clouds, in air upborne,

Their genial drops distil ; In every vernal beam it glows, And breathes in every gale that blows,

And glides in every rill.

3 It robes in cheerful green the ground, And pours its flowery beauties round,

Whose sweets perfume the gale ; Its bounties richly spread the plain, The blushing fruit, the golden grain,

And smile on every vale.

4 But in thy word I see it shine With grace and glories more divine,

Proclaiming sins forgiven ; There Faith, bright cherub, points the way To realms of everlasting day,

And opens all her heaven. 28

THE LOVE OF GOD.

1 Raise your triumphant songs

To an immortal tune, Let the wide earth resound the deeds Celestial grace has done.

2 Sing how eternal love

Its chief Beloved chose, And bade him raise our wretched race From their abyss of woes.

3 'Twas love that filled the throne,

And grace that ruled on high, When Christ was sent with pardons down To rebels doomed to die.

4 Now, sinners dry your tears,

Let hopeless sorrows cease ; Bow to the sceptre of his love, And take the offered peace.

5 Lord, we obey thy call ;

We lay an humble claim To the salvation thou hast brought, And love and praise thy name. 3* 29

THE POWER OP GOD.

1 Sing to the Lord Jehovah's name,

And in his strength rejoice : When his salvation is our theme, Exalted be our voice.

2 With thanks approach his awful sight,

And psalms of honor sing ; The Lord's a God of boundless might, The whole creation's King.

3 Earth, with its caverns dark and deep,

Lies in his spacious hand ; He fixed the seas what bounds to keep, And where the hills must stand.

4 Come, and with humble souls adore ;

Come, kneel before his face ; may the creatures of his power Be children of his grace !

1 How great is our Creator, God, In wisdom, majesty and might, When he displays his power abroad, And brings his wonders forth to light. 30

THE POWER OF GOD.

2 Behold, what cloudy columns rise,

Terrific as the shades of night ! What peals of thunder rend the skies ; The lightning, how sublimely bright !

3 How dreadful is the threatening hail !

Approaching tempests, how grand ! What terror doth the mind assail, •

When deep convulsions shake the land !

4 The seas with hollow murmurs groan,

The bowels of the mountains flame ; The elements, affrighted, own

The awful greatness of thy name.

5 Almighty Grod, thy chariot wheels

In solemn pomp and grandeur roll ; Thy power trembling nature feels, And humble reverence fills the soul

The Lord, how fearful is his name !

How wide is his command ! Nature, with all her moving frame,

Rests on his mighty hand !

Immortal glory forms his throne,

And light his awful robe : Whilst with a smile, or with a frown,

He manages the globe.

THE MEUCY OF GOD.

3 A word of his almighty breath

Can swell or sink the seas ; Build the vast empires of the earth. Or break them, as he please !

4 Adoring angels round him fall,

In all their shining forms ; His sovereign eye looks through them all, And pities mortal worms.

THE MERCY OF GOD.

1 Give to our God immortal praise ; Mercy and truth are all his ways : Wonders of grace to God belong, Repeat his mercies in your song.

2 Give to the Lord of lords renown, The King of kings with glory crown ; His mercies ever shall endure,

When lords and kings are known no more. 32

THE MERCY OF GOD.

He built the earth, he spread the sky, And fixed the starry lights on high: Wonders of grace to G-od belong, Repeat his mercies in your song.

He fills the sun with morning light,

He bids the moon direct the night :

His mercies ever shall endure,

When suns and moons shall shine no more.

Sweet were the sounds that reached our eara^ When mercy rais'd her heavenly voice ;

'Twas mercy that dispell'd our fears, And bade our souls in hope rejoice.

All other sounds discordant seem,

Compar'd with mercy's heav'nly song ;

So sweet and joyful is the theme, It bears our willing souls along.

may we never cease to hear

The voice that gives our conscience rest, That dissipates our guilty fear,

And tells us we are truly blest !

May mercy still remove our fear,

And bind our souls with cords of love !

Mercy that soothes our sorrows here, And gives us hope of joys above.

THE MERCY OF GOD.

1 render thanks to God above, The fountain of eternal love ; Whose mercy firm through ages past Has stood, and shall forever last.

2 Who can his mighty deeds express, Not only vast, but numberless ! What mortal eloquence can raise His tribute of immortal praise !

3 Happy are they, and only they, Who from thy judgments never stray; Who know what's right ; nor only so, But always practice what they know.

1 How free and boundless is the grace

Of our redeeming Lord !

Extending to the Greek and Jew, And men of ev'ry blood.

2 The mightiest king, the meanest slave,

May his rich mercy taste ; He bids the beggar and the prince Come to the gospel feast. 34

THE MERCY OF GOD.

None are excluded thence, but those

Who do themselves exclude ; Welcome the learned and polite.

The ignorant and rude.

4 Come, then, you men of ev'ry name. Of ev'ry tribe and tongue ; What you are willing to receive May unto you belong.

1 Awake, my soul, awake, my tongue ; My God demands the grateful song ; Let all my inmost powers record The wondrous mercy of the Lord.

2 Divinely free his mercy flows, Forgives my sins, allays my woes, And bids approaching death remove, And crowns me with indulgent love.

3 His mercy, with unchanging rays, Forever shines, while time decays ; And children's children shall record The truth and mercy of the Lord.

4 While all his works his praise proclaim, And men and angels bless his name,

O, let my heart, my life, my tongue, Attend, and join the blissful song.

[il* NATURE ATTESTS THE GOODNESS OP GOO,

1 Hail, great Creator, wise and good !

To thee our songs we raise : Nature, through all her various scenes, Invites us to thy praise.

2 At morning, noon, and evening mild,

Fresh wonders strike our view ; And. while we gaze, our hearts exult, With transports ever new.

3 Thy glory beams in every star

Which gilds the gloom of uight, And decks the smiling face of morn With rays of cheerful ligiit.

4 The lofty hill, the humble vale,

With countless beauties shine ; The silent grove, the awful shade, Proclaim thy power divine.

5 Great nature's God, still may these scenes

Our serious hours engage ; Still may our grateful hearts consult Thy works' instructive page.

ALL NATURE ATTESTS THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

1 Great God, at whose all-powerful call

At first arose this beauteous frame, By thee the seasons change, and all The changing seasons speak thy name.

2 Thy bounty bids the infant year,

From winter storms recovered, rise; When thousand grateful scenes appear, Fresh-opening to our wondering eyes.

3 Aloft, full-beaming, reigns the sun,

And light and genial heat conveys, And, while he leads the seasons on, From thee derives his quickming rays.

4 Around us, in the teeming field,

Stands the rich grain, or purpled vine ; At thy command they rise, to yield

The strengthening bread, or cheering wine.

5 Indulgent God, from every part

Thy plentious blessings largely flow ; We see, we taste ; let every heart With grateful love and duty glow. 4 37