As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind,-
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upward, Lord! our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.
3 Thanks for mercies past, receive;
Pardon of our sins renew:
From this moment, may we live
With eternity in view:
Bless thy word to young and old;
Shed abroad a Saviour's love;
And, when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with thee above.
PSALM 91, First Part, L. M.
Divine Protection amid Dangers.
that hath made his refuge, God,
Shall find a most secure abode;
Shall walk all day beneath his shade,
And there, at night, shall rest his head.
2 Then will I say,--"My God! thy power
Shall be my fortress and my tower;
I, who am formed of feeble dust,
Make thine almighty arm my trust."
3 Thrice happy man! thy Maker's care
Shall keep thee from the fowler's snare ;-
Satan, the fowler, who betrays
Unguarded souls a thousand ways.
4 If burning beams of noon conspire
To dart a pestilential fire;
God is thy life,-his wings are spread,
To shield thee with a healthful shade.
5 If vapors, with malignant breath,
Rise thick and scatter midnight death,
Israel is safe; the poisoned air
Grows pure, if Israel's God be there.
PSALM 91, Second Part, L. M.
The Security of the Saints.
AT though a thousand at thy side,
At thy right hand ten thousand, died?
Thy God his chosen people saves,
Among the dead, amid the graves.
2 So when he sent his angel down
To make his wrath in Egypt known,
And slew their sons,-his careful eyo
Passed all the doors of Jacob by.
3 But if the fire, or plague, or sword,
Receive commission from the Lord,
To strike his saints among the rest,
Their very pains and deaths are blest.
4 The sword, the pestilence, or fire,
Shall but fulfill their best desire;
From sins and sorrows set them free,
And bring thy children, Lord! to thee.
PSALM 91, C. M.
Exhortation to trust in God.
E sons of men! a feeble race,
Exposed to every snare,
Come, make the Lord your dwelling-place,
And try and trust his care.
2 He'll give his angels charge to keep
Your feet, in all your ways;
To watch your pillow while you sleep,
And guard your happy days.
"Because on me they set their love,
I'll save them," said the Lord;
"I'll bear their joyful souls above
Destruction and the sword.
4 "My grace shall answer when they call,
In trouble, I'll be nigh :
My power shall help them when they fall,
And raise them when they die.
"Those who on earth my name have known,
I'll honor them in heaven;
There my salvation shall be shown,
And endless life be given."
PSALM 91, First Part, 8s and 7s.
ALL Jehovah thy salvation,
Rest beneath th' Almighty's shade;
In his secret habitation,
Dwell, and never be dismayed:
There no tumult can alarm thee,
Thou shalt dread no hidden snare;
Gile nor violence can harm thee,
In eternal safeguard there.
2 From the sword, at noonday wasting,
From the noisome pestilence,
In the depth of midnight, blasting,
God shall be thy sure defence:
Fear not thou the deadly quiver,
When a thousand feel the blow;
Mercy shall thy soul deliver,
Though ten thousand be laid low.
Since, with pure and firm affection,
Thou on God has set thy love,
With the wings of his protection,
He will shield thee from above;
Thou shalt call on him in trouble,
He will hearken, he will save;
Here, for grief, reward thee double,
Crown with life beyond the grave.
PSALM 91, Second Part, 8s and 7s.
An Evening-Psalm.
AVIOUR! breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal
Sin and want we come confessing;
Thou canst save, and thou canst heal.
2 Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrows past us fly,
Angel-guards from thee surround us :
We are safe, if thou art nigh.
mp 3 Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from thee;
Thou art he who, never weary,
Watcheth where thy people be.
4 Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in bright and deathless bloom.
PSALM 92, First Part, L. M.
A Psalm for the Lord's Day.
WEET is the work, my God! my King!
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing;
To show thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truth at night.
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest,
No mortal care shall seize my breast;
Oh! may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound.
3 My heart shall triumph in my Lord,
And bless his works, and bless his word;
Thy works of grace,-how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels! how divine!
mf 4 Lord! I shall share a glorious part,
When grace hath well refined my heart,
And fresh supplies of joy are shed,
Like holy oil, to cheer my head.
5 Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below; *
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
PSALM 92, Second Part. L. M.
The Church, the Garden of God.
1 LORD! 't is a pleasant thing to stand
In gardens, planted by thy hand;
Let me within thy courts be seen,
Like a young cedar, fresh and green.
2 There
grow thy saints in faith and love,
Blest with thine influence from above;
Not Lebanon, with all its trees,
Yields such a comely sight as these.
3 Laden with fruits of age, they show,
The Lord is holy, just and true :
None who attend his gates shall find
A God unfaithful, or unkind.
PSALM 92, S. M.
Public Worship.
WEET is the work, O Lord!
Thy glorious name to sing,
To praise and pray, to hear thy word,
And grateful offerings bring.
2 Sweet-at the dawning light,
Thy boundless love to tell;
And, when approach the shades of night,
Still on the theme to dwell.
3 Sweet on this day of rest,
To join, in heart and voice,
With those who love and serve thee best,
And in thy name rejoice.
4 To songs of praise and joy
Be every Sabbath given,
That such may be our blest employ
Eternally in heaven.
PSALM 92, 7s.
Praise to God in the Sanctuary.
mf. 1 THOU who art enthroned above,
Thou by whom we live and move!
Oh! how sweet, with joyful tongue,
To resound thy praise in song!
When the morning paints the skies,
When the sparkling stars arise,
All thy favors to rehearse,
And give thanks in grateful verse.
2 Sweet the day of sacred rest,
When devotion fills the breast,
When we dwell within thy house,
Hear thy word, and pay our vows;
Notes to heaven's high mansions raise,
Fill its courts with joyful praise;
With repeated hymns proclaim
Great Jehovah's awful name.
mf 3 From thy works our joys arise,
O thou only good and wise!
Who thy wonders can declare?
How profound thy counsels are!
Warm our hearts with sacred fire;
Grateful fervors still inspire;
All our powers, with all their might,
Ever in thy praise unite.
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