Own as thy God, and to his name
In homage bow thy knee.
2 Let not a shape which hands have wrought Of wood, or clay, or stone,
Be deem'd thy God; nor think him like
Aught, thou hast seen or known.
3 Take not in vain the name of God:
Nor must thou ever dare,
To make thy falsehood pass
for truth,
́By his dread name to swear.
4 That day on which he bids thee rest
From toil, to pray, and praise;
That day keep holy to the Lord,
And consecrate its rays.
5 Thy father and thy mother love,
Both honour and obey;
So shall thy life be blest with peace,
And lengthen'd be thy day.
6 The blood of man thou shalt not shed,
Nor wrath, nor malice, feel;
To maim, or hurt, or wish him dead,
Is in thy heart to kill.
7 Promiscuous lusts the Lord forbids,
But honours wedlock pure;
Vast is the guilt of wicked lusts,
Their punishment is sure.
8 Thou shalt not, or from friend or foe,
Take aught by force or stealth;
Thy goods, thy stores must grow from right,
Or God will curse thy wealth.
9 No man shalt thou, by a false charge,
Or crush or brand with shame:
Dear as thine own, so wills thy God,
Must be his life and name.
10 Thy soul one wish shall not let loose
For that which is not thine;
Live in thy lot, or small or great:
For God hath drawn the line.
11 O may the Lord, who gave these laws,
Write them on ev'ry heart,
That all may feel their living pow'r,
Nor from his paths depart!
HYMN 34. Second Part. L. M.
The first command.
TERNAL God! Almighty cause Of earth and seas, and worlds unknown; All things are subject to thy laws; All things depend on thee alone.
2 Thy glorious Being singly stands,
Of all within itself possest;
Control'd by none are thy commands;
Thou from thyself alone art blest.
3 To thee alone ourselves we owe;
Let heav'n and earth due homage pay:
All other gods we disavow,
Deny their claims, renounce their sway. 4 Spread thy great name thro' heathen lands; Their idol-deities dethrone:
Reduce the world to thy command,
And reign, as thou art, God alone.
HYMN 35. First Part. L. M.
The second command.
HOU art, O God! a Spirit pure,
Invisible to mortal eyes;
Th' immortal, and th' eternal King,
The great, the good, the only wise.
2 Whilst nature changes, and her works
Corrupt, decay, dissolve and die,
Thy essence pure no change shall see,
Secure of immortality.
3 Thou great Invisible! what hand
Can draw thy image, spotless fair?
To what in heav'n, to what on earth,
Can men th' immortal King compare?
4 Let stupid heathens frame their gods
Of gold and silver, wood and stone;
Ours is the God that made the heav'ns,
JEHOVAH HE, and God alone.
5 My soul, thy purest homage pay,
In truth and spirit him adore;
More shall this please, than sacrifice,
Than outward forms delight him more.
HYMN 35. Second Part. L. M.
God incomprehensible.
AN creatures, to perfection, find
Th' eternal, uncreated mind?
Or can the largest stretch of thought
Measure and search his nature out?
2 "Tis high as heav'n, 'tis deep as hell;
And what can mortals know, or tell?
His glory spreads beyond the sky,
And all the shining worlds on high.
3 [But man, vain man, would fain be wise,
Born, like a wild young colt, he flies
Thro' all the follies of his mind,
And smells and snuffs the empty wind.]
4 God is a King of pow'r unknown,
Firm are the orders of his throne;
If he resolve, who dare oppose,
Or ask him why, or what he does?
5 He wounds the heart, and he makes whole;
He calms the tempest of the soul;
When he shuts up in long despair,
Who can remove the heavy bar?
6 He frowns, and darkness veils the moon,
The fainting sun grows dim at noon:
The pillars of heav'n's starry roof
Tremble and start at his reproof.
7 These are a portion of his ways;
But who shall dare describe his face?
Who can endure his light, or stand
To hear the thunders of his hand?
HYMN 36. C. M.
The third command.
OLY and rev'rend is the name
Of our eternal King;
Thrice holy Lord! the angels cry,
Thrice holy, let us sing.
2 Holy is he in all his works,
And truth is his delight;
But sinners and their wicked ways
Shall perish from his sight.
3 The deepest rev'rence of the mind,
Pay, O my soul, to God;
Lift, with thy hands, a holy heart
To his sublime abode.
4 With sacred awe pronounce his name,
Abhor the lips profane;
Let not thy tongue the Lord blaspheme,
Nor take his name in vain.
5 Thou holy God! preserve my soul
From all pollution free;
The pure in heart, and hands, and lips,
Alone thy face shall see.
HYMN 37. First Part. L. M.
Christians may take a religious oath.
WHEN God his gracious promise made To faithful Abra'm and his seed, To show his grace and truth to both, Confirm'd the promise with an oath. 2 So, by an oath, in ev'ry age,
The saints their promise oft engage;
When questions rise of death or life,
An oath confirms and ends all strife.
3 Christians the truth will ever say,
Their yea be yea, their nay be nay;
And with conscientious dread refrain
From swearing any oath profane.
4 But when great facts demand high proof,
They honour God by solemn oath;
And thereby teach the world to own
The Judge eternal on his throne.
5 The fear of God is thus maintain'd,
And men from perjury restrain'd;
Religious oaths may be abus'd,
But may not therefore be refus'd.
6 Christians, the worthiest men on earth,
Who cherish peace, and love the truth,
Will put religion's sacred seal
To what is held the last appeal,
HYMN 37. Second Part. C. M.
ET those who bear the christian name
Their holy vows fulfil :
The saints, the follow'rs of the Lamb,
Delight to do his will.
2 True to the solemn oaths they take,
Tho' to their hurt they swear;
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