From thy paternal, bounteous hand,
Exhaustless Spring of good!

HYMN 81. S. M. [#]

Obligation to Gratitude and Praise.

1 My Maker, and my King,
To thee my all I owe :
Thy sovereign bounty is the spring
Whence all my blessings flow.

2 Thou ever good and kind,

A thousand reasons move,
A thousand obligations bind
My heart to grateful love.
3 Thy goodness, like the sun,
Dawned on my early days,
Ere infant reason had begun
To form my lips to praise.
4 The creature of thy hand,
On thee alone I live :
My God, thy benefits demand
More praise than life can give.

5 O let thy grace inspire

My soul with strength divine;
Let all my powers to thee aspire,
And all my days be thine.

HYMN 82. L. M. [#]

God the intellectual Light.

1 PRAISE to the Lord of boundless might, With uncreated glories bright:

1

His presence gilds the worlds above,
The Source supreme of light and love.
2 He sees the mind when lost it lies
In shades of ignorance and vice,
And darts from heaven a vivid ray,
And changes midnight into day.

3 Shine, mighty God, with vigour shine
On this benighted heart of mine;
There be thy brighter beams revealed,
As in the Saviour's face beheld.

4 Thine image, on my soul impressed,
In radiant lines shall stand confessed;
While all my faculties unite

To praise the Lord, who gives me light.

THOUGHTS CONCERNING GOD.

7 HYMN 83. C. M. [*].

God everywhere a Refuge.

1 How are thy servants blessed, O Lord!
How sure is their defence!
Eternal Wisdom is their guide,
Their help, Omnipotence.

2 In foreign realms, and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,

They pass unhurt through burning climes,
And breathe in tainted air.

3 Thy mercy sweetens every soil,
Makes every region please;
The hoary, frozen hills it warms,
And smooths the boisterous seas.

4 The storm was laid, the winds retired, Obedient to thy will;

The sea, that roared at thy command,
At thy command was still.

5 In midst of dangers and of death,
Thy goodness I'll adore ;

I'll praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.

** HYMN 84. S. M. [#]

Reliance on God a Remedy for Care.

1 How gracious is our God!

How kind his precepts are!

Come, cast your burden on the Lord,
And trust his constant care.

2 Since he forever reigns,

We may securely dwell;

That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guide his children well.

3 O why should anxious thoughts
Oppress the sinking mind?

Go, fall before your Father's throne,
And sweet relief you'll find.

4 Devoutly fear his name,
And know no other fear;
6

In every scene of life and death
Your Helper will be near.

HYMN 85. C. M. [#]

God's Foreknowledge considered.

1 LET the whole race of creatures lie
Abased before the Lord!
Whate'er his mighty hand has forined
He governs with a word.

2 Ten thousand ages ere the skies
Were into motion brought,

All the long years and worlds to come
Stood present to his thought.

3 If light attend the course we go,
"Tis he provides the rays;

And 'tis his hand that hides the sun,
If darkness cloud our days.

4 Trusting thy wisdom, God of love,
We would not wish to know
What, in the book of thy decrees,
Awaits us here below.

5 Be this alone our fervent prayer :
Whate'er our lot shall be,

Or joys, or sorrows, may they form
Our souls for heaven and thee.

HYMN 86. L. M. [#]

Waiting upon God.

1 WAIT, every soul, your Maker's will;

Unhallowed passions, all be still;

Nor let a murmuring thought arise;
His ways are just, his counsels wise.

2 Thick darkness round his throne he draws,
His work performis. conceals the cause;
But, though his methods are unknown,
Judgment and truth support his throne.
3 In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas,
He executes his firin decrees;

And, by his saints, it stands confessed,
That what he does is ever best.

4 Wait, then, each soul, submissive wait,
Prostrate before his awful seat;
And, midst the terrors of his rod,
Trust in a wise and gracious God.

HYMN 87. C. M. [#]

Early and constant Care of God.

1 ALMIGHTY FATHER, gracious Lord
Kind Guardian of my days,
Thy mercies let my heart record
songs of grateful praise.

2 In life's first dawn, my tender frame
Was thy indulgent care;

Long ere I could pronounce thy name,
Or breathe the infant prayer.

3 Each rolling year new favours brought
From thy exhaustless store;

But, O! in vain my labouring thought
Would count thy mercies o'er.