4 Long hath it been diffused abroad,
Through ages past and gone;
Nor ever can exhausted be,
But still keeps flowing on.

5 Through the whole earth it pours supplies,
Spreads joy through every part;
O, may such love attract my eyes,
And captivate my heart!

102

S. M.

MRS. STEELE.

God our Creator and Benefactor.

1 MY Maker and my King,
To thee my all I owe;

Thy sovereign bounty is the spring
From whence my blessings flow.

2 Thou ever good and kind,

A thousand reasons move,
A thousand obligations bind,
My heart to grateful love.
3 The creature of thy hand,
On thee alone I live;
My God, thy benefits demand
More praise than life can give.

4 O, what can I impart,

When all is thine before?

Thy love demands a thankful heart;

The gift, alas, how poor!

5 O, let thy grace inspire

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

103

C. M.

Goodness of God.

THOMSON.

1 JEHOVAH God, thy gracious power
On every hand we see;

O, may the blessings of each hour
Lead all our thoughts to thee!

2 If on the wings of morn we speed
To earth's remotest bound,
Thy hand will there our footsteps lead,
Thy love our path surround.

3 Thy power is in the ocean deeps,
And reaches to the skies;

Thine eye of mercy never sleeps,
Thy goodness never dies.

4 From morn till noon, till latest eve,
The hand of God we see ;
And all the blessings we receive,
Ceaseless, proceed from thee.

5 In all the varying scenes of time,
On thee our hopes depend;
Through every age, in every clime,
Our Father and our Friend!

104

L. M.

GENTLEMAN'S MAG.

Goodness of God in the Seasons.

1 GREAT God, at whose all-powerful call,
At first arose this beauteous frame,
Thou bid'st 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 The new delight how great, to see

The earth in vernal beauty dressed,
While in each herb, and flower, and tree,
Thy opening bounty shines confessed!
4 Aloft, full beaming, reigns the sun,
And light and genial heat conveys;
And, while he leads the seasons on,
From thee derives his quickening rays.

5 Indulgent God, from every part

Thy plenteous blessings largely flow;
We see; we taste; let every heart
With grateful love and duty glow.

105

C. M.

WATTS.

The Goodness of God. Ps. 145.

1 SWEET is the memory of thy grace,
My God, my heavenly King;
Let age to age thy righteousness
In sounds of glory sing.

2 God reigns on high, but not confines

His goodness to the skies;

Through the whole earth his bounty shines,

And every want supplies.

3 With longing eyes thy creatures wait
On thee for daily food;

Thy liberal hand provides their meat,
And fills their mouths with good.

4 How kind are thy compassions, Lord!
How slow thine anger moves!

But soon he sends his pardoning word
To cheer the souls he loves.

5 Creatures, with all their endless race,
Thy power and praise proclaim;
But saints, that taste thy richer grace,
Delight to bless thy name.

106

L. M.

WATTS.

Blessing God for his Goodness. Ps. 103.

1 BLESS, O my soul, the living God;
Call home thy thoughts that rove abroad;
Let all the powers within me join
In work and worship so divine.

2 Bless, O my soul, the God of grace;
His favors claim thy highest praise;
Why should the wonders he hath wrought
Be lost in silence and forgot?

3 The vices of the mind he heals,
And cures the pains that nature feels,
Redeems the soul from hell, and saves
Our wasting life from threatening graves.
4 Our youth decayed his power repairs;
His mercy crowns our growing years;
He satisfies our mouth with good,
And fills our hopes with heavenly food.
5 He sees the oppressor and the oppressed,
And often gives the sufferers rest,
But will his justice more display
In the last, great, rewarding day.

6 Let the whole earth his power confess;
Let the whole earth adore his grace;
The Gentile with the Jew shall join
In work and worship so divine.

107

L. M. 6 L.

WATTS.

Praise to God for his Goodness and Truth. Ps. 146. 1 I'LL praise my Maker with my breath, And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler powers; My days of praise shall ne'er be past, While life, and thought, and being, last, Or immortality endures.

2 Why should I make a man my trust? Princes must die, and turn to dust;

Vain is the help of flesh and blood; Their breath departs, their pomp, and power, And thoughts, all vanish in an hour, Nor can they make their promise good.

3 Happy the man whose hopes rely On Israel's God; he made the sky,

And earth, and seas, with all their train; His truth forever stands secure ; He saves the oppressed, he feeds the poor, And none shall find his promise vain.

4 The Lord hath eyes to give the blind; The Lord supports the sinking mind;

He sends the laboring conscience peace; He helps the stranger in distress, The widow and the fatherless,

And grants the prisoner sweet release.