88. C.M. WATTS.

Contemplation of the works of nature.

1 ETERNAL wisdom! thee we praise,

Thee the creation sings;

With thy great name, rocks, hills, and seas,
And heav'n's high palace rings.

2 How wide thy hand hath spread the sky! How glorious to behold,

Ting'd with a blue of heav'nly die,
And starr'd with sparkling gold!

3 There thou hast bid the globes of light
Their endless circles run;

The paler planet rules the night,
The day obeys the sun.

4 If down I turn my wond'ring eyes,
On clouds and storms below;
Those lower regions of the skies
Thy num❜rous glories show.

5 The noisy winds stand ready there
Thine orders to obey;

With sounding wings they sweep the air, To make thy chariot way.

6 The rolling mountains of the deep
'Obey thy stern cominand;

Thy breath can raise the billows steep,
Ör sink them on the sand.

7 Thy glories blaze all nature round,
Ánd strike the gazing sight,

Thro' skies, and seas, and solid ground,
With terror and delight.

8 But the mild glories of the LORD,
Our softer passions move;
Thy grace and pity, in thy word
We see, adore and love.

89. L.M. WATTS.

All the works of GOD praise him,

1 FAIREST of all the lights above,

Thou sun, whose beams adorn the
spheres,

And with unwearied swiftness move
To form the circles of our years:

2 Praise the Creator of the skies,
Who dress'd thine orb in golden rays!
Or may the sun forget to rise
If he forget his maker's praise.

3 Thou reigning beauty of the night,
Fair queen of silence, silver moon,
Whose gentle beams, and borrow'd light
Are softer rivals of the noon :

4 Arise, and to that sov'reign pow'r
Waxing and waning honours pay,
Who bade thee rule the dusky hour,
And half supply the absent day.

5 Ye twinkling stars that gild the sky,
And cheer the gloomy face of night,
Praise him who plac'd your orbs on high,
And out of darkness call'd up light.

6 O GOD of glory, and of love!

Thou art the sun that makes our days;
With all thy shining works above,
Let earth and dust attempt thy praise.

90. C.M. WATTS.

Invocation to praise.

1 DRAISE ye the LORD, immortal choir That fills the realms above;

Praise him who form'd you of his fire,
And feeds you with his love.

2 Shine to his praise, ye crystal skies,
The floor of his abode :

Or veil in shades your thousand eyes
Before your brighter God.

3 Thou restless globe of golden light,
Whose beams create our days,
Join with the silver queen of night
To own your borrow'd rays.

4 Thunder and hail, and seas and storms,
The troops of his command,
Appear in all your dreadful forms,
And speak his awful hand.

5 Shout-to the LORD, ye surging seas,
In your eternal roar;

Let wave to wave resound his praise,
And shore reply to shore.

6 Wave your tall heads, ye lofty pines,
To him that bade you grow;
Sweet clusters, bend the fruitful vines
On ev'ry grateful bough.

7 Thus, while the meaner creatures sing,
Ye mortals, catch the sound;
Echo the glories of your king
Thro' all the nations round.

1

TH

91. L.M. ADDISON.

The voice of GOD in his works.

HE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangl'd heavens, a shining frame,
Their great original proclaim.

2 Th' unwearied sun from day to day
Doth his creator's power display;
And publishes to every land,
The work of an almighty hand.
3 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale;
And nightly to the list'ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth:

4 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.
5 What tho' in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball;
What tho' no real voice nor sound,
Amidst their radiant orbs be found:
H 2

6 In

6 In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice:
For ever singing as they shine-
"The hand that made us is divine.”

92. P.M. ROSCOMMON.

Praise to GOD from all nature.

AZURE vaults! O crystal sky! The world's transparent canopy ! Break your long silence, and let mortal's know,

With what contempt you look on things below.

2 O light! thou fairest, first of things, From whom all joy all beauty springs; O praise th' almighty ruler of the globe, Who useth thee as his imperial robe.

3

Great eye of all! whose glorious ray
Rules the bright empire of the day;
O praise his name, without whose purer
light,

Thou hadst been hid in an abyss of night. 4 Ye moon and planets! who dispense By God's command your influence; Resign to him, as to your maker due, That homage which man's folly pays to you. 5 Ye mists and vapours, hail and snow, And who thro' the concave blow, you Swift to perform the mandates of his word, Whirlwinds and tempests! praise th' almighty LORD. 6 Praise