Almighty God, to Thee

Be endless honours done; The undivided Three,

And the mysterious One!

Where reason fails with all her powers,

There faith prevails, and love adores.

Isaac Watts. 1709.

VII.

O King of kings, before whose throne
The angels bow, no gift can we
Present that is indeed our own,

Since heaven and earth belong to Thee:
Yet this our souls through grace impart,
The offering of a thankful heart.

O Jesu, set at God's right hand,
With Thine eternal Father plead
For all Thy loyal-hearted band,

Who still on earth Thy succour need;
For them in weakness strength provide,
And through the world their footsteps guide.

O Holy Spirit, Fount of breath,

Whose comforts never fail nor fade, Vouchsafe the life that knows no death,

Vouchsafe the light that knows no shade; And grant, that we through all our days May share Thy gifts, and sing Thy praise. Anon. [1857.]

II.

GOD THE CREATOR.

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible."

VIII.

PSALM C.

Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy ;
Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create, and He destroy.

His sov'reign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay, and formed us men ;
And when like wandering sheep we stray'd,
He brought us to His fold again.

We'll crowd Thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise ;
And earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
Shall fill Thy courts with sounding praise.

Wide as the world is Thy command,
Vast as eternity Thy love;

Firm as a rock Thy truth must stand,

When rolling years shall cease to move.

Isaac Watts. 1719.

Varied by Charles Wesley. 1741.

IX.

PSALM XCIII.

The Lord Jehovah reigns
And royal state maintains,
His head with awful glories crown'd;
Arrayed in robes of light,

Begirt with sovereign might,
And rays of majesty around.

Upheld by Thy commands,
The world securely stands,

And skies and stars obey Thy word:
Thy throne was fixed on high
Before the starry sky :
Eternal is Thy kingdom, Lord.

In vain the noisy crowd,
Like billows fierce and loud,
Against Thine empire rage and roar :
In vain, with angry spite,

The surly nations fight,

And dash like waves against the shore.

Let floods and nations rage, And all their powers engage; Let swelling tides assault the sky : The terrors of Thy frown

Shall beat their madness down : Thy throne for ever stands on high.

Thy promises are true,

Thy grace is ever new ;

There fixed, Thy Church shall ne'er remove :

Thy saints with holy fear

Shall in Thy courts appear,

And sing Thine everlasting love.

Isaac Watts. 1719.

X.

Let all the world rejoice,

The great Jehovah reigns ;

The thunders are His awful voice;
Our life His will ordains;

The glories of His Name

The lightnings, floods, and hail proclaim.

He rules by sea and land,

O'er boundless realms He sways; He holds the oceans in His hand, And mighty mountains weighs : Unequalled and alone

In majesty He fills His throne.

The universe He made
By His prevailing might;

The earth's foundations He hath laid,
And scattered ancient night;

When heaven, and earth, and sea,
Proclaimed His awful majesty.

When the bright orb of day
First gleamed with ruddy light,
And yonder moon, with silver ray,
Marched up the vault of night;
And stars bedecked the skies,
That seemed creation's thousand eyes;

And earth's fair form was seen,
With flowers and blossoms drest;

And trees, and fields, and meadows green,
Adorned her youthful breast,
Hung out in boundless space,
Amid the ocean's cool embrace;

Glad was the angel throng

To see His might prevail;
And loud they sung a joyful song
This universe to hail,

While yet in youth it stood;
The Maker, too, pronounced it good.

But this fair world shall die,
The creature of a day;
In ashes and in ruins lie,
Its glory passed away:
As when before her birth,
Again shall be this mighty earth.

Soon shall the day be o'er

Of yonder brilliant sun;
And he shall set to rise no more,

His race of glory run;

And soon, alas! all soon

Shall fade the stars, and yon pale moon.

But ever fix'd, the throne

Of the Eternal One

Shall stand, when all creation's gone,

Unequalled and alone;

New worlds to make at will,

And His own wise designs fulfil.

XI.

John Hunt. 1853.

PSALM CXV.

Not unto us, Almighty Lord,
But to Thyself the glory be!
Created by Thy awful word,

We only live to honour Thee.