Blest are the souls that find a place
Within the temple of thy grace:
There they behold thy gentler rays,
And seek thy face, and learn thy praise.
Blest are the men whose hearts are set
To find the way to Sion's gate:
God is their strength, and through the road
They lean upon their helper God.
Cheerful they walk with growing strength,
Till all shall meet in heaven at length;
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.
The happy effects of Messiah's advent.
1 SALVATION is for ever nigh
The souls that fear and trust the Lord;
And grace, descending from on high,
Fresh hopes of glory shall afford.
2 Mercy and truth on earth are met,
Since Christ the Lord came down from heaven;
By his obedience so complete
Justice is pleas'd, and peace is given.
3 Now truth and honour shall abound,
Religion dwell on earth again,
And heavenly influence bless the ground
In our Redeemer's gentle reign.
4 His righteousness is gone before,
To give us free access to God;
Our wandering feet shall stray no more,
But mark his steps, and keep the road.
PSALM 89. PART 1.
The faithfulness of God.
MY never-ending song shall show
The mercies of the Lord;
And make succeeding ages know
How faithful is his word.
The sacred truths his lips pronounce
Shall firm as heaven endure:
And if he speak a promise once,
The eternal grace is sure.
How long the race of David held
The promis'd Jewish throne!
But there's a nobler covenant seal'd
To David's greater Son.
His seed for ever shall possess
A throne above the skies;
The meanest subject of his grace
Shall to that glory rise.
Lord God of hosts, thy wondrous ways
Are sung by saints above;
And saints on earth their honours raise
To thy unchanging love.
The blessedness of God's people.
1 BLEST are the souls that hear and know The gospel's joyful sound;
Peace shall attend the paths they go,
And light their steps surround.
Their joy shall bear their spirits up,
Through their Redeemer's name:
His righteousness exalts their hope,
Nor Satan dares condemn.
The Lord our glory and defence,
Strength and salvation gives:
Israel, thy King for ever reigns,
Thy God for ever lives.
1 O GOD, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Under the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd her frame,
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come;
Be thou our guard, while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
Man frail and mortal.
1 TIME, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.
A thousand ages in thy sight,
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
So teach us to compute our days,
And so our hearts apply,
That safely we, through wisdom's ways,
May reach eternity.
PSALM 90. PART 3.
Desiring eternal rest.
RETURN, O Lord, and grant some rest
To all thy servants' woes;
Our hearts, with early mercies blest,
To holy joys dispose.
Let heaven succeed our painful years,
Let sin and sorrow cease;
And in proportion to our tears,
So make our joys increase.
Thy wonders to thy servants show;
Make thy own work complete;
Then shall our souls thy glory know,
And own thy love was great.
Then shall we shine before thy throne,
In all thy beauty, Lord;
And the poor service we have done,
Meet a divine reward.
PSALM 91.
The ministry of angels.
INCARNATE God! the soul that knows
Thy name's mysterious power,
Shall dwell in undisturb'd repose,
Nor fear the trying hour.
Angels unseen attend the saints,
And bear them in their arms;
To cheer their spirit when it faints,
And guard their life from harms.
The angels' Lord himself is nigh
To them that love his name;
Ready to save them when they cry,
And put their foes to shame.
PSALM 92. PART 1.
Delight in the Sabbath.
1 SWEET is the work, my God, my King,
To praise thy name, give thanks, and sing;
To shew thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truth at night.
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest:
No mortal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound!
3 My heart shall triumph in the Lord,
And bless his works, and bless his word;
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels! how divine!
4 But I shall share a nobler part,
When grace hath purified my heart;
Mine inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Satan break my peace again.
5 Then shall I see, and hear, and know,
All I desir'd or wish'd below,
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
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