4 I shall behold the face Of my forgiving God;
And stand complete in righteousness, Washed in my Saviour's blood.
5 There's a new heaven begun When I awake from death, Dressed in the likeness of thy Son, And draw immortal breath.
FIRST VERSION. V. 1-6, 10, 15-18, 49.
Deliverance from despair.
1 THEE will I love, O Lord, my strength, My rock, my tower, my high defence; Thy mighty arm shall be my trust,
For I have found salvation thence.
2 Death, and the terrors of the grave, Stood round me with their dismal shade; While floods of high temptations rose, And made my sinking soul afraid.
3 I saw the opening gates of hell,
With endless pains and sorrows there, Which none, but they that feel, can tell,- While I was hurried to despair.
4 In my distress I called my God,
When I could scarce believe him mine; He bowed his ear to my complaint; Then did his grace appear divine.
5 With speed he flew to my relief,
As on a cherub's wing he rode; Awful and bright as lightning shone The face of my deliverer God.
6 Temptations fled at his rebuke,- The blast of his almighty breath: He sent salvation from on high, And drew me from the deeps of deata.
7 My song forever shall record
That terrible, that joyful hour; And give the glory to the Lord, Due to his mercy and his power.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 10, 14, 50.
Victory and triumph over temporal enemies.
1 WE love thee, Lord, and we adore; Now is thine arm revealed;
Thou art our strength, our heavenly tower Our bulwark and our shield.
2 We fly to our eternal Rock, And find a sure defence; His holy name our lips invoke, And draw salvation thence.
3 When God, our leader, shines in arms, What mortal heart can bear The thunder of his loud alarms, The lightning of his spear?
4 He rides upon the wingéd wind, And angels in array,
In millions, wait to know his mind, And swift as flames obey.
5 He speaks, and at his fierce rebuke Whole armies are dismayed; His voice, his frown, his angry look, Strikes all their courage dead.
6 Oft has the Lord whole nations blessed For his own children's sake; The powers that give his people rest Shall of his care partake.
THIRD VERSION. V. 9-11.
God appearing in majesty.
1 THE Lord descended from above, And bowed the heavens most high; And underneath his feet he cast The darkness of the sky.
2 On cherub and on cherubim Full royally he rode,
And on the wings of mighty winds Came flying all abroad.
3 He sat serene upon the floods, Their fury to restrain;
And he, as sovereign Lord and King, For evermore shall reign
FOURTH VERSION. V. 20-25.
Sincerity proved and rewarded.
1 LORD, thou hast seen my soul sincere, Hast made thy truth and love appear: Before mine eyes I set thy laws,
And thou hast owned my righteous cause. 2 What sore temptations broke my rest! What wars and strugglings in my breast. But through thy grace that reigns within, I guard against my darling sin.
3 The sin that close besets me still, That works and strives against my will,- When shall thy Spirit's sovereign power Destroy it, that it rise no more?
4 With an impartial hand, the Lord Deals out to mortals their reward: The kind and faithful soul shall find A God as faithful and as kind.
5 The just and pure shall ever say, Thou art more pure, more just than they; And men that love revenge shall know, Thou hast an arm of vengeance too.
FIFTH VERSION. V. 30-35, 46-50.
Salvation and triumph in God.
1 JUST are thy ways, and true thy word, Great Rock of my secure abode;
Who is a God beside the Lord?
Or where's a refuge like our God? 2 'Tis he that girds me with his might, Gives me his holy sword to wield; And while with sin and hell I fight, Spreads his salvation for my shield. 3 He lives and blesséd be my Rock- The God of my salvation lives; The dark designs of hell he broke: Sweet is the peace my Father gives.
4 Before the scoffers of the age
I will exalt my Father's name, Nor tremble at their mighty rage,
But meet reproach and bear the shame.
5 To David and his royal seed Thy grace forever shall extend: Thy love to saints, in Christ their head, Knows not a limit, nor an end.
SIXTH VERSION. V. 46-49.
Triumphing in Christ's victory.
1 LO! the Lord Jehovah liveth! He's my rock, I bless his name: He, my God, salvation giveth; All ye lands, exalt his fame.
2 O'er his enemies exalted,
See the great Redeemer rise! Though by powers of hell assaulted, God supports him to the skies. 3 God, Messiah's cause maintaining, Shall his righteous throne extend: O'er the world the Saviour reigning, Earth shall at his footstool bend.
The book of nature and scripture compared. 1 THE heavens declare thy glory, Lord, In every star thy wisdom shines; But when our eyes behold thy word, We read thy name in fairer lines. 2 The rolling sun, the changing light, And nights and days thy power confess, But the blest volume thou hast writ, Reveals thy justice and thy grace.
3 Sun, moon, and stars, convey thy praise Round the whole earth, and never stand: So, when thy truth began its race,
It touched and glanced on every land.
4 Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest,
Till through the world thy truth has run; Till Christ has all the nations blessed That see the light, or feel the sun.
5 Great Sun of righteousness, arise;
Bless the dark world with heavenly light: Thy gospel makes the simple wise,
Thy laws are pure, thy judgment right.
6 Thy noblest wonders here we view In souls renewed, and sins forgiven; Lord, cleanse my sins, my soul renew, And make thy word my guide to heaven.
SECOND VERSION. V. 1-3, 7—9, 11, 14. For a Lord's-Day morning.
1 BEHOLD the lofty sky
Declares its maker, God, And all his starry works on high Proclaim his power abroad.
2 The darkness and the light
Still keep their course the same; While night to day, and day to night, Divinely teach his name.
3 In every different land
Their general voice is known: They show the wonders of his hand, And orders of his throne.
4 Ye christian lands rejoice; Here he reveals his word:
We are not left to nature's voice To bid us know the Lord.
5 His statutes and commands Are set before our eyes; He puts his gospel in our hands, Where our salvation lies.
6 His laws are just and pure; His truth without deceit; His promises forever sure, And his rewards are great.
7 While of thy works I sing, Thy glory to proclaim,
Accept the praise, my God, my King, In my Redeemer's name.
THIRD VERSION. V. 1-9.
God's word most excellent.
1 BEHOLD the morning sun
Begins his glorious way;
His beams through all the nations run, And life and light convey.
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