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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