Chapter L: M. 6 l

O Lord, whose bounteous hand again
Hath poured Thy gifts in plenty down,
Who all creation dost sustain
And all the earth with goodness crown:
Lord of the harvest, here we own
Our joy Thy gift, and Thine alone.

2. O may we ne’er with thankless heart
Forget from whom our blessings flow.
Still, Lord, Thy heavenly grace impart;
Still teach us what to Thee we owe.
Lord, may our lives with fruit divine
Return Thy care and prove us Thine.

3. Lord, grant that each may sow to Thee;
Grant us in endless life to reap.
Of every heart the Guardian be;
By day and night Thy servants keep
That all to Thee may joy afford
On Thy great harvest-day, O Lord.

Anon.

292

C. M.

O Lord, I sing with lips and heart,
Joy of my soul, to Thee;
To earth Thy knowledge I impart
As it is known to me.

2. Thou art the Fount of grace, I know,
And Spring so full and free,
Whence saving health and goodness flow
Each day so bounteously.

3. For what have all that live and move
Through this wide world below
That does not from Thy bounteous love,
O heavenly Father, flow?

4. Who built the lofty firmament?
Who spread th’ expanse of blue?
By whom are to our pastures sent
Refreshing rain and dew?

5. Who warmeth us in cold and frost?
Who shields us from the wind?
Who orders it that oil and must
We in their season find?

6. Who is it life and health bestows?
Who keeps us with His hand
In golden peace, wards off war’s woes
From our dear native land?

7. O Lord, of this and all our store
Thou art the Author blest;
Thou keepest watch before our door
While we securely rest.

8. Thou feedest us from year to year
And constant dost abide;
With ready help in time of fear
Thou standest at our side.

9. With patience dost Thou ever chide
And chasten’st sparingly;
Thou castest all our sins aside
And drown’st them in the sea.

10. When silent woe our bosom rends,
Thy pity sees our grief
And gives what to our glory tends
No less than our relief.

11. Thou knowest when a Christian weeps
And why his tear-drops fall;
And in the book Thy mercy keeps
These things are noted all.

12. Our deepest needs dost Thou supply,
Thou giv’st what lasts for aye;
Thou lead’st us to our home on high
When hence we pass away.

13. Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing,
A cheerful trust maintain!
For God, the Source of everything,
Thy Portion will remain.

14. He is thy Treasure, He thy Joy,
Thy Life and Light and Lord,
Thy Counselor when doubts annoy,
Thy Shield and great Reward.

15. In restless thought or blank despair
Why spend each day and night?
On Him who made thee cast thy care;
He makes our burdens light.

16. Did not His love and truth and power
Watch o’er thy childhood’s day?
Has He not oft in threatening hour
Turned dreaded ills away?

17. His wisdom never plans in vain,
Ne’er falters or mistakes;
All that His counsels did ordain
A happy ending makes.

18. Upon thy lips, then, lay thy hand
And trust His guiding love;
Then firm as rock thy peace shall stand
Here and in heaven above.

Paul Gerhardt, 1653.

293

C. M.

We sing th’ almighty power of God,
Who bade the mountains rise,
Who spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.

2. We sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines, too, at His command,
And all the stars obey.

3. We sing the goodness of the Lord,
Who fills the earth with food;
Who formed His creatures by a word
And then pronounced them good.

4. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed
Where’er we turn our eyes,
Whene’er we view the ground we tread
Or gaze upon the skies!

5. There’s not a plant nor flower below
But makes Thy glories known;
And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from Thy throne.

6. On Thee each moment we depend;
If Thou withdraw, we die.
Oh, may we ne’er that God offend
Who is forever nigh!

Isaac Watts, 1715.

294

8, 7, 8 l

To Thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise
In hymns of adoration,
To Thee bring sacrifice of praise
With shouts of exultation:
Bright robes of gold the fields adorn,
The hills with joy are ringing,
The valleys stand so thick with corn
That even they are singing.

2. And now, on this our festal day,
Thy bounteous hand confessing,
Upon Thine altar, Lord, we lay
The first-fruits of Thy blessing.
By Thee the souls of men are fed
With gifts of grace supernal,
Thou who dost give us earthly bread,
Give us the Bread eternal.

3. We bear the burden of the day
And often toil seems dreary;
But labor ends with sunset ray,
And rest comes for the weary.
May we, the angel-reaping o’er,
Stand at the last accepted,
Christ’s golden sheaves forevermore
To garners bright elected.

4. Oh, blessed is that land of God
Where saints abide forever;
Where golden fields spread fair and broad,
Where flows the crystal river.
The strains of all its holy throng
With ours to-day are blending;
Thrice blessed is that harvest-song
Which never hath an ending.

W. C. Dix, 1864.

295

7s 8 l

Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of Harvest-home;
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come;
Raise the song of Harvest-home.

2. We ourselves are God’s own field,
Fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear.
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.

3. For the Lord, our God, shall come
and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall purge away
All that doth offend, that day;
Give His angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast,
But the fruitful ears to store
In His garner evermore.

4. Come, Thou Lord of harvest, come
To Thy final Harvest-home;
Gather Thou Thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In Thy garner to abide.
Come with all Thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious Harvest-home!

H. Alford, 1845.

296

7s 8 l

Christ, by heav’nly hosts adored,
Gracious, mighty, sov’reign Lord,
God of nations, King of kings,
Head of all created things,
By the Church with joy contest,
God o’er all forever blest;
Pleading at Thy throne we stand,
Save Thy people, bless our land.

2. On our fields of grass and grain
Send, O Lord, the kindly rain;
O’er our wide and goodly land
Crown the labors of each hand.
Let Thy kind protection be
O’er our commerce on the sea.
Open, Lord, Thy bounteous hand,
Bless Thy people, bless our land.

3. Let our rulers ever be
Men that love and honor Thee;
Let the powers by Thee ordained
Be in righteousness maintained;
In the people’s hearts increase
Love of piety and peace.
Thus united we shall stand
One wide, free, and happy land.

H. Harbaugh, 1860.

297

7s

Praise, O praise our God and King,
Hymns of adoration sing;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

2. Praise Him that He made the sun
Day by day his course to run;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

3. And the silver moon by night,
Shining with her gentle light;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

4. Praise Him that He gave the rain
To mature the swelling grain;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

5. And hath bid the fruitful field
Crops of precious increase yield;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

6. Praise Him for our harvest store,
He hath filled the garner floor;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

7. And for richer food than this,
Pledge of everlasting bliss;
For His mercies still endure,
Ever faithful, ever sure.

8. Glory to our bounteous King,
Glory let creation sing;
Glory to the Father, Son,
And the Spirit, Three in One!

H. W. Baker, 1861.

298

7s 6 l

Praise to God, immortal praise,
For the love that crowns our days;
Bounteous Source of every joy,
Let Thy praise our tongues employ.
All to Thee, our God, we owe,
Source whence all our blessings flow.

2. All the plenty summer pours;
Autumn’s rich, o’erflowing stores;
Flocks that whiten all the plain;
Yellow sheaves of ripened grain.
Lord, for these our souls shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise.

3. Peace, prosperity, and health,
Private bliss, and public wealth,
Knowledge with its gladdening streams,
Pure religion’s holier beams.
Lord, for these our souls shall raise
Grateful vows and solemn praise.

4. As Thy prospering hand hath blest,
May we give Thee of our best
And by deeds of kindly love
For Thy mercies grateful prove;
Sinking thus through all our days,
Praise to God, immortal praise.

A. L. (Aikin) Barbauld, 1773, abr.

NATIONAL.

299

7s 8 l

Swell the anthem, raise the song,
Praises to our God belong;
Saints and angels join to sing
Praises to the heavenly King.
Blessings from His liberal hand
Flow around this happy land.
Kept by Him, no foes annoy;
Peace and freedom we enjoy.

2. Here, beneath a peaceful sway,
May we cheerfully obey;
Never feel oppression’s rod,
Ever own and worship God.
Hark! the voice of nature sings
Praises to the King of kings;
Let us join the choral song
And the grateful notes prolong.

Nathan Strong, 1799.

300

L. M.

O bless, Thou heavenly Potentate,
With wisdom, strength, the powers of state,
That wrong and violence may cease
And Church and home abide in peace.

2. Bless rich and poor, the great and small,
Both friend and foe; Lord, bless Thou all
The family on earth in love
And fit all for Thy home above.

3. Thus, with Thy blessing on each hand,
Will peace and plenty fill the land
And righteousness spring from the earth
And life below have higher worth.

4. All praise to Thee, O King of kings,
Whose grace to us such blessings brings;
Thee, with the Father, we adore,
And Holy Ghost, forevermore.

Anon.

301

7s 6 l

What our Father does is well:
Blessed truth His children tell!
Though He send, for plenty, want,
Though the harvest-store be scant,
Yet we rest upon His love,
Seeking better things above.

2. What our Father does is well:
Shall the wilful heart rebel
If a blessing He withhold
In the field or in the fold?
Is He not Himself to be
All our store eternally?

3. What our Father does is well:
Though He sadden hill and dell,
Upward yet our praises rise
For the strength His Word supplies.
He has called us sons of God;
Can we murmur at His rod?

4. What our Father does is well:
May the thought within us dwell;
Though nor milk nor honey flow
In our barren Canaan now,
God can save us in our need,
God can bless us, God can feed.

5. Therefore unto Him we raise
Hymns of glory, songs of praise.
To the Father and the Son
And the Spirit, Three in One,
Honor, might, and glory be
Now and through eternity.

B. Schmolck, 1720; H. W. Baker, tr., 1861.

302

C. M.

Lord, while for all mankind we pray,
Of every clime and coast,
Oh, hear us for our native land,
The land we love the most!

2. Oh, guard our shores from every foe,
With peace our borders bless,
With prosperous times our cities crown,
Our fields with plenteousness!

3. Unite us in the sacred love
Of knowledge, truth, and Thee;
And let our hills and valleys shout
The songs of liberty.

4. Here may religion, pure and mild,
Smile on our Sabbath hours
And piety and virtue bless
The home of us and ours.

5. Lord of the nations, thus to Thee
Our country we commend;
Be Thou her Refuge and her Trust,
Her everlasting Friend.

John R. Wreford, 1837.

303

C. M.

Almighty Lord, before Thy throne
Thy mourning people bend;
’Tis on Thy grace in Christ alone
Our failing hopes depend.

2. Dark judgments from Thy heavy hand
Thy dreadful power display;
Yet mercy spares our guilty land,
And still we live to pray.

3. How changed, alas! are truths divine
For error, guilt, and shame!
What impious numbers, bold in sin,
Disgrace the Christian name!

4. O turn us, turn us, mighty Lord!
Convert us by Thy grace;
Then shall our hearts obey Thy Word
And see again Thy face.

5. Then, should oppressing foes invade,
We will not yield to fear,
Secure of all-sufficient aid,
When God in Christ is near.

Anne Steele, † 1778.

304

6, 6, 6, 6, 8, 8 (H. M.)

To Thee, our God, we fly
For mercy and for grace;
Oh, hear our lowly cry
And hide not Thou Thy face!
O Lord, stretch forth Thy mighty hand
And guard and bless our Fatherland.

2. Arise, O Lord of hosts,
Be jealous for Thy name,
And drive from out our coasts
The sins that put to shame.
O Lord, stretch forth Thy mighty hand
And guard and bless our Fatherland.

3. Thy best gifts from on high
In rich abundance pour
That we may magnify
And praise Thee more and more.
O Lord, stretch forth Thy mighty hand
And guard and bless our Fatherland.

4. The powers ordained by Thee
With heavenly wisdom bless;
May they Thy servants be
And rule in righteousness.
O Lord, stretch forth Thy mighty hand
And guard and bless our Fatherland.

5. The Church of Thy dear Son
Inflame with love’s pure fire;
Bind her once more in one
And life and truth inspire.
O Lord, stretch forth Thy mighty hand
And guard and bless our Fatherland.

W. W. How, 1871.

305

6, 6, 4, 6, 6, 6, 4

God bless our native land!
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night;
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Do Thou our country save
By Thy great might!

2. For her our prayer shall rise
To God above the skies;
On Him we wait:
Thou, who art ever nigh,
Guarding with watchful eye,
To Thee aloud we cry,
God save the State!

C. T. Brooks, 1834; J. S. Dwight, 1844.

FAITH AND JUSTIFICATION.

306