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Teach us, O Lord, how frail is man;
And kindly lengthen out our span,
Till, form'd to wisdom, we shall be
Prepar'd to die, and dwell with thee.

HYMN XLV.

The Blessings of good Government.

ETERNAL Sov'reign, Lord on high,
And Lord of all below!

We mortals to thy Majesty

Our first obedience owe.

Our souls adore thy throne supreme,
And bless thy providence
For magistrates of meaner name,
Our glory and defence.

Kingdoms on firm foundations stand,

While virtue finds reward,
And sinners perish from the land,
By justice and the sword.

Where laws and liberties combine,
To make a people blest,

There crowns with brightest lustre shine,
And kings are honour'd best.

Let Cæsar's due be ever paid

To Cæsar and his throne;

But consciences and souls were made

For thee, O God, alone.

WATTS.

HYMN XLVI.

The Rewards of Wisdom.

How happy is the man who hears
Instruction's warning voice;
And who celestial wisdom makes
His early, only choice!

Wisdom has treasures greater far
Than east or west unfold;
And her rewards more precious are
Than is the gain of gold.

In her right hand she holds to view
A length of happy years;
And in her left the prize of fame
And honour bright appears.

She guides the young with innocence,
In pleasure's path to tread ;
A crown of glory she bestows
Upon the hoary head.

According as her labours rise,
So her rewards increase;
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.

HYMN XLVII.

The God of Nature worshipped.

HAIL, King supreme! all wise and good,
To thee our thoughts we raise ;
While nature's beauties, wide display'd,
Inspire our souls with praise.

At morning, noon, and ev'ning mild,
Thy works engage our view;
Oft as we gaze, our hearts exult
With transports ever new.

Thy glory beams in ev'ry star

Which gilds the gloom of night;
And decks the rising face of morn
With rays of cheering light.

The sunny hill, the dewy lawn,
With thousand beauties shine;
The silent grove, and awful shade,
Proclaim thy pow'r divine.

From tree to tree, a constant hymn
Employs the feather'd throng;
To thee their cheerful notes they swell,
And chant their grateful song.

Great nature's God! still may

Our serious hours engage!

these scenes

Still may our grateful hearts consult
Thy works' instructive page!

HYMN XLVIII.

Masaniello's Hymn.

O THOU Who sittest above where worlds adore thee,
And yet with pity look'st down on all below;
Almighty Father, thy children bend before thee,
Thou wilt protect them. Thine aid thou wilt bestow,
O hear our cry, hear, hear, our cry.
Grant in our need, help from on high;
O take us to thy care,
Hear, hear, our prayer.

O Thou who madest all things this earth containeth,
And all the nations did form of kindred clay;
Who rulest in justice, and when the poor complaineth,
From his petition turn'st not thine ear away;
O hear our cry, hear, hear, our cry;
Grant in our need help from on high.
We bow before thy throne;
We trust in thee alone.

HYMN XLIX.

A New Year.

ANOTHER year the warning gives,-
How swiftly life departs!
O God! that warning deeply grave
Upon our thoughtless hearts.

How many, whom its opening saw
With hopes as fresh and brave,
And full of life as ours could be,
Now fill the silent grave!

There's not a rank, there's not an age,
Death has not forced to bear

A witness to his conquering might,
And made a prisoner there.

O God, may none of us presume
Upon thy sparing love;
But seek, by wiser uses still,

Our thankfulness to prove.

Each thought and power to holy aims
Henceforth may we engage;

And strive a brighter history

To write on each day's page.

And if this year shall be the last
Which we on earth may see,
Without a blot in thine account,
Oh, let its record be!

HYMN L.

On the Bounty of God.

LORD of heav'n and earth, and ocean,
Hear us from thy bright abode,
While our hearts, with deep devotion,
Own their great and gracious God.
Health and ev'ry needful blessing
Are thy bounteous gifts alone;
Comforts undeserved possessing,
Bend we low before thy throne.

HYMN LI.

Temperance Prayer.

O THOU from whom all gifts proceed,
A blessing now dispense:

And give us, Lord, with power to plead,
The cause of temperance.

With wisdom, charity, and zeal,
May we its blessings trace;
That all to whom we shall appeal
Those blessings may embrace.

That self-denial may we show,
Which men of old enjoin'd,
And every vain desire forego,

To benefit mankind.

That which offends a brother's eye,

Or gives another pain,

May we in love ourselves deny,

And from its use abstain.

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