2 With force of arms we nothing can;
Full soon were we down-ridden
But for us fights the proper Man,
Whom God himself hath bidden.
Ask ye who is this same?
Christ Jesus is his name,
The Lord Sabaoth's Son!
He and no other one
Shall conquer in the battle.
3 And were this world all devils o'er,
And watching to devour us,
We lay it not to heart so sore,
Not they can overpower us.
And let the prince of ill
'Look grim as e'er he will,
He harms us not a whit:
For why? His doom is writ,
One little word shal! slay him.
4 That word, for all their craft and force,
One moment will not linger,
But, spite of hell, shall have its course,
'Tis written by his finger.
And though they take our life,
Goods, honor, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;
These things shall vanish all,
The kingdom ours remaineth.
Martin Luther (1483 1546.)
Tr. by Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881.)
1 CROWN his head with endless blessing,
Who, in God the Father's name,
With compassions never ceasing,
Comes salvation to proclaim.
Hail, ye saints, who know his favor,
Who within his gates are found;
Hail, ye saints, the exalted Saviour,
Let his courts with praise resound.
2 Lo, Jehovah, we adore thee;
Thee our Saviour! thee our God! From his throne his beams of glory Shine through all the world abroad. In his word his light arises,
Brightest beams of truth and grace; Bind, oh! bind your sacrifices,
In his courts your offerings place.
3 Jesus, thee our Saviour hailing, Thee our God in praise we own; Highest honors, never failing,
Rise eternal round thy throne;
Now, ye saints, his power confessing,
In your grateful strains adore;
For his mercy, never ceasing,
Flows, and flows for evermore.
1 FAR as thy name is known
The world declares thy praise;
Thy saints, O Lord, before thy throne
Their songs of honor raise.
2 With joy thy people stand
On Zion's chosen hill,
Proclaim the wonders of thy hand,
And counsels of thy will.
3 Let strangers walk around
The city where we dwell,
Compass and view the holy ground,
And mark the building well.
4 The God we worship now
Will guide us till we die;
Will be our God while here below,
And ours above the sky.
Rev. Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)
The spacious firmament.
1 THE spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:
Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display;
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.
2 Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
3 What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball;
What though no real voice nor sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found:
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
For ever singing, as they shine,
"The hand that made us is divine."
Joseph Addison (1672-1719), 1712.
1 SWEET is the work, my God, my king,
To praise thy name, give thanks and sing,
To show thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truth at night.
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest;
No mortal care shall seize my breast;
Oh! may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound.
3 My heart shall triumph in my Lord,
And bless his works and bless his word;
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine,
How deep thy counsels! how divine!
4 Then I shall share a glorious part,
When grace hath well refined my heart,
And fresh supplies of joy are shed,
Like holy oil upon my head.
5 Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below;
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
Rev. Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)
Prayer to the Holy Trinity.
1 FATHER of all, whose love profound
A ransom for our souls hath found,
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
To us thy pardoning love extend.
2 Almighty Son, incarnate Word,
Our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord,
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
To us thy saving grace extend.
3 Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
The soul is raised from sin and death,
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
To us thy quickening power extend.
4 Jehovah! Father, Spirit, Son,
Mysterious Godhead, three in one!
Before thy throne we sinners bend;
Grace, pardon, life, to us extend.
1 GREAT God, attend while Sion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs;
To spend one day with thee on earth
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth.
2 God is our sun, he makes our day;
God is our shield, he guards our way
From all the assaults of hell and sin,
From foes without and foes within.
3 All needful grace will God bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too;
He gives us all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.
4 O God, our king, whose sovereign sway
The glorious hosts of heaven obey,
And devils at thy presence flee,
Blest is the man that trusts in thee.
Rev. Isaac Wa'ts (1674-1748.)
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