The Almighty reigns exalted high

O’er all the earth, o’er all the sky;

Though clouds and darkness vail his feet,

His dwelling is the mercy-seat.

2 O ye that love his holy name,

Hate every work of sin and shame;

He guards the souls of all his friends,

And from the snares of hell defends.

3 Immortal light and joys unknown

Are for the saints in darkness sown;

Those glorious seeds shall spring and rise,

And the bright harvest bless our eyes.

4 Rejoice, ye righteous, and record

The sacred honors of the Lord;

None but the soul that feels his grace

Can triumph in his holiness.

There’s nothing bright, above, below,

From flowers that bloom to stars that glow,

But in its light my soul can see

Some features of the Deity.

2 There’s nothing dark below, above,

But in its gloom I trace thy love,

And meekly wait the moment when

Thy touch shall make all bright again.

My God, in whom are all the springs

Of boundless love and grace unknown,

Hide me beneath thy spreading wings,

Till the dark cloud is overblown.

2 Up to the heavens I send my cry,

The Lord will my desires perform;

He sends his angels from the sky,

And saves me from the threatening storm,

3 My heart is fixed: my song shall raise

Immortal honors to thy name;

Awake, my tongue, to sound his praise,

My tongue, the glory of my frame.

4 High o’er earth his mercy reigns,

And reaches to the utmost sky;

His truth to endless years remains,

When lower worlds dissolve and die.

5 Be thou exalted, O my God!

Above the heavens where angels dwell;

Thy power on earth be known abroad,

And land to land thy wonders tell.

No change of time shall ever shock

My firm affection, Lord, to thee;

For thou hast always been my rock,

A fortress and defense to me.

2 Thou my deliverer art, my God;

My trust is in thy mighty power;

Thou art my shield from foes abroad—

At home my safeguard and my tower.

O love divine, that stooped to share

Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear,

On thee is cast each earth-born care,

We smile at pain while thou art near!

2 Though long the weary way we tread,

And sorrow crown each lingering year,

No path we shun, no darkness dread,

Our hearts still whispering thou art near!

3 When drooping pleasure turns to grief,

And trembling faith is changed to fear,

The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf,

Shall softly tell us, thou art near!

4 On thee we fling our burdening woe,

O love divine, for ever dear,

Content to suffer while we know,

Living and dying, thou art near!

O Lord, how full of sweet content

My years of pilgrimage are spent!

Where’er I dwell, I dwell with thee,

In heaven, in earth, or on the sea.

2 To me remains nor place nor time;

My country is in every clime:

I can be calm and free from care

On any shore, since God is there.

3 While place I seek, or place I shun,

The soul finds happiness in none;

But with my God to guide my way,

’Tis equal joy to go or stay.

He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower;

Alike they’re needful for the flower;

And joys and tears alike are sent

To give the soul fit nourishment:

As comes to me or cloud or sun,

Father, thy will, not mine, be done!

2 Can loving children e’er reprove

With murmurs whom they trust and love?

Creator, I would ever be

A trusting, loving child to thee:

As comes to me or cloud or sun,

Father, thy will, not mine, be done!

3 O ne’er will I at life repine!

Enough that thou hast made it mine;

When fall the shadow cold of death,

I yet will sing, with parting breath—

As comes to me or shade or sun,

Father, thy will, not mine, be done!

Wait, O my soul, thy Maker’s will;

Tumultuous passions, all be still!

Nor let a murmuring thought arise;

His ways are just, his counsels wise.

2 He in the thickest darkness dwells,

Performs his work, the cause conceals;

But, though his methods are unknown,

Judgment and truth support his throne.

3 In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas,

He executes his firm decrees;

And by his saints it stands confest,

That what he does is ever best.

The Lord my pasture shall prepare,

And feed me with a shepherd’s care;

His presence shall my wants supply,

And guard me with a watchful eye:

My noonday walks he shall attend,

And all my midnight hours defend.

2 When in the sultry glebe I faint,

Or on the thirsty mountains pant,

To fertile vales and dewy meads

My weary, wandering steps he leads,

Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,

Amid the verdant landscape flow.

3 Though in a bare and rugged way,

Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,

His bounty shall my pains beguile;

The barren wilderness shall smile,

With lively greens and herbage crowned,

And streams shall murmur all around.

4 Though in the paths of death I tread,

With gloomy horrors overspread,

My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,

For thou, O Lord! art with me still;

Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,

And guide me through the dismal shade.

With Israel’s God, who can compare?

Or who, like Israel, happy are?

O, people saved by the Lord,

He is our shield and great reward.

I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,

And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler powers:

My days of praise shall ne’er be past,

While life and thought and being last,

And immortality endures.

2 Happy the man whose hopes rely

On Israel’s God: he made the sky,

And earth, and seas, with all their train.

His truth for ever stands secure:

He saves th’ oppressed, he feeds the poor,

And none shall find his promise vain.

3 The Lord pours eyesight on the blind;

The Lord supports the fainting mind,

He sends the laboring conscience peace:

He helps the stranger in distress,

The widow and the fatherless,

And grants the prisoner sweet release.

4 I’ll praise him while he gives me breath,

And when my voice is lost in death,

Praise shall employ my nobler powers:

My days of praise shall ne’er be past,

While life, and thought, and being last,

And immortality endures.

O God of Bethel, by whose hand

Thy people still are fed;

Who through this weary pilgrimage

Hast all our fathers led—

O thou my light, my life, my joy,

My glory and my all!

Unsent by thee, no good can come,

Nor evil can befall.

2 Such are thy schemes of providence,

And methods of thy grace,

That I may safely trust in thee

Through all this wilderness.

3 ’Tis thine outstretched and powerful arm

Upholds me in the way;

And thy rich bounty well supplies

The wants of every day,

4 For such compassion, O my God!

Ten thousand thanks are due;

For such compassion I esteem

Ten thousand thanks too few.

Our God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home!

Sweet is the memory of thy grace,

My God, my heavenly King;

Let age to age thy righteousness

In songs of glory sing.

2 God reigns on high, but ne’er confines

His goodness to the skies:

Through the whole earth his bounty shines,

And every want supplies.

3 With longing eyes thy creatures wait

On thee for daily food,

Thy liberal hand provides their meat,

And fills their mouths with good.

O why despond in life’s dark vale?

Why sink to fears a prey?

Th’ almighty power can never fail,

His love can ne’er decay.

2 Behold the birds that wing the air,

Nor sow nor reap the grain;

Yet God, with all a father’s care,

Relieves when they complain.

3 Behold the lilies of the field:

They toil nor labor know;

Yet royal robes to theirs must yield,

In beauty’s richest glow.

4 That God who hears the raven’s cry,

Who decks the lily’s form,

Will surely all your wants supply,

And shield you in the storm.

5 Seek first his kingdom’s grace to share:

Its righteousness pursue:

And all that needs your earthly care

He will bestow on you.

When all thy mercies, O my God,

My rising soul surveys,

Transported with the view I’m lost

In wonder, love, and praise.

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps on the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

2 Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his gracious will.

3 You fearful saints, fresh courage take;

The clouds you so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

My God, how wonderful thou art,

Thy majesty how bright!

How glorious is thy mercy-seat,

In depths of burning light!

2 Yet I may love thee too, O Lord,

Almighty as thou art;

For thou hast stooped to ask of me

The love of my poor heart.

3 No earthly father loves like thee,

No mother half so mild

Bears and forbears, as thou hast done

With me, thy sinful child.

4 My God, how wonderful thou art,

Thou everlasting Friend!

On thee I stay my trusting heart,

Till faith in vision end.

Father of mercies! God of love!

My Father and my God!

I’ll sing the honors of thy name,

And spread thy praise abroad.

Great Ruler of all nature’s frame,

We own thy power divine;

We hear thy breath in every storm

For all the winds are thine.

2 Wide as they sweep their sounding way,

They work thy sovereign will;

And, awed by the majestic voice,

Confusion shall be still.

3 Thy mercy tempers every blast

To them that seek thy face,

And mingles with the tempest’s roar,

The whispers of thy grace.

4 Those gentle whispers let me hear,

Till all the tumult cease;

And gales of paradise shall lull

My weary soul to peace.