DIVINE AND MORAL

SONGS FOR CHILDREN.

BY ISAAC WATTS, D. D.

SONG I.

A general song of praise to Fod.
How glerious is our heavenly King,
Who reigns above the sky,
How shall a

His a child presume to sing

His awful Majesty?

How great his power is, none can tell,
Nor think how large his grace;
Not men below, nor saints, who dwell
On high before his face.

Not angels, who stand round the Lord,
Can search his secret will;
But they perform his heavenly word,
And sing his praises still.

Then let me join this holy train,
And my first offerings bring;
Th' eternal God will not disdain
To hear an infant sing.

My heart resolves, my tongue obeys,
And Angels will rejoice,

To hear their mighty Maker's praise
Sound from a feeble voice.

SONG II.

Praise for creation and providence. 1 SING th' Almighty power of God, Which made the mountains rise: Which spread the flowing seas abroad, And built the lofty skies.

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

Creatures (as numerous, as they be)
Are subject to thy care;
There's not a place where we can flee,
But God is present there.

In heaven he shines with beams of love,
With wrath in hell beneath;
"Tis on his earth I stand or move,
And 'tis his air, I breathe.

His hand is my perpetual guard,
He keeps me with his eye;
Why do I then forget the Lord,
Who is forever nigh?

SONG III.

Praise to God for our redemption by Jesus Christ.
BLEST be the goodness and the power,

The wisdom and the grace,
Which join'd in counsel to restore,
And save a ruin'd race.

Our father ate forbidden fruit,

And from his glory fell;

And we his children, thus were brought
To death, and near to hell.

Blest be the Lord, who sent his Son,
His mercy to display ;

To make his glorious gospel known,
And point to Heaven the way.

Freely he died for us, that we
Might live in bliss above;
And there enjoy eternally
The blessings of his love.

Behold him, rising from the grave,
Behold him rais'd on high;
He pleads his merits there to save
Transgressors, doom'd to die.

There on a glorious throne he reigns,
And by his power divine
Redeems us from the slavish chains
Of Satan and of sin.

Thence Jesus will to judgment come,
And with a sovereign voice
Will call, and break up every tomb,
While waking Saints rejoice.

O may I then with joy appear
Before the Judge's face;
And with the blest assembly there
Sing God's redeeming grace.

SONG IV.

Praise for mercies, spiritual and temporal.
WHENE'ER I take my walks abroad,
How many poor I see !

What shall I render to my GOD

For all his gifts to me?

Not more than others, I deserve,
Yet God has given me more;
For I have food, while other starve,
Or beg from door to door.

How many children in the street
Half naked I behold!

While I am cloth'd from head to feet,
And cover'd from the cold.

While some poor creatures scarce can tell,
Where they may lay their head;
I have a home, wherein to dwell,
And rest upon my bed.

While others early learn to swear,
And curse, and lie, and steal,
Lord, I am taught thy name to fear,
And do thy holy will.

Are these thy favours, day by day,

To me above the rest?

Then let me love thee, more than they,
And try to serve thee best.

SONG V.

Praise for birth, and education in a Christian land.

GREAT God, to thee my voice I raise,
To thee my youngest hours belong;
I would begin my life with praise,
'Till growing years improve the song.

'Tis to thy sovereign grace, I owe

That I was born on Christian ground;
Where streams of heavenly merey flow,
And words of sweet salvation sound.

I would not change my native land
For rich Peru with all her gold;
A nobler prize lies in my hand,

Than east or western Indies hold.

How do I pity those who dwell

Where ignorance with darkness reigns;
They know no Heaven, they fear no Hell,
Those endless joys, those lasting pains.

Thy glorious promises, O Lord;
Kindle my hope and my desire;
While all the preachers of thy word
Teach me thy goodness to admire.

Thy praise shall still employ my breath,
Since thou hast mark'd my way to heaven;
Nor will I run the road to death,

And waste the blessings thou hast given.

SONG VI.

Praise for the Gospel.

LORD, I ascribe it to thy grace,
And not to chance as others do,
That I was born of Christian race,
And not a Heathen, nor a Jew.

What would the ancient Jewish kings,

And Jewish prophets once have given,

Could they have heard those glorious things,

Which CHRIST reveal'd and bro't from Heaven?

How glad the Heathen would have been,
Who worship'd idols, wood, and stone;

If they the book of God had seen,

Or Jesus and his gospel known !

Then if this gospel I refuse;

How shall I e'er lift up my eyes ? : For all the Gentiles, and the Jews Against me will in judgment rises