65. Praise waits in Sion, Lord, for thee

1 Praise waits in Sion, Lord, for thee,
There shall our vows be paid;
Thou hast an ear when sinners pray,
All flesh shall seek thine aid.

2 Lord, our iniquities prevail,
But pard'ning grace is thine;
And thou will grant us pow'r and skill
To conquer ev'ry sin.

3 Blest are the men whom thou wilt chuse
To bring them near thy face,
Give them a dwelling in thy house,
To feast upon thy grace.

4 In answ'ring what thy church requests,
Thy truth and terror shine,
And works of dreadful righteousness,
Fulfil thy kind design.

5 Thus shall the wond'ring nations see
The Lord is good and just;
And distant islands fly to thee
And make thy name their trust.

6 They dread thy glitt'ring tokens, Lord,
When signs in heav’n appear;
But they shall learn thy holy word,
And love as well as fear.

Part II.

7 The God of our salvation hears
The groans of Sion mix'd with tears;
Yet when he comes with kind designs,
Thro' all the way his terror shines.

8 On him the race of man depends,
Far as the earth's remotest ends,
Where the Creator's name is known,
By nature's feeble light alone.

9 Sailors, that travel o'er the flood,
Address their frighted souls to God,
When tempests rage and billows roar
At dreadful distance from the shore.

10 He bids the noisy tempests cease;
He calms the raging crowd to peace,
When a tumult'ous nation raves,
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves.

11 Whole kingdoms shaken by the storm
He settles in a peaceful form;
Mountains establish'd by his hand
Firm on their old foundations stand.

12 Behold his ensigns sweep the sky,
New comets blaze and lightnings fly;
The heathen lands with swift surprise,
From the bright horrors turn their eyes.

13 At his command the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day,
He guides the sun's declining wheels
Beyond the tops of western hills.

14 Seasons and times obey his voice;
The ev'ning and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with show'rs,
Laden with fruit and drest in flow'rs.

15 'Tis from his wat'ry stores on high,
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth his enriching drops dispense.

16 The desart grows a fruitful field,
Abundant fruit the vallies yield;
The vallies shout with cheerful voice,
And neighb'ring hills repeat their joys.

17 The pastures smile in green array,
There lambs and larger cattle play;
The larger cattle and the lamb,
Each in his language speaks thy name.

18 Thy works pronounce thy pow'r divine;
O'er every field thy glories shine;
Thro' ev'ry month thy gifts appear;
Great God, thy goodness crowns the year!

Text Information
First Line: Praise waits in Sion, Lord, for thee
Language: English
Publication Date: 1789
Scripture:
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