whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. 11 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency. 12 God thundereth marvellously with his voice: great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. 13 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. 14 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. 15 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. 16 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind; and cold out of the north. 17 By the breath of God frost is given; and the breadth of the waters is straitened. 18 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud; he scattereth his bright cloud. 19 And it is turned round about by his counsels; that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the earth. 20 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. 21 Hearken unto this: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. 22 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? 23 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? 24 How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south-wind? 25 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass? 26 And men see not the bright light which is in the clouds; but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. 27 Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. 28 Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. 29 He frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; he turneth wise men backward, and maketh knowledge foolish. 30 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgement, and in plenty of justice : he will not afflict. LESSON XIX. THE Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 2 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him ? 3 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. Is there any number of his armies ? and upon whom doth not his light arise? 4 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? 5 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered? 6 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which overturneth them in his anger: 7 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble: 8 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars : 9 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number. 10 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof. 11 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 12 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens: his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 13 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? 14 Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? who can shew forth all his praise ? 15 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord. 16 To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens which were of old; Lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. 17 Ascribe ye strength unto God; his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. 18 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. 19 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord the first, and the last; I am He. The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid. 20 At the noise of the tumult the people fled: at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered. 21 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas: and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters. 22 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 23 He saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers. 24 O Lord, thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 25 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. 26 He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. LESSON XX. O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name: for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city, a ruin; a palace of strangers, to be no city: it shall never be built. 3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place: even the heat with the shadow of a cloud; the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. 6 And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hail-stones. 7 The earth shall quake before him, the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining : 8 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? 9 Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 10 For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. 11 And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft; as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. 12 The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him. 13 O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known: in wrath remember mercy. 14 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Param. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise, and his brightness was as the light; before him went the pestilence, and burning coals went forth at his feet. 15 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. 16 Was the Lord displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation ? 17 Thy bow was made quite naked. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 18 The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. 19 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. 20 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great wa ters. 21 The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind, and in the storm; and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers. The mountains quake at him and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein. 22 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished that it cannot be moved. 23 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 24 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 25 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 26 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. 27 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,. and of thy wondrous works. 28 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts; and I will declare thy greatness. 29 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. 30 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 31 O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong lord like unto thee ! or to thy faithfulness round about thee! 32 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? 33 Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. 34 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord! who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord! 35 The Lord reigneth: let the earth rejoice: let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. 36 Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgement are the habitation of his throne. 37 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 38 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. 39 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 40 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 41 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power: To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 42 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and amen. SECTION VI.-God eternal and unchangeable. LESSON ΧΧΙ. LORD, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world; even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. 3 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 4 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 5 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 6 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. 7 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 8 Thy throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting. 9 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. 10 Thou, Lord, art most high for evermore: thy years are throughout all generations. 11 Thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever, and thy remembrance unto all generations. 12 Thy word is true from the beginning; and every one of thy righteous judgements endureth for ever. 13 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 14 For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 15 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. 16 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. |