LESSON XXXII.
Reading edition
God Present Everywhere.
1. Thou, Lord, by strictest search hast known My rising up and lying down; My secret thoughts are known to thee, Known long before conceived by me. 2. Surrounded by thy power I stand, On every side I find thy hand: O skill for human reach too high! Too dazzling bright for mortal eye! 3. From thy all-seeing Spirit, Lord, What hiding-place does earth afford? O where can I thy influence shun, Or whither from thy presence run? 4. If up to heaven I take my flight, 'Tis there thou dwell'st enthroned in light; If to the world unseen, my God, There also hast thou thine abode. 5. If I the morning's wings could gain, And fly beyond the western main; E'en there, in earth's remotest land, I still should find thy guiding hand. 6. Or, should I try to shun thy sight Beneath the sable wings of night; One glance from thee, one piercing ray, Would kindle darkness into day. 7. The veil of night is no disguise, No screen from thy all-searching eyes; Through midnight shades thou find'st thy way, As in the blazing noon, of day. 8. Thou know'st the texture of my heart, My reins, and every vital part: I'll praise thee, from whose hands I came A work of such a wondrous frame. 9. Let me acknowledge too, O God, That since this maze of life I trod, Thy thoughts of love to me surmount The power of numbers to recount. 10. Search, try, O God, my thoughts and heart, If mischief lurk in any part; Correct me where I go astray, And guide me in thy perfect way.
