Omnipotently near;
Lo! He holds thee by the hand,
And banishes thy fear;
Shadows with His wings thy head;
Guards from all impending harms;
Round thee and beneath are spread
The everlasting arms.

2 God shall bless thy going out,
Shall bless thy coming in;
Kindly compass thee about,
And guard from every sin.
Lean upon thy Father's breast;
He thy quiet spirit keeps;
Rest in Him, securely rest;
Thy Guardian never sleeps.

3 O, my soul, unceasing pray,
And in thy God confide!
He our faltering steps shall stay,
Nor suffer us to slide:
He is still our sure defence,
We his ceaseless care shall prove,
Kept by watchful Providence
And ever-waking love.

254. S. M. Moravian.

Reliance.

1 Commit thou all thy griefs
And ways into His hands,
To His sure trust and tender care,
Who earth and heaven commands;

2 Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey;
He shall direct thy wandering feet,
He shall prepare thy way.

3 No profit canst thou gain
By self-consuming care;
To Him commend thy cause,--His ear
Attends the softest prayer.

4 Then on the Lord rely,
So safe shall thou go on;
Fix on His work thy steadfast eye,
So shall thy work be done.

255. C. M. Alford.

God Our Refuge.

Psalm xlvi.

1 God is our refuge and our strength,
When trouble's hour is near;
A very present help is He;
Therefore we will not fear.

2 Although the pillars of the earth
Shall clean removed be,
The very mountains carried forth,
And cast into the sea;

3 Although the waters rage and swell,
So that the earth shall shake;
Yea, and the solid mountain roots
Shall with the tempest quake;

4 There is a river that makes glad
The city of our God;
The tabernacle's holy place
Of the Most High's abode.

5 The Lord is in the midst of her,
Removed she shall not be;
Because the Lord our God himself
Shall help her speedily.

6 The Lord our strength and refuge is,
When trouble's hour is near;
A very present help is He;