_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.