MIA OL

MAOLIA

102

HYMNS AND ANTHEMS.

Then come what will,

Prosperity or failure, good or ill,
Unknown or understood, still be adored
Thy ways, O Lord!

11.8

CHANUKAH.

(Days of the Maccabees.)

I.

Great arbiter of human fate
Whose glory ne'er decays,

To Thee alone we dedicate

The song and soul of praise.
Thy presence Judah's host inspired
On danger's post to rush;

By Thee the Maccabee was fired
The despot foes to crush.

Amid the ruins of their land,
In Salem's sad decline,

Stood forth a brave but scanty band,

To battle for their shrine.

In bitterness of soul they wept

Without the temple walls;

For weeds around its courts had crept
And foes camped in its halls.

119

Not long to vain regrets they yield;
But for their cherished fame,

Nerved by true faith, they take the field,
And victory obtain.

But whose the power, whose the hand,
Which thus to triumph led
That slender but heroic band,
From which blasphemers fled?

"T was Thine, O everlasting King
And universal Lord!

Whose wonder still Thy servants sing,
And ever shall record.

And thus shall Mercy's hand delight
To cleanse the blemished heart,
Rekindle heaven's waning light,
And truth and peace impart.

II.

O Lord, Thy children here to-day
With grateful hearts before Thee pray ;
With joy we bend before Thy throne,
To whom our inmost thoughts are known.

With wondrous might, from tyrant's hand
Thou didst relieve the gallant band,
The valiant few, who cleansed Thy shrine,
And caused once more its lights to shine!

We dedicate our lives to Thee!

O may our hearts Thy temples be!
O light within us, from above,

The precious flames of Truth and Love!

Let children hear the mighty deeds
Which God performed of old,
Which in our younger years we saw,
And which our fathers told.

He bids us make His glories known,
His work of power and grace;
And we 'll convey His wonders down
Through every rising race.

Our lips shall tell them to our sons,
And they again to theirs,

That generations yet unborn

May teach them to their heirs.

Thus shall they learn, in God alone
Their hope securely stands;

That they may ne'er forget His works,
And practise His commands.

121 DEDICATION OF THE HOUSE OF GOD.

'Have we not all One Father? Has not One God created us all?"-Malachi ii: 10.

Undivided unity!

Thankfully and reverently,

Father, God! we raised to Thee
This memorial shrine !

Smile upon Thy servants now,
Hear their prayer, accept their vow ;
Source of light and love, do Thou
On our worship smile.

Here may truth her wings extend ;
Here may zeal and knowledge blend ;
Here may friend encourage friend
In the onward road;

While through gladness and through gloom,
Thorns that wound, and flowers that bloom,
Cradle, pilgrimage, and tomb,

Lead us all to God!

122

IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.

Here holy thoughts a light have shed,
From many a radiant face,

And prayers of tender hope have spread
A perfume through the place.

123

And anxious hearts have pondered here
The mystery of life,

And prayed the eternal God to clear
Their doubts, and aid their strife.

And faith and peace and mighty love
That from the Godhead flow,

Showed them the life of heaven above
Springs from the life below.

THE MANNA OF TO-DAY.

Day by day the manna fell.

O to learn this lesson well!
Still by constant mercy fed,
Give me, Lord, my daily bread.

"Day by day" the promise reads ;
Daily strength for daily needs;
Cast foreboding fears away,

Take the manna of to-day.

Lord! my times are in Thy hand;
All my sanguine hopes have planned
To Thy wisdom I resign,

And would make Thy purpose mine.

Thou my daily task shalt give;

Day by day to Thee I live;
So shall added years fulfil,
Not my own, my Father's will.