2 Thou through Him art reconciled,
I through Him become Thy child;
Abba, Father, give me grace
In Thy courts to seek Thy face.
3 While Thy glorious praise is sung,
Touch my lips, unloose my tongue,
That my joyful soul may bless
Thee, the Lord, my Righteousness.
4 While the prayers of saints ascend,
God of love, to mine attend;
Hear me, for Thy Spirit pleads,
Hear, for Jesus intercedes.
5 While I hearken to Thy law,
Fill my soul with humble awe,
Till Thy gospel bring to me
Life and immortality.
6 While Thy ministers proclaim
Peace and pardon in Thy Name, Through their voice, by faith, may I Hear Thee speaking from the sky. 7 From Thy house when I return, May my heart within me burn; And at evening let me say, "I have walked with God to-day." James Montgomery (1771-1854), 1825.
"Still praising Thee." Ps. lxxxiv.
I PLEASANT are Thy courts above,
In the land of light and love;
Pleasant are Thy courts below,
In this land of sin and woe.
2 O, my spirit longs and faints
For the converse of Thy saints,
For the brightness of Thy face,
King of glory, God of grace.
3 Happy souls, their praises flow
Even in this vale of woe;
Waters in the desert rise,
Manna feeds them from the skies.
4 On they go from strength to strength, Till they reach Thy throne at length; At Thy feet adoring fall,
Who hast led them safe through all.
5 Lord, be mine this prize to win;
Guide me through a world of sin;
Keep me by Thy saving grace;
Give me at Thy side a place.
6 Sun and Shield alike Thou art;
Guide and guard my erring heart;
Grace and glory flow from Thee,
Shower, O shower them, Lord, on me.
Rev. Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847), 1834. Ab.
The Church the Birth-place of Souls.
Ps. lxxxvii.
2 His mercy visits every house
That pays its night and morning vows;
But makes a more delightful stay
Where churches meet to praise and pray.
3 What glories were described of old,
What wonders are of Zion told!
Thou City of our God below,
Thy fame shall Tyre and Egypt know.
4 Egypt and Tyre, and Greek and Jew,
Shall then begin their lives anew;
Angels, and men shall join to sing
The hill where living waters spring.
5 When God makes up His last account
Of natives in His holy mount,
"Twill be an honor to appear
As one new-born or nourished there.
I MILLIONS within Thy courts have met, Millions this day before Thee bowed; Their faces Zion-ward were set,
Vows with their lips to Thee they vowed.
2 Soon as the light of morning broke
O'er island, continent, or deep,
Thy far-spread family awoke,
Sabbath all round the world to keep.
3 And not a prayer, a tear, a sigh,
Hath failed this day some suit to gain;
To those in trouble Thou wert nigh:
Not one hath sought Thy face in vain.
4 Yet one prayer more, and be it one,
In which both Heaven and earth accord:
Fulfil Thy promise to Thy Son;
Let all that breathe call Jesus Lord.
James Montgomery (1771-1854), 1853. Ab. and sl. alt.
2 When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales, and dewy meads,
My weary, wandering steps He leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
3 Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For Thou, O Lord, art with me still:
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
4 Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile :
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned, And streams shall murmur all around. Joseph Addison (1672—1719), 1712.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell, Come ye before Him, and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know, is God indeed,
Without our aid He did us make:
We are His flock, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.
3 O enter then His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto:
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
4 For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is forever sure:
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
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