Page images
PDF
EPUB

3 Blest hour, when God himself draws nigh,
Well pleased his people's voice to hear,
To hush the penitential sigh,

And wipe away the mourner's tear.
4 Blest hour! for where the Lord resorts
Foretastes of future bliss are given,
And mortals find his earthly courts
The house of God, the gate of heaven.

[blocks in formation]

Invitation to the House of God.

1 COME to the house of prayer,

O thou afflicted, come;

E. TAYLOR

The God of peace shall meet thee there;
He makes that house his home.

2 Come to the house of praise,
Ye who are happy now;
In sweet accord your
In kindred homage bow.

3 Ye aged, hither come,

voices raise,

For ye have felt his love;

Soon shall your trembling tongues be dumb,
Your lips forget to move.

4 Ye young, before his throne,
Come, bow; your voices raise;
Let not your hearts his praise disown
Who gives the power to praise.

5 Thou, whose benignant eye
In mercy looks on all,

Who seest the tear of misery,

And hear'st the mourner's call,

6 Up to thy dwelling-place

Bear our frail spirits on,

Till they outstrip time's tardy pace.
And heaven on earth be won.

9.

C. M.

H. M. WILLIAMS.

Habitual Devotion.

1 WHILE thee I seek, protecting Power, Be my vain wishes stilled;

And may

this consecrated hour

With better hopes be filled.

2 Thy love the power of thought bestowed;
To thee my thoughts would soar;
Thy mercy o'er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore.

3 In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!

Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by thee.

4 In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,

My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.

5 When gladness wings my favored hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill;
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet thy will.

6 My lifted eye, without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see ;

My steadfast heart shall know no fear;
That heart shall rest on thee.

10.

L. M.

The Lord's Day.

E. TAYLOR.

1 O FATHER, though the anxious fear
May cloud to-morrow's doubtful way,
Nor fear nor doubt shall enter here;
All shall be thine at least to-day.

2 We will not bring divided hearts
To worship at thy sacred shrine;

But each unholy thought departs,
And leaves the temple wholly thine.
3 O Father, God below, above!

Man's noblest work is praising thee;
Thy spirit o'er our hearts shall move,
And tune them all to harmony.

11.

C. M.

The Sabbath of the Soul.

BARBAULD.

1 SLEEP, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,
Of earth and folly born;

Ye shall not dim the light that streams
From this celestial morn.

2 To-morrow will be time enough
To feel your harsh control;
Ye shall not violate this day,
The Sabbath of my soul.

3 Sleep, sleep for ever, guilty thoughts;
Let fires of vengeance die;

12.

And, purged from sin, may I behold
A God of purity!

S. M.

Sabbath Worship.

1 HAIL to the Sabbath day!

The day divinely given,

BULFINCH.

When men to God their homage pay,
And earth draws near to heaven.

2 Lord, in this sacred hour

Within thy courts we bend,

And bless thy love, and own thy power,
Our Father and our Friend.

3 But thou art not alone

In courts by mortals trod ;

Nor only is the day thine own
When man draws near to God.

4 Thy temple is the arch

Of yon unmeasured sky;
Thy Sabbath, the stupendous march
Öf grand eternity.

5 Lord, may that holier day

13.

Dawn on thy servants' sight;
And purer worship may we pay
In heaven's unclouded light.

H. M.

The Resurrection celebrated.

1 AWAKE, ye saints, awake,
And hail the sacred day;
In loftiest songs of praise
Your joyful homage pay;

Come bless the day
That God hath blest,

COTTERILL.

The type of heaven's
Eternal rest.

2 On this auspicious morn
The Lord of life arose,
And burst the bars of death,
And vanquished all our foes;

And now he pleads

Our cause above,

And reaps the frui*

3 All hail, triumphant Lord!

Heaven with hosannas rings;

And earth, in humbler strains,

Thy praise responsive sings;

Worthy the Lamb, Through endless years That once was slain, To live and reign.

14.

L. M.

The Sacrifice of the Heart.

BARBAULD.

1 WHEN, as returns this solemn day, Man comes to meet his Maker, God.

What rites, what honors, shall he pay ?
How spread his sovereign name abroad?
2 From marble domes and gilded spires
Shall curling clouds of incense rise,
And gems, and gold, and garlands, deck
The costly pomp of sacrifice?

3 Vain, sinful man! creation's Lord

Thy golden offerings well may spare ;
But give thy heart, and thou shalt find
Here dwells a God who heareth prayer.
4 O, grant us, in this solemn hour,

From earth and sin's allurements free,
To feel thy love, to own thy power,
And raise each raptured thought to thee !

15.

7s. M. 6 L.

The Sabbath in the Sanctuary.

1 SAFELY through another week
God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,

Waiting in his courts to-day,-
Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.

NEWTON.

2 While we seek supplies of grace,
Through the dear Redeemer's name,
Show thy reconciling face,

Take away our sin and shame ;
From our worldly cares set free,
May we rest, this day, in thee.
3 Here we come thy name to praise ;
Let us feel thy presence near;
May thy glory meet our eyes,
While we in thy house appear;
Here afford us, Lord, a taste
Of our everlasting feast.

« PreviousContinue »