For a Blessing on Worship.
HERE, gracious God! do thou
For evermore draw nigh;
Accept each faithful prayer,
And mark each suppliant sigh:
In copious shower, This holy day,
Thy blessings pour.
Here we may find from heaven
The grace which we implore;
And may that grace, once given,
Be with us evermore:
Until that day
When all the blest
Song of Adoration.
song of praise arise
To God, whose goodness ceaseless flows, Who dwells enthroned above the skies, And life and breath on all bestows.
2 Let all of good this bosom fires
To him, sole good, give praises due;
Let all the truth himself inspires
Unite to sing him only true.
3 In ardent adoration joined,
Obedient to thy holy will,
Let all our faculties, combined,
Thy just commands, O God, fulfil.
4 O may the solemn breathing sound
Like incense rise before thy throne,
Where thou, whose glory knows no bound,
Great Cause of all things, dwell'st alone.
1 WELCOME, Welcome, quiet morning,
Welcome is this holy day;
Now the Sabbath morn, returning,
Shows a week has passed away.
Let us think how time is gliding;
Soon the longest life departs;
Nothing human is abiding
Save the love of humble hearts.
2 Love to God, and to our neighbor,
Makes our purest happiness;
Vain the wish, the care, the labor,
Earth's poor trifles to possess.
Swift our life's vain dreams are passing
Like the startled dove they fly,
Or the clouds, each other chasing
Over yonder quiet sky.
3 Father, now one prayer we raise thee;
Give an humble, grateful heart;
Never let us cease to praise thee,
Never from thy fear depart;
Then, when years have gathered o'er us,
And the world is sunk in shade,
Heaven's bright realm will rise before us;
There our treasure will be laid.
The Sacrifice of the Heart.
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's praise 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.
1 BEHOLD US, Lord! with humble fear
Approach thy temple gate;
Though most unworthy to draw near,
Or in thy courts to wait.
2 But, trusting in thy boundless grace,
To all so freely given,
We worship in thy holy place,
And lift our souls to heaven.
3 Lead us in all thy righteous ways,
Nor let our footsteps slide:
Make straight thy path before our face,
And be our guard and guide.
4 No more to evil let us yield,
But, strengthened from above,
Be kept and covered with the shield
Of thy almighty love.
1 BE still! be still! for all around,
On either hand, is holy ground:
Here in his house, the Lord to-day
Will listen, while his people pray.
2 Thou, tost upon the waves of care,
Ready to sink with deep despair,
Here ask relief, with heart sincere,
And thou shalt find that God is here.
3 Thou who hast laid within the grave
Those whom thou hadst no power to save,
Believe their spirits now are near,
For angels wait while God is here.
4 Thou who hast dear ones far away,
In foreign lands, 'mid ocean's spray,
Pray for them now, and dry the tear,
And trust the God who listens here.
5 Thou who art mourning o'er thy sin,
Deploring guilt that reigns within,
The God of peace is ever near;
The troubled spirit meets him here.
1 THE offerings to Thy throne which rise, Of mingled praise and prayer,
Are but a worthless sacrifice
Unless the heart is there.
2 Upon thine all discerning ear
Let no vain words intrude;
No tribute but the vow sincere,
The tribute of the good.
3 My offerings will indeed be blest,
If sanctified by thee;
If thy pure Spirit touch my breast
With its own purity.
may that Spirit warm my heart
To piety and love,
And to life's lowly vale impart
Some rays from heaven above.
1 STAND up, and bless the Lord, Ye people of his choice;
Stand up, and bless the Lord your God,
With heart, and soul, and voice.
2 Though high above all praise,
Above all blessing high,
Who would not fear his holy name,
And laud and magnify?
O for the living flame,
From his own altar brought,
To touch our lips, our minds inspire,
And raise to heaven our thought!
There, with benign regard,
Our hymns he deigns to hear; Though unrevealed to mortal sense, The spirit feels him near.
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