2 Sun of our life, thy quickening ray Sheds on our path the glow of day; Star of our hope, thy softened light Cheers the long watches of the night.
3 Our midnight is thy smile withdrawn; Our noontide is thy gracious dawn; Our rainbow arch thy mercy's sign; All, save the clouds of sin, are thine.
4 Lord of all life, below, above,
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love, Before thy ever-blazing throne
We ask no lustre of our own.
5 Grant us thy truth to make us free, And kindling hearts that burn for thee, Till all thy living altars claim One holy light, one heavenly flame.
Oliver Wendell Holmes. 1848.
"Yet, the Lord thinketh upon me."
1 My God, how wonderful thou art, Thy majesty how bright, How beautiful thy mercy-seat In depths of burning light.
2 O how I fear thee, living God, With deepest, tenderest fears,
And worship thee with trembling hope, And penitential tears.
3 Yet I may love thee too, O Lord, Almighty as thou art,
For thou hast stooped to ask of me The love of my poor heart.
4 No earthly father loves like thee, No mother half so mild
Bears and forbears, as thou hast done With me, thy sinful child.
5 Only to sit and think of God, O what a joy it is,
To think the thought, to breathe the name; Earth has no higher bliss.
6 Father of Jesus, love's Reward,
What rapture will it be,
Prostrate before thy throne to lie,
And gaze and gaze on thee.
Frederick William Faber. 1849.
"Praise the Lord, for he is good."
1 My God, thy boundless love I praise; How bright on high its glories blaze, How sweetly bloom below:
It streams from thine eternal throne; Through heaven its joys for ever run, And o'er the earth they flow.
2 'Tis love that paints the purple morn, And bids the clouds, in air upborne, Their genial drops distil;
In every vernal beam it glows, And breathes in every gale that blows, And glides in every rill.
3 It robes in cheerful green the ground, And pours its flowery beauties round, Whose sweets perfume the gale; Its bounties richly spread the plain, -The blushing fruit, the golden grain,- And smile on every vale.
4 Then let the love that makes me blessed With cheerful praise inspire my breast, And ardent gratitude;
And all my thoughts and passions tend To thee, my Father, and my Friend, My soul's eternal Good.
"Thou art clothed with honour and majesty."
1 O WORSHIP the King
All glorious above,
O gratefully sing
His power and his love, Our Shield and Defender, The Ancient of days, Pavilioned in splendour And girded with praise.
2 O tell of his might, O sing of his grace, Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space. His chariots of wrath Deep thunder-clouds form, And dark is his path
On the wings of the storm.
3 This earth, with its store Of wonders untold,
Almighty, thy power Hath founded of old; Hath stablished it fast
By a changeless decree, And round it hath cast, Like a mantle, the sea.
4 Thy bountiful care What tongue can recite? It breathes in the air, It shines in the light, It streams from the hills, It descends to the plain, And sweetly distils
In the dew and the rain.
5 Frail children of dust, And feeble as frail, In thee do we trust, Nor find thee to fail: Thy mercies, how tender, How firm to the end, Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
6 O measureless Might, Ineffable Love, While angels delight To hymn thee above, The humbler creation, Though feeble their lays, With true adoration
Shall lisp to thy praise.
"Bless the Lord in all places of his dominion."
1 PRAISE, my soul, the King of heaven, To his feet thy tribute bring; Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who, like me, his praise should sing? Praise him, praise him,
Praise the everlasting King.
2 Fatherlike he tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame he knows; In his hands he gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes. Praise him, praise him,
Widely as his mercy flows.
3 Angels, help us to adore him; Ye behold him face to face: Sun and moon, bow down before him; Dwellers all in time and space, Praise him, praise him,
Praise with us the God of grace.
Henry Francis Lyte. 1834.
"Sing aloud unto God our strength."
1 SING aloud to God, our strength; He has brought us hitherto; He will bring us home at length, This the Lord our God will do: Doubt not, for his word is stable : Fear not, for his arm is able.
2 Sing aloud to God, our strength; Sing with wonder of his love; Who can tell its breadth and length, Who below, or who above? Who its depth and height can measure ? 'Tis a rich unbounded treasure.
3 Sing aloud to God, our strength; He is with us where we go; Fear we not the journey's length, Fear we not the mighty foe: All our foes shall be defeated, And our journey be completed.
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