2 Did we not raise our hands to Thee,
Our hands might toil in vain ;
Small joy success itself could give,
If Thou Thy love restrain.
3 With Thee let every week begin ;
With Thee each day be spent;
For Thee each fleeting hour improved,
Since each by Thee is lent.
4 Thus cheer us through the desert road,
Till all our labours cease,
And heaven refresh our weary souls
With everlasting peace.
1 Sweet is the work, my God, my King,
To praise Thy name, give thanks, and sing;
To show Thy love by morning light,
And talk of all Thy truth at night.
2 Sweet is the day of sacred rest;
No mortal cares shall seize my breast;
O may my heart in tune be found,
Like David's harp of solemn sound.
3 My heart shall triumph in the Lord,
And bless His works, and bless His word; Thy works of grace, how bright they shine! How deep Thy counsels, how divine!
4 Lord! I shall share a glorious part,
When grace hath well refined my heart;
My inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Sin shall break my peace again.
5 Then shall I see, and hear, and know
All I desired or wished below;
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
Let the universe join in the strain,
Each day the glad tribute prolong,
His wonders, His glory maintain.
Let gratitude bless the kind power
From whom our salvation descends;
How great is the God we adore!
How rich are the blessings He sends!
2 In the beauty of holiness bow;
O worship with fear and with love;
How solemn His temples below!
How glorious His presence above!
Proclaim to the nations around,
That our God, the Omnipotent, reigns,
Whose righteousness space cannot bound,
Whose purpose unaltered remains.
3 O let the wide heavens rejoice,
The earth with her myriads be glad,
While ocean shall join his loud voice,
And the woods in rich verdure be clad :
Rejoice for the Lord is at hand;
Prepare for His judgment is nigh ;
Before Him all nations shall stand;
No guilt from His justice can fly.
1 Sweet is the task, O Lord! Thy glorious acts to sing,
To praise Thy name, and hear Thy word, And grateful offerings bring.
Sweet at the dawning hour,
Thy boundless love to tell;
And when the night-wind shuts the flower, Still on the theme to dwell.
Sweet on this day of rest,
To join in heart and voice,
With those who love and serve Thee best,
And in Thy name rejoice.
To works of praise and joy
Be life, one Sabbath, given,
That such may be our blest employ
Eternally in heaven !
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
With its own purity.
4 0 may that spirit warm my heart
To piety and love,
And to life's lowly vale impart
Some rays from heaven above!
1 Praise to God, the great Creator,
Bounteous source of all our joy;
He whose hand upholds all nature,
He whose nod can all destroy:
Saints, with pious zeal attending,
Now the grateful tribute raise;
Solemn songs, to heaven ascending,
Join the universal praise.
2 Round His awful footstool kneeling,
Lowly bend, with contrite souls;
Here, His milder grace revealing,
Here, His wrath no thunder rolls:
Lo! the eternal page before us
Bears the covenant of His love;
Full of mercy to restore us,
Mercy beaming from above.
3 Every secret fault confessing,
Deed unrighteous, thought of sin,
Seize, O seize the proffered blessing,
Grace from God, and peace within:
Heart and voice with rapture swelling,
Still the song of glory raise;
On the theme immortal dwelling,
Join the universal praise.
1 The uplifted eye, and bended knee,
Are but vain homage, Lord, to Thee;
In vain our lips Thy praise prolong,
The heart a stranger to the song.
2 Can rites, and forms, and flaming zeal
The breaches of Thy precepts heal?
Or fast and penance reconcile
Thy justice, and obtain Thy smile?
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