3 In vain we tune our formal songs,
In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies.
4 Dear Lord! and shall we ever live
At this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to thee,
And thine to us so great!
5 Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With all thy quickening powers;
Come, shed abroad a Saviour's love,
And that shall kindle ours.
123 Prayer for the Sabbath.
AKER of the Sabbath-day,
Teach us how to praise and pray;
Thou this blessed day hast given,
To prepare our souls for heaven."
2 Giver of eternal rest,
Be thy glorious Gospel blest;
Thou alone canst change the heart,
Thou alone canst peace impart.
3 Ruler of the earth and sky,
Lord of all below, on high;
Make the young, as well as old,
Sheep of thy eternal fold,
4 Friend of children, hear our prayer;
Let no trifling feelings dare
Steal the precious hours away,
Of this sacred Sabbath-day.
Sabbath Morning.
THE night is past and gone,
The Sabbath sun I see;
Now may I rise to see thy grace
Again renewed to me.
2 I humbly bow in prayer,
And supplicate thy throne;
Forgiveness seek for follies past,
And all thy goodness own.
O condescend to hear
And guard me safe from harm and sin Through all this Sabbath-day.
Let not my heart forget
Thy kindness and thy love;
Who gavest for us thy Son to die,
That we might live above.
O let thy word of grace
My heart and mind employ; And in the Sabbath-school this day
May I its light enjoy.
Let all my days and nights,
As they revolve around,
Be spent in doing all thy will;
Thus shall my peace abound.
LOVE to have the Sabbath come, For then I rise and quit my home; And haste to school with cheerful air, To meet my dearest teachers there,
2 'Tis there I'm always taught to pray
That God would bless me day by day;
And safely guard, and guide me still,
And help me to obey his will.
3 'Tis there I sing a Saviour's love,
Which brought him from his throne above
And made him suffer, bleed, and die,
For sinful creatures, such as I.
4 From all the lessons I obtain,
May I a store of knowledge gain;
And early seek my Saviour's face,
And gain from him supplies of grace.
5 And then, through life's remaining days,
I'll love to sing my Saviour's praise;
And bless the kindness and the grace
That brought me to this sacred place.
C. M. THIS is the day when Christ arose
So early from the dead;
Why should I keep my eyelids closed,
And waste my hours in bed?
2 This is the day when Jesus broke
The powers of death and hell;
And shall I still wear Satan's yoke,
And love my sins so well?
3 To-day with pleasure Christians meet,
To pray and hear the word;
And I would go with cheerful feet
To learn thy will, O Lord.
4 I'll leave my sport to read and pray;
And so prepare for heaven:
O may 1 love this blessed day
The best of all the seven.
will set the Sabbath sun,
Soon the sacred day be gone;
But a sweeter rest remains,
Where the glorious Saviour reigns.
2 Pleasant is the Sabbath bell,
Seeming much of joy to tell;
Kind our teachers are to-day,
In the school we love to stay.
3 But a music, sweeter far,
Breathes where angel-spirits are;
Higher far than earthly strains,
Where the rest of God remains.
4 Shall we ever rise to dwell,
Where immortal praises swell?
And can children ever go
Where eternal Sabbaths glow!
5 Yes-that rest our own may be,
All the good shall Jesus see;
For the good a rest remains,
Where the glorious Saviour reigns.
THE light of Sabbath eve
Is fading fast away;
What record will it leave,
To crown the closing day?
Is it a Sabbath spent,
Of fruitless time destroyed?
Or have these moments lent,
Been sacredly employed?
2 How dreadful and how drear,
In yon dark world of pain,
Will Sabbaths lost appear,
That cannot come again.
Then in that hopeless place,
The wretched soul will say,
"I had those hours of grace,
But cast them all away."
3 To waste these Sabbath hours,
O may we never dare;
Nor taint with thoughts of ours
These sacred days of prayer:
But may our Sabbaths here
Inspire our hearts with love;
And prove a foretaste clear
Of that sweet rest above.
1 MY days on earth how swift they run,
Another Sabbath's nearly gone;
And who can tell but this may be
The only Sabbath I shall see.
2 Since I am not too young to die,
I would at once to Jesus fly;
His precious blood, for sinners spilt,
Can wash away the foulest guilt.
3 I would his word of truth believe,
That little children he'll receive;
Their feeble prayer will not disdain,
Nor shall they seek his face in vain.
4 On this dear friend may I rely;
Then, should I soon be called to die,
I need not fear, for death would be
A welcome messenger to me.
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