The Divine Blessing implored.
1 LORD! dismiss us with thy blessing,
Hope and comfort from above;
Let us each thy peace possessing,
Triumph in redeeming love:
Still support us
While in duty's path we move.
2 Thanks we give, and adoration,
For thy gospel's joyful sound;
May the fruits of thy salvation
In our hearts and lives abound:
May thy presence
With us evermore be found.
Worship of the God of Holiness. Ps. v.
1 LORD! in the morning thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high;
To thee will I direct my prayer,
To thee lift up mine eye.
2 Then to thy house will I resort,
To taste thy mercies there;
I will frequent thy holy court,
And worship in thy fear.
3 O may thy spirit guide my feet
In ways of truth and grace!
Make every path of duty straight
And plain before my face.
4 Thou art a God before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.
5 But they who love and fear thy name,
Shall see their hopes fulfilled;
The mighty God will compass them
With favour, as a shield.
*There remaineth a Rest for the People of God.' Heb iv.
1 LORD of the Sabbath! hear our vows.
On this thy day, in this thy house;
And own, as grateful sacrifice,
The songs, which in thy temple rise.
2 Thine earthly sabbaths, Lord! we love;
But there's a nobler rest above;
To that our longing souls aspire,
With cheerful hope, and strong desire.
3 No more fatigue, no more distress,
Nor sin, nor death, shall reach the place ;
No groans shall mingle with the songs,
Which dwell upon immortal tongues.
4 No gloomy cares shall there annoy,
No conscious guilt disturb our joy;
But every doubt and fear shall cease,
And perfect love give perfect peace.
5 When shall that glorious day begin,
Beyond the reach of death or sin;
Whose sun shall never more decline,
But with unfading lustre shine!
Delight in Public Worship. Ps. lxxxiv.
1 LORD of the worlds above!
How pleasant and how fair
The dwellings of thy love,
Thine earthly temples are!
To thine abode
With warm desires,
My heart aspires,
To see my God.
2 O happy souls that pray Where God appoints to hear! O happy men that pay
Their constant service there!
3 They go from strength to strength, Through this dark vale of tears, Till each arrives at length,
Till each in heaven appears:
Universal Goodness of God.
1 LORD! thou art good; all nature shows
Its mighty Author kind:
Thy bounty through creation flows,
Full, free, and unconfined.
2 The whole and every part proclaims
Thine infinite good will;
It shines in stars, it flows in streams,
And bursts from every hill.
3 It fills the wide extended main,
And heavens which spread more wide,
It drops in gentle showers of rain,
And rolls in every tide.
4 Long hath it been diffused abroad,
Through ages past and gone;
And its rich stores, all bounteous God!
Shall still keep flowing on.
5 Through the vast whole it pours supplies;
Spreads joy through all its parts:
O may such love attract our eyes,
And captivate our hearts!
6 High admiration let it raise,
And kind affection move;
Employ our tongues in songs of praise,
And fill our hearts with love!
'The Day is thine, the Night also is thine.' Ps. lxxiv. 16– 17,
1 MY GOD! all nature owns thy sway;
Thou giv'st the night and thon the day:
When all thy loved creation wakes,
When morning, rich in lustre, breaks,
And bathes in dew the opening flower,
To thee we owe her fragrant hour;
And when she pours her choral song,
Her melodies to thee belong.
2 Or when, in paler tints arrayed,
The evening slowly spreads her shade;
That soothing shade, that grateful gloom,
Can more than day's enlivening bloom,
Still every fond and vain desire,
And calmer, purer thoughts inspire;
From earth the pensive spirit free,
And lead the softened heart to thee.
3 In every scene thy hands have dressed,
In every form by thee impressed,
Upon the mountain's awful head,
Or where the sheltering woods are spread,
In every note that swells the gale,
Or tuneful stream that cheers the vale,
The cavern's depth, or echoing grove,—
A voice is heard of praise and love.
4 As o'er thy work the seasons roll,
And sooth, with change of bliss, the soul,
O never may their smiling train
Pass o'er the human sense in vain!
But oft, as on their charms we gaze,
Attune the wandering soul to praise ;
And be the joys that most we prize,
The joys that from thy favour rise!
The Greatness of God. Ps. cxlv.
1 MY GOD! my King! O may thy praise
Fill all the remnant of my days;
Thy grace employ my humble tongue,
And after death exalt my song!
2 May every opening morning bear
Some thankful tribute to thine ear;
And every setting sun still see
New works of duty done for thee!
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