A BOOK
OF
HYMNS
FOR
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE DEVOTION.

1 Come to the house of prayer,

O ye afflicted, come!

The God of peace shall meet you there,

He makes that house His home.

2 Come to the house of praise,

Ye who are happy now;

In sweet accord your voices raise,

In kindred homage bow.

3 Ye aged, hither come,

For ye have felt His love;

Soon shall ye lift a holier song

In fairer courts above.

4 Ye young, before His throne,

Come, bow; your voices raise;

Let not your hearts His praise disown,

Who gives the power to praise.

5 Thou, whose benignant eye

In mercy looks on all;

Who seest the tear of misery,

And hear’st the mourner’s call;

6 Up to Thy dwelling-place

Bear our frail spirits on,

Till they outstrip time’s tardy pace,

And heaven on earth be won.

1 To prayer, to prayer!—for the morning breaks,

And earth in her Maker’s smile awakes;

His light is on all below and above,

The light of gladness, and life, and love:

O, then, on the breath of this early air,

Send upward the incense of grateful prayer.

2 To prayer!—for the day that God has blest

Comes tranquilly on with its solemn rest;

It speaks of creation’s early bloom,—

It speaks of the Prince who burst the tomb:

Then summon the spirit’s exalted powers,

And devote to heaven the hallowed hours.

3 Awake, awake, and gird up thy strength,

To join Christ’s holy band at length;

To Him who unceasing love displays,

Whom the powers of nature unceasingly praise;

To Him thy heart and thy hours be given,

For a life of prayer is the life of heaven.

1 Come, ye who love the Lord!

And let your joys be known;

Join in a song with sweet accord,

And thus surround His throne.

2 The sorrows of the mind

Be banished from this place!

Religion never was designed

To make our pleasures less.

3 The sons of God have found

That heaven begins below:

Celestial fruits, on earthly ground,

From faith and hope may grow.

4 Then let our sorrows cease,

And every tear be dry;

We’re travelling through the paths of peace

To fairer worlds on high.

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 Thirsting for a living spring,

Seeking for a higher home,

Resting where our souls must cling,

Trusting, hoping, Lord, we come.

2 Glorious hopes our spirit fill,

When we feel that Thou art near:

Father! then our fears are still,

Then the soul’s bright end is clear.

3 Life’s hard conflict we would win,

Read the meaning of life’s frown;

Change the thorn-bound wreath of sin

For the spirit’s starry crown.

4 Make us beautiful within

By Thy spirit’s holy light:

Guard us when our faith burns dim,

Father of all love and might!

1 Forth from the dark and stormy sky,

Lord, to Thine altar’s shade we fly;

Forth from the world, its hope and fear,

Father, we seek Thy shelter here:

Weary and weak, Thy grace we pray;

Turn not, O Lord! Thy guests away.

2 Long have we roamed in want and pain,

Long have we sought Thy rest in vain;

Wildered in doubt, in darkness lost,

Long have our souls been tempest-tost:

Low at Thy feet our sins we lay;

Turn not, O Lord! Thy guests away.

1 O Father, though the anxious fear

May cloud to-morrow’s way,

No fear nor doubt shall enter here;

All shall be Thine to-day.

2 We will not bring divided hearts

To worship at Thy shrine;

But each unworthy thought departs,

And leaves this temple Thine.

3 Sleep, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,

Of earth and folly born;

Ye shall not dim the light that streams

From this celestial morn.

4 To-morrow will be time enough

To feel your harsh control;

Ye shall not violate this day,

The sabbath of the soul.

1 Love divine, all love excelling,

Joy of heaven, to earth come down!

Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,

All Thy faithful mercies crown.

Father! Thou art all compassion,

Pure, unbounded love Thou art;

Visit us with Thy salvation,

Enter every longing heart.

2 Breathe, O, breathe Thy loving spirit

Into every troubled breast;

Let us all in Thee inherit,

Let us find Thy promised rest.

Come, almighty to deliver,

Let us all Thy life receive;

Graciously come down, and never,

Never more Thy temples leave!

1 Far from mortal cares retreating,

Sordid hopes, and fond desires,

Here our willing footsteps meeting,

Every heart to heaven aspires.

From the Fount of glory beaming,

Light celestial cheers our eyes;

Mercy from above proclaiming

Peace and pardon from the skies.

2 Who may share this great salvation?—

Every pure and humble mind;

Every kindred, tongue, and nation,

From the dross of guilt refined:

Blessings all around bestowing,

God withholds His care from none;

Grace and mercy ever flowing

From the fountain of His throne.

3 Every stain of guilt abhorring,

Firm and bold in virtue’s cause,

Still Thy providence adoring,

Faithful subjects to Thy laws,

Lord! with favor still attend us,

Bless us with Thy wondrous love;

Thou, our sun and shield, defend us;

All our hope is from above.

1 Unto Thy temple, God of love,

Once more we come with willing feet,

To raise our thoughts this world above,

And Thy paternal blessing meet.

2 May all Thy purest presence feel,

And silent keep each vain desire;

With humble hearts before Thee kneel,

And unto holier strength aspire.

3 May all be bound in bonds more true

To Thee, who art our life and light,

That through each path which we pursue,

We still may keep Thy love in sight.

4 And may we, when the day shall close,

Review its course without a fear;

And, nearer heaven than when it rose,

Feel it is good to have been here.

1 Lord! what offering shall we bring,

At Thine altars when we bow?

Hearts, the pure, unsullied spring,

Whence the kind affections flow:

2 Willing hands, to lead the blind,

Heal the wounded, feed the poor;

Love, embracing all our kind,

Charity, with liberal store.

3 Teach us, O thou Heavenly King,

Thus to show our grateful mind,

Thus the accepted offering bring,

Love to Thee and all mankind.

1 Here, in this place of prayer,

Father! Thy face we seek:

Grant us that blessed peace to share,

Known to the pure and meek.

2 Come then to holy prayer,

Souls that seem lost in night;

Leave to the Lord your heavy care,

Who giveth life and light.

3 Come with a trusting prayer,

Though fears press down your souls;

The Saviour’s promise, “I am there,”

Each saddening fear controls.

4 Here, in this place of prayer,

Let hearts in union meet:

Come, cast the load you cannot bear

Low at the Saviour’s feet.

5 Then from this house of prayer

Shall mingling praise be given,

And angels, ’mid the holy air,

Shall bear the notes to heaven.

1 Lo! God is here; let us adore,

And humbly bow before His face;

Let all within us feel His power,

Let all within us seek His peace.

2 Lo! God is here; Him day and night

United choirs of angels sing;

To Him, enthroned above all height,

Heaven’s host their noblest praises bring.

3 Being of beings! may our praise

Thy courts with grateful incense fill:

Still may we stand before thy face,

Still hear and do thy sovereign will.

4 More of Thy presence, Lord! impart;

More of Thine image may we bear:

O, fix Thy throne in every heart,

And reign without a rival there.

1 In Thy courts let peace be found,

Be Thy temple full of love;

Here we tread on holy ground,

All serene, around, above.

2 While the knee in prayer is bent,

While with praise the heart o’erflows,

Tranquillize the turbulent!

Give the weary one repose!

3 Be the place for worship meet,

Meet the worship for the place;

Contemplation’s blest retreat,

Shrine of guilelessness and grace!

4 As an infant knows its home,

Lord! may we Thy temples know;

Hither for instruction come,

Hence by Thee instructed go.

1 Suppliant, lo! Thy children bend,

Father, for Thy blessing now;

Thou canst teach us, guide, defend;

We are weak, almighty Thou!

2 With the peace Thy word imparts

Be the taught and teacher blessed;

In our lives, and in our hearts,

Father! be Thy laws impressed.

3 Pour into each longing mind,

Light and knowledge from above:

Charity for all mankind,

Trusting faith, enduring love.

1 Lord of the worlds above,

How pleasant and how fair

The dwellings of Thy love,

Thine earthly temples are!

To Thine abode

My heart aspires,

With warm desires

To see my God.

2 The sparrow for her young

With pleasure seeks a nest,

And wandering swallows long

To find their wonted rest:

My spirit faints,

With equal zeal

To rise and dwell

Among Thy saints.

3 O happy souls that pray

To Him that heareth prayer!

O happy men that pay

Their constant service there!

They praise Thee still;

And happy they

Who love the way

To Zion’s hill.

4 They go from strength to strength,

Though oft through pain and tears,

Till each arrives at length,

Till each in heaven appears:

O glorious seat!

Our God and King

Shall thither bring

Our willing feet.

1 Lord, before Thy presence come,

Bow we down with holy fear;

Call our erring footsteps home,

Let us feel that Thou art near.

2 Wandering thoughts and languid powers

Come not where devotion kneels;

Let the soul expand her stores,

Glowing with the joy she feels.

3 At the portals of Thine house,

We resign our earth-born cares;

Nobler thoughts our souls engross,

Songs of praise and fervent prayers.

1 Before Jehovah’s awful throne,

Ye nations bow with sacred joy;

Know that the Lord is God alone;

He can create, and He destroy.

2 His sovereign power, without our aid,

Gave life to clay, and formed us men;

And when like wandering sheep we strayed,

He brought us to His fold again.

3 We are His people, we His care,

Our souls and all our mortal frame:

What lasting honors shall we rear,

Almighty Maker, to Thy name?

4 We’ll crowd Thy gates with thankful songs;

High as the heavens our voices raise;

And earth, with her ten thousand tongues,

Shall fill Thy courts with sounding praise.

5 Wide as the world is Thy command,

Vast as eternity Thy love,

Firm as a rock Thy truth shall stand,

When rolling years shall cease to move.

1 The offerings to Thy throne which rise,

Of mingled praise and prayer,

Are but a worthless sacrifice,

Unless the heart be there.

2 Upon Thine all-discerning ear

Let no vain words intrude;

No tribute but the vow sincere,—

The tribute of the good.

3 Our offerings will indeed be blest,

If sanctified by Thee;

If Thy pure spirit touch the breast

With its own purity.

4 O, may that spirit warm each heart

To piety and love,

And to life’s lowly vale impart

Some rays from heaven above.

1 Our God is a spirit, and they who aright

Would offer the worship He loveth,

In the heart’s holy temple will seek with delight

The spirit the Father approveth.

2 This, this is the worship the Saviour made known

When she of Samaria found him

By the Patriarch’s well, sitting weary, alone,

With the stillness of noontide around him.

3 He having once entered hath shown us the way,

O God! how to worship before Thee,

Not with the vain forms of that earlier day,

But in spirit and truth to adore Thee.

1 Light of life, seraphic fire!

Love divine, Thyself impart:

Every fainting soul inspire;

Enter every drooping heart:

Every mournful spirit cheer,

Scatter all our doubt and gloom;

Father, in Thy grace appear,

To Thy human temples come!

2 Come in this accepted hour,

Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in;

Fill us with Thy glorious power,

Rooting out the seeds of sin:

Nothing more can we require,

We can rest in nothing less:

Be Thou all our heart’s desire,

All our joy and all our peace.

1 Father! Thy paternal care

Has my guardian been, my guide:

Every hallowed wish and prayer

Has Thy hand of love supplied:

Thine is every thought of bliss,

Left by hours and days gone by;

Every hope Thine offspring is,

Beaming from futurity.

2 Every sun of splendid ray;

Every moon that shines serene;

Every morn that welcomes day;

Every evening’s twilight scene;

Every hour which wisdom brings;

Every incense at Thy shrine;

These,—and all life’s holiest things,

And its fairest,—all are Thine.

3 And for all, my hymns shall rise

Daily to Thy gracious throne:

Thither let my asking eyes

Turn unwearied, righteous One!

Through life’s strange vicissitude

There reposing all my care;

Trusting still, through ill and good,

Fixed, and cheered, and counselled there.

1 O God, whose presence glows in all

Within, around us, and above!

Thy word we bless, Thy name we call,

Whose word is Truth, whose name is Love.

2 That truth be with the heart believed

Of all who seek this sacred place;

With power proclaimed, in peace received,

Our spirit’s light, Thy spirit’s grace.

3 That love its holy influence pour,

To keep us meek, and make us free;

And throw its binding blessing more

Round each with all, and all with Thee.

4 Send down its angel to our side;

Send in its calm upon the breast;

For we would know no other guide,

And we can need no other rest.

1 Great God! the followers of Thy Son,

We bow before Thy mercy-seat,

To worship Thee, the Holy One,

And pour our wishes at Thy feet.

2 O, grant Thy blessing here to-day!

O, give Thy people joy and peace!

The tokens of Thy love display,

And favor, that shall never cease.

3 We seek the truth which Jesus brought;

His path of light we long to tread;

Here be his holy doctrines taught,

And here their purest influence shed.

4 May faith, and hope, and love abound;

Our sins and errors be forgiven;

And we, from day to day, be found

Children of God, and heirs of heaven.

1 How shall we praise Thee, Lord of light!

How shall we all Thy love declare!

The earth is veiled in shades of night,

But heaven is open to our prayer,—

That heaven, so bright with stars and suns,

That glorious heaven which has no bound,

Where the full tide of being runs,

And life and beauty glow around.

2 We would adore Thee, God sublime,

Whose power and wisdom, love and grace,

Are greater than the round of time,

And wider than the bounds of space.

Help us to praise Thee, Lord of light!

Help us Thy boundless love declare;

And, while we fill Thy courts to-night,

Aid us, and hearken to our prayer.

1 O Holy Father! ’mid the calm

And stillness of this evening hour,

We would lift up our solemn psalm

To praise Thy goodness, and Thy power

For over us, and over all,

Thy tender mercies still extend,

Nor vainly shall Thy children call

On Thee, our Father and our Friend!

2 Kept by Thy goodness though the day,

Thanksgiving to Thy name we pour;

Night o’er us, with its stars,—we pray

Thy love, to guard us evermore!

In grief, console; in gladness, bless;

In darkness, guide; in sickness, cheer;

Till, in the Saviour’s righteousness,

Before Thy throne our souls appear!

1 Teach us to pray!

O Father, we look up to Thee,

And this our one request shall be,

Teach us to pray!

2 Teach us to pray!

A form of words will not suffice,

The heart must bring its sacrifice:

Teach us to pray!

3 Teach us to pray!

To whom shall we Thy children turn?

Teach Thou the lesson we would learn,

Teach us to pray!

4 Teach us to pray!

To Thee alone our hearts look up,

Prayer is our only door of hope,

Teach us to pray!

1 Our Heavenly Father, hear

The prayer we offer now:

Thy name be hallowed far and near,

To Thee all nations bow.

2 Thy kingdom come; Thy will

On earth be done in love,

As saints and seraphim fulfil

Thy perfect law above.

3 Our daily bread supply,

While by Thy word we live;

The guilt of our iniquity

Forgive as we forgive.

4 From dark temptation’s power

Our feeble hearts defend;

Deliver in the evil hour,

And guide us to the end.

5 Thine, then, forever be

Glory and power divine;

The sceptre, throne, and majesty

Of heaven and earth are Thine.

1 Father and God of all mankind,

And all the hosts above,

Let every understanding mind

Unite to praise Thy love.

2 Thy kingdom come, with power and grace,

To every heart of man;

Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness,

In all our bosoms reign.

3 The righteousness that never ends,

But makes an end of sin;

The joy that human thought transcends,

Now to our souls bring in:

4 The kingdom of established peace,

Which can no more remove;

The perfect powers of godliness,

The omnipotence of Love.

1 Day by day the manna fell;

O, to learn this lesson well!

Still by constant mercy fed,

Give us, Lord, our daily bread.

2 “Day by day,” the promise reads;

Daily strength for daily needs;

Cast foreboding fears away;

Take the manna of to-day.

3 Lord, our times are in Thy hand;

All our sanguine hopes have planned

To Thy wisdom we resign,

And would mould our wills to Thine.

4 Thou our daily task shalt give;

Day by day to Thee we live;

So shall added years fulfil

Not our own, our Father’s will.

5 O, to live exempt from care,

By the energy of prayer;

Strong in faith, with mind subdued,

Glowing yet with gratitude!

1 God of all grace, we come to Thee,

With humble, prayerful hearts;

Give what Thine eye delights to see,

Truth in the inward parts:

2 Give deep humility; the sense

Of holy sorrow give:

A strong, desiring confidence,

To hear Thy voice and live:

3 Patience, to watch, and wait, and weep,

Though mercy long delay;

Courage, our fainting souls to keep,

And trust Thee, though Thou slay.

4 Give these,—and then Thy will be done!

Thus strengthened with all might,

We, in the spirit of Thy Son,

Shall pray, and pray aright.

1 What shall we ask of God in prayer?

Whatever good we want;

Whatever man may seek to share,

Or God in wisdom grant.

2 Father of all our mercies,—Thou

In whom we move and live!

Hear us in heaven, Thy dwelling, now,

And answer, and forgive.

3 When harassed by ten thousand foes,

Our helplessness we feel,

O, give the weary soul repose,

The wounded spirit heal!

4 When dire temptations gather round,

And threaten or allure,

By storm or calm, in Thee be found

A refuge strong and sure.

5 When age advances, may we grow

In faith, in hope, and love;

And walk in holiness below

To holiness above.

1 Father, in Thy mysterious presence kneeling,

Fain would our souls feel all Thy kindling love;

For we are weak, and need some deep revealing

Of Trust and Strength and Calmness from above.

2 Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow,

And Thou hast made each step an onward one;

And we will ever trust each unknown morrow,—

Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.

3 In the heart’s depths a peace serene and holy

Abides, and when pain seems to have her will,

Or we despair,—O, may that peace rise slowly,

Stronger than agony, and we be still!

4 Now, Father, now, in Thy dear presence kneeling,

Our spirits yearn to feel Thy kindling love;

Now make us strong, we need Thy deep revealing

Of Trust and Strength and Calmness from above.

1 O God! who knowest how frail we are,

How soon the thought of good departs;

We pray that Thou wouldst feed the fount

Of holy yearning in our hearts.

2 Let not the choking cares of earth

The precious springs of life o’ergrow;

But, ever guarded by Thy love,

Still purer may their waters flow.

3 To Thee, with sweeter hope and trust,

Be every day our spirits given;

And may we, while we walk on earth,

Walk more as citizens of heaven.

1 From every fear and doubt, O Lord,

In mercy set us free,

While in the confidence of prayer

Our hearts draw near to Thee!

2 In all our trials, struggles, joys,

Teach us Thy love to see,

Which by the discipline of life

Would draw us unto Thee.

3 Our lives, devoted to Thy will,

Our sacrifice shall be,

And then will death, whene’er it come,

But draw us nearer Thee.

1 When Israel, of the Lord beloved,

Out from the land of bondage came,

Her fathers’ God before her moved,

An awful guide in smoke and flame.

2 By day, along the astonished lands

The cloudy pillar glided slow;

By night, Arabia’s crimsoned sands

Returned the fiery column’s glow.

3 Thus present still, though now unseen,

When brightly shines the prosperous day,

Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,

To temper the deceitful ray!

4 And, O, when gathers on our path

In shade and storm the frequent night,

Be Thou, long-suffering, slow to wrath,

A burning and a shining light!

1 Father of light! conduct our feet

Through life’s dark, dangerous road;

Let each advancing step still bring

Us nearer to our God.

2 Let heaven-eyed prudence be our guide;

And when we go astray,

Recall our feet from folly’s paths

To wisdom’s better way.

3 That heavenly wisdom from above

Abundantly impart;

And let it guard, and guide, and warm,

And penetrate each heart;

4 Till it shall lead us to Thyself,

Fountain of bliss and love!

And all our darkness be dispersed

In endless light above.

1 O Thou, who hast at Thy command

The hearts of all men in Thy hand!

Our wayward, erring hearts incline

To know no other will but Thine.

2 Our wishes, our desires, control;

Mould every purpose of the soul;

O’er all may we victorious be

That stands between ourselves and Thee.

3 Thrice blest will all our blessings be,

When we can look through them to Thee;

When each glad heart its tribute pays

Of love, and gratitude, and praise.

4 And while we to Thy glory live,

May we to Thee all glory give,

Until the final summons come,

That calls Thy willing servants home.

1 O Father! lift our souls above,

Till we find rest in Thy dear love;

And still that Peace divine impart

Which sanctifies the inmost heart,

And makes each morn and setting sun

But bring us nearer to Thy throne.

2 May we our daily duties meet,

Tread sin each day beneath our feet,

And win that strength which doth Thy will

And seeth Thee, and so is still;

And fixed on Thy sustaining arm,

Find daily food and know no harm.

3 Help us with man in peace to live,

Our brother’s wrong in love forgive,

And day and night the tempter flee

Through strength which comes alone from Thee!

Thus will our spirits find their rest,

In Thy deep Peace forever blest.

1 Father, who art on high!

Weak is the melody

Of harp or song to reach Thy gracious ear,

Unless the heart be there,

Winging the words of prayer

With its own fervent faith, or suppliant tear.

2 O, let Thy spirit move

O’er those who bend in love,

Be Thou amidst them as a heavenly guest;

So shall our cry have power

To win from Thee a shower

Of healing gifts for every wounded breast.

3 O, let Thy breath once more

Within the soul restore

Thine own first image, Holiest and Most High!

As a clear lake is filled

With hues of heaven instilled,

Down to the depths of its calm purity.

1 Father in heaven, to whom our hearts

Would lift themselves in prayer,

Drive from our souls each earthly thought,

And show Thy presence there.

2 Each moment of our lives renews

The mercies of the Lord;

Each moment is itself a gift

To bear us on to God.

3 Help us to break the galling chains

This world has round us thrown;

Each passion of our hearts subdue,

Each cherished sin disown.

4 O Father! kindle in our souls

A never-dying flame

Of holy love, of grateful trust,

In Thine almighty name.

1 Shine on our souls, Eternal God,

With rays of beauty shine;

O, let Thy favor crown our days,

And all their round be Thine!

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 Midst hourly cares may love present

Its incense at Thy throne;

And while the world our hands employs,

Our hearts be Thine alone.

1 Almighty God, in humble prayer

To Thee our souls we lift;

Do Thou our waiting minds prepare

For Thy most needful gift.

2 We ask not golden streams of wealth

Along our path to flow;

We ask not undecaying health,

Nor length of years below:

3 We ask not honors, which an hour

May bring and take away;

We ask not pleasure, pomp, or power,

Lest we should go astray:

4 We ask for wisdom: Lord, impart

The knowledge how to live:

A wise and understanding heart

To all before Thee give.

5 The young remember Thee in youth,

Before the evil days!

The old be guided by Thy truth

In wisdom’s pleasant ways!

1 Supreme and universal Light!

Fountain of reason! Judge of right!

Parent of good! whose blessings flow

On all above, and all below:

2 Assist us, Lord, to act, to be,

What nature and Thy laws decree;

Worthy that intellectual flame,

Which from Thy breathing spirit came.

3 Our moral freedom to maintain,

Bid passion serve, and reason reign,

Self-poised and independent still

On this world’s varying good or ill.

4 No slave to profit, shame, or fear,

O, may our steadfast bosoms bear

The stamp of heaven,—an upright heart,

Above the mean disguise of art!

5 May our expanded souls disclaim

The narrow view, the selfish aim;

But with a Christian zeal embrace

Whate’er is friendly to our race.

6 O Father! grace and virtue grant;

No more we wish, no more we want:

To know, to serve Thee, and to love,

Is peace below,—is bliss above.

1 Father, united by Thy grace,

And each to each endeared,

With confidence we seek Thy face,

And know our prayer is heard.

2 Touched by the loadstone of Thy love,

Let all our hearts agree;

And ever towards each other move,

And ever move towards Thee.

3 Grant this, and then from all below

Insensibly remove!

Our souls their change shall scarcely know,

Made perfect first in love.

4 To us the ministry be given,

Which angels have above;

For love can make on earth a heaven,

And heaven is only love.

1 Father, to us Thy children, humbly kneeling,

Conscious of weakness, ignorance, sin and shame,

Give such a force of holy thought and feeling,

That we may live to glorify Thy name:

2 That we may conquer base desire and passion

That we may rise from selfish thought and will,

O’ercome the world’s allurement, threat, and fashion,

Walk humbly, gently, leaning on Thee still.

3 Let all Thy goodness by our minds be seen,

Let all Thy mercy on our souls be sealed,

Lord, if Thou wilt, Thy power can make us clean,

O, speak the word! Thy servants shall be healed.

1 “Lord, Thy glory fills the heaven;

Earth is with its fulness stored;

Unto Thee be glory given,

Holy, holy, holy Lord!”

Heaven is still with anthems ringing;

Earth takes up the angels’ cry,

“Holy, holy, holy,” singing,

“Lord of hosts, the Lord most High!”

2 Ever thus in God’s high praises,

Brethren, let our tongues unite,

Whilst our thoughts His greatness raises,

And our love His gifts excite.

With His seraph train before Him,

With His holy church below,

Thus unite we to adore Him,

Bid we thus our anthem flow:—

3 “Lord, Thy glory fills the heaven;

Earth is with its fulness stored;

Unto Thee be glory given,

Holy, holy, holy Lord!

Thus, Thy glorious name confessing,

We adopt the angels’ cry,

‘Holy, holy, holy,’—blessing

Thee, the Lord our God most High!”

1 Songs of praise the angels sang,

Heaven with hallelujahs rang,

When, Creation’s work begun,

Spake the Lord, and it was done.

2 Songs of praise awoke the morn,

When the Prince of Peace was born;

Songs of praise arose, when he

Captive led captivity.

3 Heaven and earth must pass away,

Songs of praise shall crown that day;

God will make new heavens and earth,

Songs of praise shall hail their birth.

4 And shall man alone be dumb,

Till that glorious kingdom come?

No; his heart delights to raise

Psalms and hymns and songs of praise.

5 Saints below, with heart and voice,

Still in songs of praise rejoice,

Learning here, by faith and love,

Songs of praise to sing above.

1 Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!

All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, sky, and sea.

2 Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,

Thou who wast, and art, and evermore shalt be!

3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,

Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,

Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,

Infinite in power, in love, and purity!

1 O God! we praise Thee, and confess

That Thou the only Lord

And everlasting Father art,

By all the earth adored.

2 To Thee all angels cry aloud;

To Thee the powers on high,

Both cherubim and seraphim,

Continually do cry:

3 “O holy, holy, holy Lord,

Whom heavenly hosts obey,

The world is with the glory filled

Of Thy majestic sway.”

4 The apostles’ glorious company,

And prophets crowned with light,

With all the martyrs’ noble host,

Thy constant praise recite.

5 The holy church throughout the world,

O Lord, confesses Thee,

That Thou the Eternal Father art,

Of boundless majesty.

1 Praise the Lord! ye heavens adore Him!

Praise Him, angels in the height;

Sun and moon rejoice before Him;

Praise Him, all ye stars of light!

Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken;

Worlds His mighty voice obeyed;

Laws, which never can be broken,

For their guidance He hath made.

2 Praise the Lord! for He is glorious;

Never shall His promise fail;

God hath made His saints victorious,

Sin and death shall not prevail:

Praise the God of our salvation,

Hosts on high His power proclaim;

Heaven and earth, and all creation,

Praise and magnify His name!

1 Father of Spirits! humbly bent before Thee,

Songs of glad homage unto Thee we bring;

Touched by Thy spirit, O, teach us to adore Thee;

Let Thy light attend us,

Let Thy love befriend us,

Father of our spirits, Everlasting King!

2 Send forth Thy mandate, gather in the nations,

Through the wide universe Thy name be known,

Millions of voices shall join in adorations,

Every soul invited,

Every voice united,

Joining to adore Thee, Everlasting One!

1 Glory be to God on high,

God whose glory fills the sky!

Peace on earth to man forgiven,

Man, the well-beloved of heaven!

2 Favored mortals, raise the song;

Endless thanks to God belong;

Hearts o’erflowing with His praise,

Join the hymns your voices raise.

3 Mark the wonders of His hand;

Power, no empire can withstand;

Wisdom, angels’ glorious theme;

Goodness, one eternal stream!

4 Gracious Being! from Thy throne

Send Thy promised blessings down;

Let Thy light, Thy truth, Thy peace,

Bid our selfish passions cease.

1 Lord, in heaven, Thy dwelling-place,

Hear the praises of our race,

And, while hearing, let Thy grace

Dews of sweet forgiveness pour;

While we know, benignant King,

That the praises which we bring

Are a feeble offering,

Till Thy blessing makes it more.

2 More of truth, and more of might,

More of love, and more of light,

More of reason, and of right

From Thy pardoning grace be given!

This can make the humblest song

Sweet, acceptable, and strong,

As the strains the angels’ throng

Pour around the throne of heaven.

1 Blessed be Thy name forever,

Thou of life the Guard and Giver!

Thou who slumberest not nor sleepest,

Blest are they Thou kindly keepest!

God of stillness and of motion,

Of the rainbow, and the ocean,

Of the mountain, rock, and river,

Blessed be Thy name forever!

2 God of evening’s peaceful ray!

God of every dawning day,

Rising from the distant sea

Breathing of eternity;

Thine the flaming sphere of light,

Thine the darkness of the night!

God of life, that fade shall never!

Glory to Thy name forever!

1 My God! in morning’s radiant hour

To Thee will I lift up my heart;

The shades of night obey Thy power,

And at Thy sun’s bright beams depart.

2 Father and Guardian! to Thy shrine

The life Thou shieldest will I bring;

All, great Creator! all is Thine;

The heart my noblest offering!

3 The morning light shall see my prayer,

The noonday calm shall know my praise;

And evening’s still and fragrant air

My grateful hymn to Thee shall raise.

4 So shall sweet thoughts and hopes sublime

My constant inspirations be;

And every shifting scene of time

Reflect, my God, a light from Thee!

Father! glory be to Thee,

Source of all the good we see!

Glory for the blessed Light

Rising on the ancient night!

Glory for the hopes that come

Streaming through the silent tomb!

Glory for Thy spirit given,

Guiding us in peace to heaven!

1 Israel’s Shepherd, guide us, feed us,

Through our pilgrimage below,

And beside the waters lead us,

Where Thy flock rejoicing go.

2 Lord, Thy guardian, presence ever,

Meekly kneeling, we implore;

We have found Thee, and would never,

Never wander from Thee more.

1 As every day Thy mercy spares

Will bring its trials or its cares,

O Father, till my life shall end,

Be Thou my counsellor and friend!

Teach me Thy statutes all divine,

And let Thy will be always mine!

2 When each day’s scenes and labors close,

And wearied nature seeks repose,

With pardoning mercy, richly blest,

Guard me, my Father, while I rest;

And as each morning sun shall rise,

O, lead me onward to the skies!

1 Part in peace! is day before us?

Praise His name for life and light;

Are the shadows lengthening o’er us?

Bless His care who guards the night.

2 Part in peace! with deep thanksgiving,

Rendering, as we homeward tread,

Gracious service to the living,

Tranquil memory to the dead.

3 Part in peace! such are the praises

God, our Maker, loveth best;

Such the worship that upraises

Human hearts to heavenly rest.

Peace of God, which knows no measure,

Heavenly sunlight of the soul,

Peace beyond all earthly treasure,

Come and all our hearts control!

Come, almighty to deliver!

Naught shall make us then afraid;

We will trust in Thee forever,

Thou on whom our hope is stayed!

1 Guide us, Lord! while, hand in hand,

Journeying toward the better land;

Foes we know are to be met,

Snares the pilgrim’s path beset;

Clouds upon the valley rest,

Rough and dark the mountain’s breast;

And our home may not be gained,

Save through trials well sustained.

2 Guide us, while we onward move,

Linked in closest bonds of love,

Striving for the holy mind,

And the soul from sense refined;

That when life no longer burns,

And the dust to dust returns,

With the strength which Thou hast given

We may rise to Thee and heaven.

3 God of mercy! on Thee, all

Humbly for Thy guidance call;

Save us from the evil tongue,

From the heart that thinketh wrong,

From the sins, whate’er they be,

That divide the soul from Thee.

God of grace! on Thee we rest;

Bless us, and we shall be blest.

1 From all that dwell below the skies

Let the Creator’s praise arise!

Let the Redeemer’s name be sung,

Through every land, by every tongue!

2 Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord!

Eternal truth attends Thy word;

Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,

Till suns shall rise and set no more.

1 Go in peace!—serene dismission

To the loving heart made known,

When it pours in deep contrition

Prayer before the eternal throne.

2 Go in peace! thy sins forgiven,

Christ hath healed thee, set thee free

Every spirit-fetter riven,

Go in peace, and liberty!

3 Saviour! breathe this benediction

O’er our spirits while we pray;

Let us part in sweet conviction

Thou hast blessed our souls to-day.

1 O God, by whom the seed is given,

By whom the harvest blest;

Whose word, like manna showered from heaven,

Is planted in our breast;

2 Preserve it from the passing feet,

And plunderers of the air;

The sultry sun’s intenser heat,

And weeds of worldly care!

3 Though buried deep, or thinly strewn,

Do Thou Thy grace supply;

The hope, in earthly furrows sown,

Shall ripen in the sky.

1 Through all this life’s eventful road,

Fain would I walk with Thee, my God,

And make Thy presence light around,

And every step on holy ground.

2 Each blessing would I trace to Thee,

In every grief Thy mercy see;

And through the paths of duty move,

Conscious of Thine encircling love.

3 And when the angel Death stands by,

Be this my strength, that Thou art nigh;

And this my joy, that I shall be

With those who dwell in light with Thee.

1 Thy presence, ever living God!

Wide through all nature spreads abroad;

Thy watchful eyes, which never sleep,

In every place Thy children keep.

2 While near each other we remain,

Thou dost our lives and powers sustain;

When separate, we rejoice to share

Thy counsels, and Thy gracious care.

3 To Thee we now commit our ways,

And still implore Thy heavenly grace;

Still cause Thy face on us to shine,

And guard and guide us still as Thine.

4 Give us within Thy house to raise

Again united songs of praise;

Or, if that joy no more be known,

Give us to meet around Thy throne.

1 God of our fathers! by whose hand

Thy people still are blest,

Be with us through our pilgrimage,

Conduct us to our rest.

2 Through each perplexing path of life

Our wandering footsteps guide;

Give us each day our daily bread,

And raiment fit provide.

3 O, spread Thy sheltering wings around,

Till all our wanderings cease,

And at our Fathers loved abode

Our souls arrive in peace.

4 To Thee, our Father and our God,

We our whole souls resign;

And thankful own, that all we are

And all we have is Thine.

1 As the sun’s enlivening eye

Shines on every place the same;

So the Lord is always nigh

To the souls that love His name.

2 When they move at duty’s call,

He is with them by the way;

He is ever with them all,

Those who go and those who stay.

3 From His holy mercy-seat

Nothing can their souls confine;

Still in spirit they may meet,

And in sweet communion join.

4 Father, hear our humble prayer!

Tender Shepherd of Thy sheep,

Let Thy mercy and Thy care

All our souls in safety keep.

5 In Thy strength may we be strong;

Sanctify each cross and pain;

Give us, if Thou wilt, ere long

Here to meet in peace again.

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 the gospel’s joyful sound;

May the fruits of Thy salvation

In our hearts and lives abound;

May Thy presence

With us evermore be found!

1 Unchangeable, all-perfect Lord!

Essential life’s unbounded sea!

What lives and moves, lives by Thy word;

It lives and moves and is, from Thee!

Whate’er in earth, or sea, or sky,

Or shuns, or meets, the wandering thought,

Escapes, or strikes, the searching eye,

By Thee was to existence brought.

2 High is Thy power above all height,

Whate’er Thy will decrees is done;

Thy wisdom, holiness and might

Can by no finite mind be known.

What our dim eyes could never see,

Is plain and naked in Thy sight;

What thickest darkness veils, to Thee

Shines clearly as the morning light;

3 Thine, Lord, is holiness, alone:

Justice and Truth before Thee stand:

Yet, nearer to Thy sacred throne,

Love ever dwells at Thy right hand.

And to Thy love and ceaseless care,

Father! this light, this breath, we owe;

And all we have, and all we are

From Thee, great Source of Life! doth flow.

1 Mighty God! the first, the last!

What are ages, in Thy sight,

But as yesterday when past,

Or a watch within the night?

2 All that being ever knew,

Far, far back, ere time had birth,

Stands as clear within Thy view

As the present things of earth.

3 All that being e’er shall know

On, still on, through farthest years,

All eternity can show,

Bright before Thee now appears.

4 In Thine all-embracing sight,

Every change its purpose meets,

Every cloud floats into light,

Every woe its glory greets.

5 Whatsoe’er our lot may be,

Calmly in this thought we’ll rest,—

Could we see as Thou dost see,

We should choose it as the best.

1 God is love; His mercy brightens

All the path in which we move;

Bliss He wakes, and woe He lightens;

God is wisdom, God is love.

2 Chance and change are busy ever;

Man decays, and ages move;

But His mercy waneth never;

God is wisdom, God is love.

3 E’en the hour that darkest seemeth

Will His changeless goodness prove;

From the gloom His brightness streameth;

God is wisdom, God is love.

4 He with earthly cares entwineth

Hope and comfort from above;

Everywhere His glory shineth;

God is wisdom, God is love.

1 I cannot always trace the way

Where Thou, almighty One, dost move,

But I can always, always say

That God is love.

2 When fear her chilling mantle throws

O’er earth, my soul to heaven above,

As to her native home, upsprings,

For God is love.

3 When mystery clouds my darkened path,

I’ll check my dread, my doubts reprove;

In this my soul sweet comfort hath,

That God is love.

4 Yes, God is love;—a thought like this

Can every gloomy thought remove,

And turn all tears, all woes, to bliss,

For God is love.

1 O Source divine, and Life of all,

The Fount of being’s wondrous sea!

Thy depth would every heart appall,

That saw not Love supreme in Thee.

2 We shrink before Thy vast abyss,

Where worlds on worlds eternal brood;

We know Thee truly but in this,

That Thou bestowest all our good.

3 And so, ’mid boundless time and space,

O, grant us still in Thee to dwell,

And through the ceaseless web to trace

Thy presence working all things well!

4 Nor let Thou life’s delightful play

Thy truth’s transcendent vision hide;

Nor strength and gladness lead astray

From Thee, our nature’s only guide.

5 Bestow on every joyous thrill

Thy deeper tone of reverent awe;

Make pure Thy children’s erring will,

And teach their hearts to love Thy law!

1 No human eyes Thy face may see;

No human thought Thy form may know;

But all creation dwells in Thee,

And Thy great life through all doth flow!

2 And yet, O strange and wondrous thought!

Thou art a God who hearest prayer,

And every heart with sorrow fraught

To seek Thy present aid may dare.

3 And though most weak our efforts seem

Into one creed these thoughts to bind,

And vain the intellectual dream,

To see and know the Eternal Mind,—

4 Yet Thou wilt turn them not aside,

Who cannot solve Thy life divine,

But would give up all reason’s pride

To know their hearts approved by Thine.

5 And Thine unceasing love gave birth

To our dear Lord, Thy holy Son,

Who left a perfect proof on earth,

That Duty, Love, and Truth are one.

6 So, though we faint on life’s dark hill,

And Thought grow weak, and Knowledge flee,

Yet Faith shall teach us courage still,

And Love shall guide us on to Thee!

1 Father! there is no change to live with Thee;

Save that in Christ I grow from day to day;

In each new word I hear, each thing I see,

I but rejoicing hasten on my way.

2 The morning comes, with blushes overspread,

And I, new-wakened, find a morn within;

And in its modest dawn around me shed,

Thou hear’st the prayer and the ascending hymn.

3 Hour follows hour, the lengthening shades descend;

Yet they could never reach as far as me.

Did not Thy love its kind protection lend,

That I, Thy child, might sleep in peace with Thee.

1 Father, to Thy kind love we owe

All that is fair and good below;

Bestower of the health that lies

On tearless cheeks and cheerful eyes!

2 Giver of sunshine and of rain!

Ripener of fruits on hill and plain!

Fountain of light, that rayed afar,

Fills the vast urns of sun and star!

3 Who send’st Thy storms and frosts to bind

The plagues that rise to waste mankind;

Then breathest, o’er the naked scene,

Spring gales, and life, and tender green.

4 Yet deem we not that thus alone,

Thy mercy and Thy love are shown;

For we have learned, with higher praise,

And holier names, to speak Thy ways.

5 In woe’s dark hour, our kindest stay!

Sole trust when life shall pass away!

Teacher of hopes that light the gloom

Of death, and consecrate the tomb!

1 Father! Thy wonders do not singly stand,

Nor far removed where feet have seldom strayed;

Around us ever lies the enchanted land,

In marvels rich to Thine own sons displayed.

2 In finding Thee are all things round us found!

In losing Thee are all things lost beside!

Ears have we, but in vain sweet voices sound,

And to our eyes the vision is denied.

3 Open our eyes that we that world may see!

Open our ears that we Thy voice may hear!

And in the spirit-land may ever be,

And feel Thy presence with us always near;

4 No more to wander ’mid the things of time,

No more to suffer death or earthly change;

But-with the Christian’s joy and faith sublime,

Through all Thy vast, eternal scenes to range.

1 God, in the high and holy place,

Looks down upon the spheres;

Yet in His providence and grace

To every eye appears.

2 He bows the heavens; the mountains stand,

A highway for our God:

He walks amidst the desert-land;

’Tis Eden where He trod.

3 The forests in His strength rejoice;

Hark! on the evening breeze,

As once of old, the Lord God’s voice

Is heard among the trees.

4 In every stream His bounty flows,

Diffusing joy and wealth;

In every breeze His Spirit blows,—

The breath of life and health.

5 His blessings fall in plenteous showers

Upon the lap of earth,

That teems with foliage, fruits, and flowers,

And rings with infant mirth.

6 If God hath made this world so fair,

Where sin and death abound,

How beautiful beyond compare

Will Paradise be found!

1 O Thou, to whom, in ancient time,

The lyre of Hebrew bards was strung;

Whom kings adored in songs sublime,

And prophets praised with glowing tongue:

2 Not now on Zion’s height alone

Thy favored worshippers may dwell;

Nor where, at sultry noon, Thy Son

Sat weary, by the Patriarch’s well.

3 From every place below the skies,

The grateful song, the fervent prayer,—

The incense of the heart,—may rise

To heaven, and find acceptance there.

4 To Thee shall age, with snowy hair,

And strength, and beauty, bend the knee;

And childhood lisp, with reverent air,

Its praises and its prayers to Thee!

5 O Thou, to whom, in ancient time,

The lyre of prophet bards was strung,

To Thee, at last, in every clime,

Shall temples rise, and praise be sung!

1 They who seek the throne of grace

Find that throne in every place;

If we live a life of prayer,

God is present everywhere.

2 In our sickness and our health,

In our want, or in our wealth,

If we look to God in prayer,

God is present everywhere.

3 When our earthly comforts fail,

When the woes of life prevail,

’Tis the time for earnest prayer;—

God is present everywhere.

4 Then, my soul, in every strait

To thy Father come, and wait;

He will answer every prayer;—

God is present everywhere.

1 There’s nothing bright, above, below,

From flowers that bloom to stars that glow,

But in its light my soul can see

Some feature of the Deity.

2 There’s nothing dark, below, above,

But in its gloom I trace Thy love,

And meekly wait the moment when

Thy touch shall make all bright again.

3 The heavens, the earth, where’er I look,

Shall be one pure and shining book,

Where I may read, in words of flame,

The glories of Thy wondrous name.

1 Thou art, O God, the life and light

Of all this wondrous world we see;

Its glow by day, its smile by night,

Are but reflections caught from Thee:

Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,

And all things fair and bright are Thine.

2 When day, with farewell beam, delays

Among the opening clouds of even,

And we can almost think we gaze

Through golden vistas into heaven,

Those hues that make the sun’s decline

So soft, so radiant, Lord, are Thine.

3 When night, with wings of starry gloom,

O’ershadows all the earth and skies,

Like some dark, beauteous bird, whose plume

Is sparkling with unnumbered eyes,

That sacred gloom, those fires divine,

So grand, so countless, Lord, are Thine.

4 When youthful spring around us breathes,

Thy spirit warms her fragrant sigh;

And every flower the summer wreathes

Is born beneath Thy kindling eye:

Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,

And all things fair and bright are Thine.

1 The ocean looketh up to heaven,

As ’twere a living thing;

The homage of its waves is given,

In ceaseless worshipping.

2 They kneel upon the sloping sand

As bends the human knee;

A beautiful and tireless band,

The priesthood of the sea.

3 The mists are lifted from the rills,

Like the white wing of prayer;

They kneel above the ancient hills,

As doing homage there.

4 The forest-tops are lowly cast

O’er breezy hill and glen,

As if a prayerful spirit passed

On nature as on men.

5 The sky is as a temple’s arch:

The blue and wavy air

Is glorious with the spirit march

Of messengers at prayer.

1 My God! all nature owns Thy sway;

Thou giv’st the night and Thou 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 longing spirit free,

And lead the softened heart to Thee.

3 As o’er Thy work the seasons roll,

And soothe, 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 wondering soul to praise;

And be the joys that most we prize

The joys that from Thy favor rise!

1 God of the ocean, earth, and sky,

In Thy bright presence we rejoice;

We feel Thee, see Thee ever nigh,

And gladly hear Thy gracious voice.

2 We feel Thee in the sunny beam;

We see Thee walk the mountain waves;

We hear Thee in the murmuring stream,

And when the tempest wildly raves.

3 God on the lonely hills we meet,

God, in the vale and fragrant grove,

While birds and whispering winds repeat,

That God is there,—the God of love.

4 We meet Thee in the pensive hour

When wearied nature sinks to rest;

When dies the breeze, and sleeps the flower

And peace is given to every breast.

5 We see Thee when, at eve, afar

We upward lift our wondering sight,

We see Thee in each silent star

That glorifies the gloom of night.

6 But better still, and still more clear,

Thee in Thy holy Son we see;

There Thy own glorious words we hear,

And learn the way to heaven and Thee.

1 Though wandering in a stranger-land,

Though on the waste no altar stand,

Take comfort! thou art not alone,

While Faith hath marked thee for her own.

2 Wouldst thou a temple? look above,—

The heavens stretch over all in love;

A book? for thine evangel scan

The wondrous history of man.

3 And though no organ-peal be heard,

In harmony the winds are stirred;

And there the morning stars upraise

Their ancient songs of deathless praise.

1 Not only doth the voiceful day

Thy loving kindness, Lord! proclaim,

But night, with its sublime array

Of worlds, doth magnify Thy name.

Yea, while adoring seraphim

Before Thee bend the willing knee,

From every star a choral hymn

Goes up unceasingly to Thee.

2 Day unto day doth utter speech,

And night to night Thy voice makes known;

Through all the earth, where thought may reach,

Is heard the glad and solemn tone;

And worlds, beyond the farthest star

Whose light hath reached a human eye,

Catch the high anthem from afar,

That rolls along immensity.

1 Hath not thy heart within thee burned

At evening’s calm and holy hour,

As if its inmost depths discerned

The presence of a loftier power?

2 Hast thou not heard ’mid forest glades,

While ancient rivers murmured by,

A voice from forth the eternal shades,

That spake a present Deity?

3 And as, upon the sacred page,

Thine eye in rapt attention turned

O’er records of a holier age,

Hath not thy heart within thee burned?

4 It was the voice of God that spake

In silence to thy silent heart;

And bade each worthier thought awake,

And every dream of earth depart.

5 Voice of our God, O, yet be near!

In low, sweet accents, whisper peace;

Direct us on our pathway here,

Then bid in heaven our wanderings cease.

1 I saw on earth another light

Than that which lit my eye

Come forth, as from my soul within,

And from a higher sky.

2 Its beams still shone unclouded on,

When in the distant west

The sun I once had known had sunk

Forever to his rest.

3 And on I walked, though dark the night,

Nor rose his orb by day;

As one to whom a surer guide

Was pointing out the way.

4 ’Twas brighter far than noonday’s beam,

It shone from God within;

And lit, as by a lamp from heaven,

The world’s dark track of sin.

1 Wouldst thou in thy lonely hour

Praises to the Eternal pour?

I will teach thy soul to be

Temple, hymn, and harmony.

2 Sweeter songs than poets sing

Thou shalt for thine offering bring;

Softly murmured hymns, that dwell

In devotion’s deepest cell.

3 Know that music’s holiest strain

Loves to linger, loves to reign,

In that calm of quiet thought

Which the passions trouble not.

4 Wouldst thou in thy lonely hour

Praises to the Eternal pour?

Thus thy soul may learn to be

Temple, hymn, and harmony.

1 Open, Lord, mine inward ear,

And bid my heart rejoice;

Bid my quiet spirit hear

The comfort of Thy voice;

Never in the whirlwind found,

Or where earthquakes rock the place,

Still and silent is the sound,

The whisper of Thy grace.

2 From the world of sin, and noise,

And hurry, I withdraw;

For the small and inward voice

I wait with humble awe;

Silent am I now and still,

Will not in Thy presence move;

To my waiting soul reveal

The secret of Thy love!

1 Far from the world, O Lord! I flee,

From strife and tumult far;

From scenes where sin is waging still

Its most successful war.

2 The calm retreat, the silent shade,

With prayer and praise agree;

And seem by Thy sweet bounty made,

For those who follow Thee.

3 There, if Thy presence cheer the soul,

And grace her mean abode,

O, with what peace, and joy, and love,

She communes with her God!

4 There, like the nightingale, she pours

Her solitary lays;

Nor asks a witness of her song,

Nor thirsts for human praise.

5 Author and Guardian of my life,

Sweet source of light divine,

And,—all harmonious names in one,—

My Father! Thou art mine!

1 While Thee I seek, protecting Power!

Be my vain wishes stilled;

And may this consecrated hour

With better hopes be filled.

2 Thy love the powers of thought bestowed;

To Thee my thoughts would soar;

Thy mercy o’er my life has flowed;

That mercy I adore!

3 In each event of life, how clear

Thy ruling hand I see!

Each blessing to my soul more dear,

Because conferred by Thee.

4 In every joy that crowns my days,

In every pain I bear,

My heart shall find delight in praise,

Or seek relief in prayer.

5 When gladness wings my favored hour,

Thy love my thoughts shall fill;

Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,

My soul shall meet Thy will.

6 My lifted eye, without a tear,

The gathering storm shall see;

My steadfast heart shall know no fear;

That heart shall rest on Thee!

1 As, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean,

Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see,

So, deep in my soul, the still prayer of devotion,

Unheard by the world, rises, silent, to Thee,

My God! silent, to Thee,—

Pure, warm, silent, to Thee.

2 As still to the star of its worship, though clouded,

The needle points faithfully o’er the dim sea,

So, dark when I roam, in this wintry world shrouded,

The hope of my spirit turns, trembling, to Thee,

My God! trembling, to Thee,—

True, sure, trembling, to Thee.

1 Go when the morning shineth,

Go when the noon is bright,

Go when the eve declineth,

Go in the hush of night;

Go with pure mind and feeling,

Put earthly thoughts away,

And, in God’s presence kneeling,

Do thou in secret pray.

2 Remember all who love thee,

All who are loved by thee;

Pray, too, for those who hate thee,

If any such there be;

Then for thyself, in meekness,

A blessing humbly claim,

And blend with each petition

Thy great Redeemer’s name.

3 Or, if ’tis e’er denied thee

In solitude to pray,

Should holy thoughts come o’er thee

When friends are round thy way,

E’en then, the silent breathing

Thy spirit lifts above

Will reach His throne of glory,

Where dwells eternal love.

4 O, not a joy or blessing

With this can we compare,—

The grace our Father gives us

To pour our souls in prayer:

Whene’er thou pin’st in sadness,

On Him who saveth, call!

Remember, in thy gladness,

His love who gave thee all.

1 Child, amidst the flowers at play,

While the red light fades away;

Mother, with thine earnest eye,

Ever following silently;

2 Father, by the breeze of eve

Called thy daily toil to leave;

Pray! ere yet the dark hours be,

Lift the heart, and bend the knee!

3 Traveller in the stranger’s land,

Far from thine own household band;

Mourner, haunted by the tone

Of a voice from this world gone;

4 Captive, in whose narrow cell

Sunshine hath not leave to dwell;

Sailor, on the darkening sea,

Lift the heart, and bend the knee!

5 Ye that triumph, ye that sigh,

Kindred by one holy tie,

Heaven’s first star alike ye see;

Lift the heart, and bend the knee!

1 Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

Unuttered or expressed,

The motion of a hidden fire,

That trembles in the breast.

2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh,

The falling of a tear,

The upward glancing of an eye,

When none but God is near.

3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech

That infant lips can try;

Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach

The Majesty on high.

4 Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,

The Christian’s native air,

His watchword at the gates of death;

He enters heaven with prayer.

5 Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice

Returning from his ways;

While angels in their songs rejoice,

And cry, “Behold, he prays!”

6 In prayer, on earth, the saints are one;

They’re one in word and mind;

When with the Father and the Son

Sweet fellowship they find.

7 O Thou by whom we come to God,

The Life, the Truth, the Way,

The path of prayer thyself hast trod;

Lord, teach us how to pray!

1 Prayer is to God the soul’s sure way;

So flows the grace he waits to give;

Long as they live should Christians pray;

They learn to pray when first they live.

2 If pain afflict, or wrongs oppress,

If cares distract, or fears dismay,

If guilt deject, if sin distress,

In every need, still watch and pray.

3 ’Tis prayer supports the soul that’s weak,

Though poor and broken be its word;

Pray if thou canst, or canst not, speak;

The breathings of the soul are heard.

4 Depend on Him; thou shalt prevail;

Make all thy wants and wishes known;

Fear not, His mercy will not fail;

Ask but in faith, it shall be done.

1 Sweet is the prayer whose holy stream

In earnest pleading flows;

Devotion dwells upon the theme,

And warm and warmer glows.

2 Faith grasps the blessing she desires,

Hope points the upward gaze;

And love, untrembling love, inspires

The eloquence of praise.

3 But sweeter far the still, small voice,

Heard by no human ear,

When God hath made the heart rejoice,

And dried the bitter tear.

4 Nor accents flow, nor words ascend;

All utterance faileth there;

But listening spirits comprehend,

And God accepts the prayer.

1 Watchman! tell us of the night,

What its signs of promise are;

Traveller! o’er yon mountain’s height,

See that glory-beaming star!

Watchman! does its beauteous ray

Aught of hope or joy foretell?

Traveller! yes; it brings the day,

Promised day of Israel!

2 Watchman! tell us of the night,

Higher yet the star ascends;

Traveller! blessedness and light,

Peace and truth, its course portends.

Watchman! will its beams alone

Gild the spot that gave them birth?

Traveller! ages are its own;

See, it bursts o’er all the earth.

3 Watchman! tell us of the night,

For the morning seems to dawn;

Traveller! darkness takes its flight;

Doubt and terror are withdrawn.

Watchman! let thy wanderings cease;

Hie thee to thy quiet home;

Traveller! lo! the Prince of Peace,

Lo! the Son of God, is come.

1 A Voice from the desert comes awful and shrill;

The Lord is advancing; prepare ye the way!

The word of Jehovah he comes to fulfil,

And o’er the dark world pour the splendor of day.

2 Bring down the proud mountain, though towering to heaven,

And be the low valley exalted on high;

The rough path and crooked be made smooth and even,

For, Zion! your King, your Redeemer, is nigh.

3 The beams of salvation his progress illume,

The lone, dreary wilderness sings of her God;

The rose and the myrtle there suddenly bloom,

And the olive of peace spreads its branches abroad.

1 Darkness o’er the world was brooding

Sadder than Egyptian gloom;

Souls by myriads lay in slumber

Deep as of the sealed tomb.

2 Earth had lost the links which bound it

To the throne of light above;

Yet an eye was watching o’er it,

And that eye was full of love.

3 Like a glorious beam of morning,

Straight a ray pierced through the cloud,

Spirits mightily awakening

From their dark and heavy shroud.

4 Still that ray shines on and brightens,

Chasing mist and gloom away;

Happy they on whom it gathers

With its full and perfect day!

1 While shepherds watched their flocks by night,

All seated on the ground,

The angel of the Lord came down,

And glory shone around.

2 “Fear not,” said he,—for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled mind,—

“Glad tidings of great joy I bring

To you and all mankind.

3 “To you, in David’s town, this day

Is born, of David’s line,

The Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;

And this shall be the sign:

4 “The heavenly babe you there shall find

To human view displayed,

All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,

And in a manger laid.”

5 Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith

Appeared a shining throng

Of angels, praising God, who thus

Address their joyful song:

6 “All glory be to God on high,

And to the earth be peace!

Good-will henceforth, from heaven to men,

Begin and never cease!”

1 Calm on the listening ear of night

Come heaven’s melodious strains,

Where wild Judea stretches far

Her silver-mantled plains!

2 Celestial choirs from courts above

Shed sacred glories there;

And angels, with their sparkling lyres,

Make music on the air.

3 The answering hills of Palestine

Send back the glad reply;

And greet, from all their holy heights,

The dayspring from on high.

4 O’er the blue depths of Galilee

There comes a holier calm,

And Sharon waves, in solemn praise,

Her silent groves of palm.

5 “Glory to God!” the sounding skies

Loud with their anthems ring,

“Peace to the earth, good-will to men

From heaven’s Eternal King!”

6 Light on thy hills, Jerusalem!

The Saviour now is born!

And bright on Bethlehem’s joyous plains

Breaks the first Christmas morn.

1 O Lovely Voices of the sky,

Which hymned the Saviour’s birth,

Are ye not singing still on high,

Ye that sang, “Peace on earth”?

To us yet speak the strains,

Wherewith, in time gone by,

Ye blessed the Syrian swains,—

O Voices of the sky!

2 O clear and shining Light, whose beams,

That hour, heaven’s glory shed

Around the palms, and o’er the streams,

And on the shepherds’ head!

Be near, through life and death,

As in that holiest night

Of hope, and joy, and faith;

O clear and shining Light!

3 O Star which led to Him whose love

Brought down man’s ransom free!

Where art thou?—’midst the host above

May we still gaze on thee?

In heaven thou art not set,

Thy rays earth may not dim;

Send them to guide us yet,

O Star which led to Him!

1 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,

Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid!

Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!

2 Say, shall we yield him, in costly devotion,

Odors of Edom, and offerings divine?

Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,

Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

3 Vainly we offer each costly oblation;

Vainly with gifts would his favor secure:

Richer by far is the heart’s adoration;

Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

4 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,

Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid!

Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

1 Hark! the glad sound! the Saviour comes,

The Saviour promised long;

Let every heart prepare a home,

And every voice a song.

2 On him the Spirit, largely poured,

Abides with holy fire;

Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,

His sacred breast inspire.

3 He comes the prisoners to release,

In wretched bondage held;

The gates of brass before him burst,

The iron fetters yield.

4 He comes, the broken heart to bind,

The bleeding soul to cure,

And, with the treasures of his grace,

Enrich the humble poor.

5 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace!

Thy welcome shall proclaim;

And heaven’s eternal arches ring

With thy beloved name.

1 Joy to the world! the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare him room,

And heaven and nature sing.

2 Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains

Repeat the sounding joy.

3 No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow

As far as sin is found.

4 He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness,

And wonders of his love.

1 Sons of men, behold from far,

Hail the long-expected Star!

Star of truth, that, ’mid the night,

Guides bewildered man aright.

2 Mild it shines on all beneath,

Piercing through the shades of death,

Scattering error’s wide-spread night,

Kindling darkness into light.

3 Nations all, remote and near,

Haste to see your Lord appear;

Haste, for him your hearts prepare,

Meet him manifested there!

4 There behold the dayspring rise,

Pouring light on mortal eyes;

See it chase the shades away,

Shining to the perfect day.

1 Behold, the Prince of Peace,

The chosen of the Lord,

God’s well beloved Son, fulfils

The sure prophetic word!

2 No royal pomp adorns

This King of Righteousness;

Meekness and patience, truth and love,

Compose his princely dress.

3 The Spirit of the Lord,

In rich abundance shed,

On this great prophet gently lights,

And rests upon his head.

4 Jesus, the light of men!

His doctrine life imparts;

O, may we feel its quickening power

To warm and glad our hearts!

5 Cheered by its beams, our souls

Shall run the heavenly way;

The path which Christ has marked and trod

Will lead to endless day.

1 As oft, with worn and weary feet,

We tread earth’s rugged pathway o’er,

The thought how comforting and sweet,—

Christ trod this very path before;

Our wants, our weaknesses, he knows,

From life’s first dawning to its close.

2 If we, beneath temptation’s stress,

Do fight against dark powers within,

So, in Judea’s wilderness,

Christ wrestled with the thoughts of sin,

When, in a weary, lonely hour,

The tempter came with all his power.

3 So, tried as I, this earth he trod,

Knew every human ill but sin,

And though the holiest Son of God,

As I am now so hath he been;

Jesus, my Saviour! look on me;

For help and strength I turn to thee!

1 Holy Son of God most high!

Clothed in heavenly majesty,

Many a miracle and sign,

In thy Father’s name divine,

Manifested forth thy might

In the chosen people’s sight.

2 But, O Saviour! not alone

Thus thy glory was made known;

With the mourner thou didst grieve,

Every human want relieve;

Far thy matchless power above

Stands the witness of thy love.

3 Thou, who by the open grave,

Ere thy voice was raised to save,

Didst with those fond sisters shed

Tears above the faithful dead;

Even thy word of might appears

Less resistless than thy tears.

4 Lord! it is not ours to gaze

On thy works of ancient days;

But thy love, unchanged and bright,

More than all those works of might,

More than miracle or sign,

Makes us ever, ever thine.

1 Fear was within the tossing bark,

When stormy winds grew loud;

And waves came rolling high and dark,

And the tall mast was bowed.

2 But the wind ceased,—it ceased,—a word

Passed through the gloomy sky;

The troubled billows knew their Lord,

And sank beneath his eye.

3 And slumber settled on the deep,

And silence on the blast;

They sank as flowers that fold to sleep

When sultry day is past.

4 O Thou that in its wildest hour

Didst rule the tempest’s mood,

Send now thy Spirit forth in power

O’er our dark souls to brood!

5 Thou that didst bow the billows’ pride,

Thy mandate to fulfil,

Speak, speak to passion’s raging tide,

Speak, and say, “Peace, be still!”

1 The aged sufferer waited long

Upon Bethesda’s brink;

Till hopes, once rising warm and strong,

Began in fears to sink;

And heavy were the sighs he drew,

And fervent was his prayer,

For he, with safety full in view,

Still languished helpless there.

2 His hope grew dim; but one was nigh

Who saw the sufferer’s grief;

That gentle voice, that pitying eye,

Gave promise of relief.

Each pang that human weakness knows

Obeyed that powerful word;

He spake, and lo! the sick arose,

Rejoicing in his Lord.

3 Father of Jesus, when oppressed

With grief and pain we lie,

And, longing for Thy heavenly rest,

Despair to look on high,

O, may the Saviour’s words of peace

Within the wounded heart

Bid every doubt and suffering cease,

And strength and joy impart!

1 Lord, in whose might the Saviour trod

The dark and stormy wave,

And trusted in his Father’s arm,

Omnipotent to save;

2 When darkly round our footsteps rise

The floods and storms of life,

Send Thou Thy Spirit down to still

The dark and fearful strife.

3 Strong in our trust, on Thee reposed,

The ocean-path we’ll dare,

Though waves around us rage and foam,

Since Thou art present there.

1 He was there alone, when even

Had round earth its mantle thrown,

Holding intercourse with heaven:

He was there alone.

2 There his inmost heart’s emotion

Made he to his Father known;

In the spirit of devotion

Musing there alone.

3 So let us, from earth retiring,

Seek our God and Father’s throne;

And, to other scenes aspiring,

Train our hearts, alone.

1 How sweetly flowed the gospel’s sound

From lips of gentleness and grace,

When listening thousands gathered round,

And joy and reverence filled the place.

2 From heaven he came, of heaven he spoke,

To heaven he led his followers’ way;

Dark clouds of gloomy night he broke,

Unveiling an immortal day.

3 “Come wanderers, to my Father’s home,

Come, all ye weary ones, and rest!”

Yes, sacred Teacher, we will come,

Obey thee, love thee, and be blest.

4 Decay, then, tenements of dust!

Pillars of earthly pride, decay!

A nobler mansion waits the just,

And Jesus has prepared the way.

1 Ever patient, loving, meek,

Holy Saviour, was thy mind;

Vainly in myself I seek

Likeness to my Lord to find;

Yet the mind that was in thee

May be, must be, formed in me.

2 Since such griefs were thine to bear,

For each sufferer thou couldst feel,

Every mourner’s burden share,

Every wounded spirit heal.

Saviour, let thy grace in me

Form that mind which was in thee.

3 When my pain is most intense,

Let thy cross my lesson prove;

Let me hear thee even thence;

Breathing words of peace and love;

Thus thy grace shall form in me

The same mind which was in thee.

1 Come, said Jesus’ sacred voice,

Come and make my paths your choice;

I will guide you to your home;

Weary pilgrim! hither come.

2 Thou who, houseless, sole, forlorn,

Long hast borne the proud world’s scorn,

Long hast roamed the barren waste,

Weary pilgrim! hither haste.

3 Ye who, tossed on beds of pain,

Seek for ease, and seek in vain;

Ye whose swoln and sleepless eyes

Watch to see the morning rise;

4 Ye, by fiercer anguish torn,

In remorse for guilt who mourn,

Here repose your heavy care;

Who the stings of sin can bear?

5 Sufferer! come, for here is found

Balm that flows for every wound;

Peace that ever shall endure,

Rest eternal, sacred, sure.

1 O, not to crush with abject fear

The burdened soul of man

Did Jesus on the earth appear,

And open heaven’s high plan:

He came to bid him find repose,

And God his Father know;

And thus with love to raise up those

That once were bowed low.

2 O, not in coldness nor in pride

His holy path he trod;

’Twas his delight to turn aside

And win the lost to God;

And unto sorrowing guilt disclose

The fount whence peace should flow;

And thus with love to raise up those

That once were bowed low.

3 O, not with cold, unfeeling eye

Did he the suffering view;

Not on the other side pass by,

And deem their tears untrue;

’Twas joy to him to heal their woes,

And heaven’s sweet refuge show;

And thus with love to raise up those

That once were bowed low.

1 “See how he loved!” exclaimed the Jews,

When Jesus o’er his Lazarus wept;

My grateful heart the words shall use,

While on his life my eye is kept.

2 See how he loved, who travelled on,

Teaching the doctrine from the skies;

Who bade disease and pain be gone,

And called the sleeping dead to rise.

3 See how he loved, who, firm yet mild,

With patience bore the scoffing tongue;

Though oft provoked, yet ne’er reviled,

Nor did his greatest foe a wrong.

4 See how he loved, who never shrank

From toil or danger, pain or death;

Who all the cup of sorrow drank,

And meekly yielded up his breath.

1 How beauteous were the marks divine,

That in thy meekness used to shine,

That lit thy lonely pathway, trod

In wondrous love, O Son of God!

2 O, who like thee,—so calm, so bright,

So pure, so made to live in light?

O, who like thee did ever go

So patient through a world of woe?

3 O, who like thee so humbly bore

The scorn, the scoffs, of men before?

So meek, forgiving, godlike, high,

So glorious in humility?

4 The bending angels stooped to see

The lisping infant clasp thy knee,

And smile, as in a father’s eye,

Upon thy mild divinity.

5 And death, which sets the prisoner free,

Was pang and scoff and scorn to thee;

Yet love through all thy torture glowed,

And mercy with thy life-blood flowed.

6 O, in thy light be mine to go,

Illuming all my way of woe;

And give me ever on the road

To trace thy footsteps, Son of God!

1 He lived as none but he has lived,

That wisest Teacher from above;

He died as none but he has died,—

His every act an act of love.

2 His fervent piety was breathed

To the lone waste, the desert hill;

And in the haunts of men he sought

To do his Heavenly Father’s will.

3 He preached the gospel to the poor,

Beside the couch of anguish stood,

Consoled the sufferer, healed the sick,

And went about still doing good.

4 With sinners he conversed, and gave

Peace to the weary, troubled mind;

Yet free from stain till life’s last hour,

In him his foes no fault could find.

5 Born ’midst the humblest sons of earth,

All earth’s temptations he withstood;

And yet all human praise renounced,

Declaring God alone is good.

1 Birds have their quiet nest,

Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed;

All creatures have their rest,

But Jesus had not where to lay his head.

2 And yet he came to give

The weary and the heavy-laden rest;

To bid the sinner live,

And soothe our griefs to slumber on his breast.

3 Let the birds seek their nest,

Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed;

Come, Saviour, in my breast

Come and repose thine oft rejected head!

4 Come! give me rest, and take

The only rest on earth thou lov’st, within

A heart that for thy sake

Shall purify itself from every sin.

1 On the dark-wave of Galilee

The gloom of twilight gathers fast;

And o’er the waters heavily

Sweeps cold and drear the evening blast.

2 Still near the lake, with weary tread,

Lingers a form of human kind;

And on his lone, unsheltered head,

Flows the chill night-damp of the wind.

3 Why seeks he not a home of rest?

Why seeks he not the pillowed bed?

Beasts have their dens, the bird his nest;—

He hath not where to lay his head.

4 Such was the lot he freely chose,

To bless, to save, the human race;

And through his poverty there flows

A rich, full stream of heavenly grace.

1 Dark were the paths our Master trod,

Yet never failed his trust in God;

Cruel and fierce the wrongs he bore,

Yet he but felt for man the more.

2 Unto the cross in faith he went,

His Father’s willing instrument;

Upon the cross his prayer arose

In pity for his ruthless foes.

3 O, may we all his kindred be,

By holy love and sympathy;

Still loving man through every ill,

And trusting in our Father’s will!

1 O suffering Friend of human kind!

How, as the fatal hour drew near,

Came thronging on thy holy mind

The images of grief and fear.

2 Gethsemane’s sad midnight scene,

The faithless friends, the exulting foes,

The thorny crown, the insult keen,

The scourge, the cross, before thee rose.

3 Did not thy spirit shrink dismayed,

As the dark vision o’er it came;

And though in sinless strength arrayed,

Turn, shuddering, from the death of shame?

4 Onward, like thee, through scorn and dread,

May we our Father’s call obey,

Steadfast thy path of duty tread,

And rise, through death, to endless day.

1 “Father divine!” the Saviour cried,

While horrors pressed on every side,

And prostrate on the ground he lay,

“Remove this bitter cup away.

2 “But if these pangs must still be borne,

Or helpless man be left forlorn,

I bow my soul before thy throne,

And say,—Thy will, not mine, be done!”

3 Thus our submissive souls would bow,

And, taught by Jesus, lie as low;

Our hearts, and not our lips alone,

Would say,—Thy will, not ours, be done!

1 A voice upon the midnight air,

Where Kedron’s moonlit waters stray,

Weeps forth in agony of prayer,

“O Father, take this cup away!”

2 Ah, thou who sorrow’st unto death,

We conquer in thy mortal fray;

And earth for all her children saith,

“O God, take not this cup away!”

3 O Lord of sorrow, meekly die;

Thou’lt heal or hallow all our woe;

Thy peace shall still the mourner’s sigh;

Thy strength shall raise the faint and low.

4 Great chief of faithful souls, arise;

None else can lead the martyr band,

Who teach the soul how peril flies,

When faith, unarmed, uplifts the hand.

5 O King of earth, the cross ascend;

O’er climes and ages ’tis thy throne;

Where’er thy fading eye may bend,

The desert blooms and is thine own.

4 Thy parting blessing, Lord, we pray;

Make but one fold below, above;

And when we go the last, lone way,

O, give the welcome of thy love.

1 He knelt; the Saviour knelt and prayed,

When but his Father’s eye

Looked, through the lonely garden’s shade,

On that dread agony;

He poured in prayer his suppliant breath,

Bowed down with sorrow unto death.

2 The sun went down in fearful hour;

The heavens might well grow dim,

When this mortality had power

Thus to o’ershadow him;

That he who came to save might know

The very depths of human woe.

3 He knew them all,—the doubt, the strife,

The faint, perplexing dread;

The mists that hang o’er parting life

All darkened round his head;

And the Deliverer knelt to pray;

Yet passed it not, that cup, away.

4 It passed not, though the stormy wave

Had sunk beneath his tread;

It passed not, though to him the grave

Had yielded up its dead;

But there was sent him, from on high,

A gift of strength, for man to die.

5 And was his mortal hour beset

With anguish and dismay?

How may we meet our conflict yet

In the dark, narrow way?

How, but through him that path who trod?

Save, or we perish, Son of God!

1 Burden of shame and woe!

How does the heart o’erflow

At thought of him the bitter cross who bore!

But we have each our own,

To others oft unknown,

Which we must bear till life shall be no more.

2 And shall we fear to tread

The path where Jesus led,

The pure and holy one, for man who died?

Or shall we shrink from shame,

Endured for Jesus’ name,

Our glorious Lord, once spurned and crucified?

3 Then, ’mid the woes that wait

On this our mortal state,

Patience shall cheer affliction, toil, and loss,

And though the tempter’s art

Assail the struggling heart,

Still, Saviour! in thy name we bear the cross.

1 In the Saviour’s hour of death,

Bound upon the cross of fear,

While his quick and struggling breath

Spoke the fatal moment near,

While his proud, triumphant foes

Mocked the sufferings that he bore,

Then his loving spirit rose

More sublime than e’er before.

2 He has taught us to forgive,

By his words in days gone by;

He has taught us how to live;

Can he teach us how to die?

Listen! as the cross they raise,

One brief prayer ascends to heaven;

For his murderers he prays,—

Father, may they be forgiven!

1 Jews were wrought to cruel madness,

Christians fled in fear and sadness,

Mary stood the cross beside.

2 At its foot her foot she planted,

By the dreadful scene undaunted,

Till the gentle sufferer died.

3 Poets oft have sung her story;

Painters decked her brow with glory;

Priests her name have deified;

4 But no worship, song, or glory,

Touches like that simple story,—

“Mary stood the cross beside.”

5 And when under fierce oppression

Goodness suffers like transgression,

Christ again is crucified.

6 But if love be there, true-hearted,

By no grief or terror parted,

Mary stands the cross beside.

1 It is finished! glorious word

From thy lips, our suffering Lord!

Words of high, triumphant might,

Ere thy spirit takes its flight.

It is finished! all is o’er;

Pain and scorn oppress no more.

2 Now, no more foreboding dread

Shades the path thy feet must tread;

No more fear, lest in thine hour

Pain should patience overpower;

On the perfect sacrifice

Not a stain of weakness lies.

3 Champion! lay thine armor by;

’Tis thine hour of victory!

All thy toils are now o’erpast;

Thou hast found thy rest at last;

All hath faithfully been done,

And the world’s salvation won.

1 Lift your glad voices in triumph on high,

For Jesus hath risen, and man cannot die.

Vain were the terrors that gathered around him,

And short the dominion of death and the grave;

He burst from the fetters of darkness that bound him,

Resplendent in glory, to live and to save.

Loud was the chorus of angels on high,—

“The Saviour hath risen, and man shall not die.”

2 Glory to God, in full anthems of joy;

The being he gave us death cannot destroy.

Sad were the life we must part with to-morrow,

If tears were our birthright, and death were our end;

But Jesus hath cheered the dark valley of sorrow,

And bade us, immortal, to heaven ascend.

Lift, then, your voices in triumph on high,

For Jesus hath risen, and man shall not die.

1 On earth was darkness spread,

One boundless night;

“Let there be light,” God said,—

And there was light!

2 There hung a deeper gloom

O’er quick and dead,

But Jesus burst the tomb,

And darkness fled.

3 God by His word arrayed

Darkness with light;

God by His Son displayed

Day without night.

4 For thee, O man, arose

Creation’s ray;

For thee, too, brighter glows

Salvation’s day.

5 The beams first poured on earth

For mortals shone;

The light of later birth

Immortals own.

1 According to thy gracious word,

In meek humility,

This will I do, my dying Lord,

I will remember thee.

2 Thy body, broken for my sake,

My bread from heaven shall be;

Thy testamental cup I take,

And thus remember thee.

3 Gethsemane can I forget?

Or there thy conflict see,

Thine agony and bloody sweat,

And not remember thee?

4 When to the cross I turn mine eyes,

And rest on Calvary,

O Lamb of God, my sacrifice!

I must remember thee;—

5 Remember thee, and all thy pains,

And all thy love to me;

Yea, while a breath, a pulse, remains,

Will I remember thee.

1 O Thou, who in the garden’s shade

Didst wake thy weary ones again,

Who slumbered at that fearful hour,

Forgetful of thy pain,—

2 Bend o’er us now, as over them,

And set our sleep-bound spirits free,

Nor leave us slumbering in the watch

Our souls should keep with thee!

1 “It is finished!” Man of sorrows!

From thy cross our frailty borrows

Strength to bear and conquer thus.

2 While extended there we view thee,

Mighty Sufferer! draw us to thee;

Sufferer victorious!

3 Not in vain for us uplifted,

Man of sorrows, wonder-gifted!

May that sacred emblem be;

4 Lifted high amid the ages,

Guide of heroes, saints, and sages,

May it guide us still to thee!

5 Still to thee! whose love unbounded

Sorrow’s depths for us has sounded,

Perfected by conflicts sore.

6 Honored be thy cross forever;

Star, that points our high endeavor

Whither thou hast gone before!

1 It was no path of flowers,

Which, through this world of ours,

Beloved of the Father, thou didst tread;

And shall we in dismay

Shrink from the narrow way,

When clouds and darkness are around it spread?

2 O thou, who art our life,

Be with us through the strife;

Thy holy head by earth’s fierce storms was bowed;

Raise thou our eyes above,

To see a Father’s love

Beam, like a bow of promise, through the cloud.

3 And, O, if thoughts of gloom

Should hover o’er the tomb,

That light of love our guiding star shall be;

Our spirits shall not dread

The shadowy way to tread,

Friend, Guardian, Saviour, which doth lead to thee.

1 Go to dark Gethsemane,

Ye that feel temptation’s power,

Your Redeemer’s conflict see,

Watch with him one bitter hour;

Turn not from his griefs away,

Learn of Jesus Christ to pray!

2 Follow to the judgment-hall,

View the Lord of life arraigned;

O the wormwood and the gall!

O the griefs his soul sustained!

Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;

Learn of him to bear the cross!

3 Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;

There, admiring at his feet,

Mark that miracle of time,

Love’s own sacrifice complete;

“It is finished,” hear him cry;

Learn of Jesus Christ to die!

1 When my love to Christ grows weak,

When for deeper faith I seek,

Then in thought I go to thee,

Garden of Gethsemane!

2 There I walk amid the shades,

While the lingering twilight fades,

See that suffering, friendless One

Weeping, praying there alone.

3 When my love for Christ grows weak,

When for stronger faith I seek,

Hill of Calvary! I go

To thy scenes of fear and woe;—

4 There behold his agony,

Suffered on the bitter tree;

See his anguish, see his faith;

Love triumphant still in death.

5 Then to life I turn again,

Learning all the worth of pain,

Learning all the might that lies

In a full self-sacrifice.

1 In the cross of Christ we glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

2 When the woes of life overtake us,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy;

Never shall the cross forsake us,

Lo! it glows with peace and joy!

3 When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon our way;

From the cross the radiance streaming

Adds more lustre to the day.

4 Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

5 In the cross of Christ we glory,

Towering o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers round its head sublime.

1 If love, the noblest, purest, best,

If truth, all other truth above,

May claim return from every breast,

O, surely Jesus claims our love!

2 There’s not a hope with comfort fraught,

Triumphant over death and time,

But Jesus mingles in that thought,

Forerunner of our course sublime.

3 His image meets us in the hour

Of joy, and brightens every smile;

We see him, when the tempests lower,

Each terror soothe, each grief beguile.

4 We see him in the daily round

Of social duty, mild and meek;

With him we tread the hallowed ground,

Communion with our God to seek.

5 We see his pitying, gentle eye,

When lonely want appeals for aid;

We hear him in the frequent sigh,

That mourns the waste that sin has made.

6 We meet him at the lowly tomb,

And weep where Jesus wept before;

And there, above the grave’s dark gloom,

We see him rise,—and weep no more.

1 My dear Redeemer, and my Lord,

I read my duty in thy word;

But in thy life the law appears

Drawn out in living characters.

2 Such was thy truth, and such thy zeal,

Such deference to thy Father’s will,

Such love, and meekness so divine,

I would transcribe, and make them mine.

3 Cold mountains, and the midnight air,

Witnessed the fervor of thy prayer;

The desert thy temptations knew,

Thy conflict, and thy victory too.

4 Be thou my pattern; may I bear

More of thy gracious image here;

And, by the paths which thou hast trod,

Press on to holiness and God.

1 When arise the thoughts of sin,

When the world our hearts would win,

When, to selfish pleasure given,

Droops the love that blooms for heaven;

Lord, we would remember thee,—

Thou wilt our Redeemer be.

2 When, with footsteps faint and slow,

Duty’s upward path we go;

When, by toils and hardship pressed,

Round we turn to look for rest;

Lord, we would remember thee,

Thou our Guide and Strength wilt be.

3 When the way grows dark and drear,

When, beset by doubt and fear,

We can see no beam of light

Struggling through the thickening night;

Lord, we would remember thee,

Thou our Comforter wilt be.

1 In vain we thus recall to mind

The cross our Master bore,

Unless a holier strength we find,

And love his spirit more.

2 May we, like him, though thanked with ill;

Insulted, and withstood,

In hope and patience labor still

To do our brethren good.

3 Like him may we, unmurmuring, go

Our heaven-appointed way,

And learn, ’midst gathering storms of woe,

“God’s will be done!” to say.

1 O, What though our feet may not tread where Christ trod,

Nor our ears hear the dashing of Galilee’s flood,

Nor our eyes see the cross that he bowed him to bear,

Nor our knees press Gethsemane’s garden of prayer!

2 Yet, Loved of the Father! thy spirit is near

To the meek and the lowly and penitent here;

And the voice of thy love is the same, even now,

As at Bethany’s tomb, or on Olivet’s brow.

3 O, the Outward has gone, but in glory and power

The Spirit surviveth the things of an hour;

Unchanged, undecaying, its Pentecost flame

On the heart’s secret altar is burning, the same.

1 “O, Not for these alone I pray,”

The dying Saviour said;

Though on his breast that moment lay

The loved disciple’s head;

2 Though to his eye that moment sprung

The kind, the pitying tear

For those that eager round him hung,

His words of love to hear.

3 No, not for them alone he prayed;—

For all of mortal race,

Whene’er their fervent prayer is made,

Where’er their dwelling-place.

4 Sweet is the thought, when here we meet,

His feast of love to share;

And, ’mid the toils of life, how sweet

The memory of his prayer!

1 Not in this simple rite alone

May Calvary’s cross to us be shown;

But may we turn, in many an hour,

To feel its soul-constraining power.

2 When indolence would have its will,

And selfish ease would keep us still,

Then to the Saviour may we look,

And meet his eye’s serene rebuke.

3 When men have done us cruel wrong,

And angry thoughts are rising strong,

May we with softened hearts turn there,

And learn the Lord’s forgiving prayer.

4 When sin looks tempting in our eyes,

May Jesus on the cross arise,

And ask if we will him forsake,

And wear the chains he died to break.

5 When pain, or sickness, or distress,

Our fainting souls would overpress,

To him on Calvary looking still,

May we find strength to bear God’s will.

1 Bread of heaven, on thee we feed,

For thy flesh is meat indeed;

Ever let our souls be fed

With this true and living bread.

2 Vine of heaven, thy blood supplies

This blest cup of sacrifice;

Lord, thy wounds our healing give;

To thy cross we look and live.

3 Day by day with strength supplied,

Through the life of him who died,

Lord of life, O, let us be

Rooted, grafted, built on thee!

1 When, blest Redeemer, thou art near,

The soul enjoys a sacred peace:

Thy presence calms our every fear,

And gives from every doubt release.

2 Be with us now, in truth and love,

In strength that conquers every sin;

O, cleanse, and bless, and lift above,

And may thy cross our hearts still win.

3 In suffering may we strength receive

From memory of thy victory won;

In doubt our drooping hopes revive;—

Thus be thy presence with us shown!

4 Be ever near our spirits, Lord;

And, drawn by sympathy, may we

Still, through thy cross, thy life, thy word,

In faith and love come near to thee!

1 Not in the name of pride

Or selfishness we’re met;

From worldly paths we turn aside,

And worldly thoughts forget.

2 Jesus, we look to thee,

Thy promised presence claim!

Thou in the midst of us shalt be,

Assembled in thy name.

3 Present we know thou art;

But, O, thyself reveal!

Now, Lord, let every bounding heart

Thy peace and gladness feel!

4 O, may thy quickening voice

The death of sin remove;

And bid our inmost souls rejoice

In hope of perfect love!

1 O Thou great Friend to all the sons of men,

Who once appeared in humblest guise below,

Sin to rebuke, to break the captive’s chain,

And call thy brethren forth from want and woe;

2 We look to thee! thy truth is still the Light,

Which guides the nations, groping on their way,

Stumbling and falling in disastrous night,

Yet hoping ever for the perfect day.

3 Yes! thou art still the Life; thou art the way

The holiest know;—Light, Life, and Way of heaven!

And they who dearest hope, and deepest pray,

Toil by the light, life, way, which thou hast given.

1 A Holy air is breathing round,

A fragrance from above;

Be every soul from sense unbound,

Be every spirit love.

2 O God, unite us heart to heart,

In sympathy divine,

That we be never drawn apart,

And love not Thee nor Thine;

3 But, by the cross of Jesus taught,

And all Thy gracious word,

Be nearer to each other brought,

And nearer to the Lord.

1 O, here, if ever, God of love!

Let strife and hatred cease;

And every thought harmonious move,

And every heart be peace.

2 Not here, where met to think of him

Whose latest thoughts were ours,

Shall mortal passions come to dim

The prayer devotion pours.

3 No, gracious Master, not in vain

Thy life of love hath been;

The peace thou gav’st may yet remain,

Though thou no more art seen.

4 Thy kingdom come! we watch, we wait,

To hear thy cheering call;

When heaven shall ope its glorious gate,

And God be all in all.

1 “Come who will,” the voice from heaven,

Like a silver trumpet, calls;

“Come who will,”—the church hath given

Back the echo from its walls.

2 Come, to rivers ever flowing

From the high, eternal throne;

Come, where God, his gifts bestowing,

In the church on earth is known.

3 Heavenly music! he who listens,

Longing for his spirit’s home,

While his eye with rapture glistens,

Yearning says,—“I come, I come!”

1 Come unto me, when shadows darkly gather,

When the sad heart is weary and distrest,

Seeking for comfort from your Heavenly Father,

Come unto me, and I will give you rest!

2 Ye who have mourned when the spring-flowers were taken,

When the ripe fruit fell richly to the ground,

When the loved slept, in brighter homes to waken,

Where their pale brows with spirit-wreaths are crowned;

3 Large are the mansions in thy Father’s dwelling,

Glad are the homes that sorrows never dim;

Sweet are the harps in holy music swelling,

Soft are the tones which raise the heavenly hymn;

4 There, like an Eden blossoming in gladness,

Bloom the fair flowers the earth too rudely pressed;

Come unto me, all ye who droop in sadness,

Come unto me, and I will give you rest.

1 Come to Jesus, O my brothers,

Come in this accepted hour;

Jesus ready stands to save you,

Full of pity, love, and power;

He is able,

He is willing,—doubt no more.

2 Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness he requireth

Is to feel your need of him;

This he gives you,—

’Tis the spirit’s struggling beam.

3 Come, ye weary, heavy laden;

Wait not,—’tis your Saviour’s call;

If you tarry till you’re better,

You will never come at all.

Not the righteous,

Sinners, Jesus came to call.

1 Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;

Come, at the shrine of God fervently kneel!

Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

2 Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,

Hope, when all others die, fadeless and pure,

Here speaks the Comforter, in God’s name saying,

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.

3 Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing

Forth from the throne of God, living and pure;

Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.

1 Through thee as we together came,

In singleness of heart,

And met, O Jesus! in thy name,

So in thy name we part.

2 Nearer to thee our spirits lead,

And still thy love bestow,

Till thou hast made us free indeed,

And spotless, here below.

3 When to the right or left we stray,

Leave us not comfortless,

But guide our feet into the way

Of everlasting peace.

1 The peace which God bestows

Through him who died and rose,

The peace the Father giveth through the Son,

Be known in every mind,

The broken heart to bind,

And bless each traveller as he journeys on.

2 Ye who have known to weep,

Where your beloved sleep;

Ye who have raised the deep, the bitter cry—

God’s blessing be as balm,

The fevered heart to calm,

And wondrous peace the troubled mind supply.

3 Ere daily strifes begin

The war without, within,

The God of love, with spirit and with power,

Now on each bended head

His deepest blessing shed,

And keep us all through every troubled hour.

1 Forth went the heralds of the cross,

No dangers made them pause;

They counted all the world but loss,

For their great Master’s cause.

2 Through looks of fire, and words of scorn,

Serene their path they trod;

And to the dreary dungeon borne,

Sang praises unto God.

3 Friends dropped the hand they clasped before,

Love changed to cruel hate;

And home to them was home no more;

Yet mourned they not their fate.

4 In all his dark and dread array,

Death rose upon their sight;

But calmly still they kept their way,

And shrank not from the fight.

5 They knew to whom their trust was given,

They could not doubt His word;

Before them beamed the light of heaven,

The presence of their Lord.

6 O, may a faith as true be ours,

And shed as pure a light

Of peace across the darkest hours,

And make the last one bright!

1 Thanks to God for those who came

In the Saviour’s glorious name;

Who upon the green earth trod

But to teach the truth of God.

2 For the great Apostles, first,

Who from life’s endearments burst,

Going from the Cross, and then

Leading to the Cross again:

3 For the next, who meekly poured

Willing blood to serve the Lord;

Fearless bore the racks of pain,

Felon’s death, or captive’s chain;

4 And for all, from shore to shore,

Who the blessed tidings bore;

All who wrought for liberty

When ’twas treason to be free.

5 Ye, who now, in better days,

Live to spread your Maker’s praise,

Shedding, each man’s home around,

Light that consecrates the ground;

6 Teachers of the word of light,

Go forth in your Master’s might!

Speed your embassy where’er

Life has grief, or death has fear!

1 For all Thy saints, O God,

Who strove in Christ to live,

Who followed him, obeyed, adored,

Our grateful hymn receive.

2 For all Thy saints, O God,

Accept our thankful cry,

Who counted Christ their great reward,

And yearned for him to die.

3 They all, in life and death,

With him, their Lord, in view,

Learned from Thy holy spirit’s breath

To suffer and to do.

4 For this Thy name we bless,

And humbly pray that we

May follow them in holiness,

And live and die in Thee.

1 God of the prophets’ power!

God of the gospel’s sound!

Move glorious on,—send out Thy voice

To all the nations round.

2 With hearts and lips unfeigned,

We bless Thee for Thy word;

We praise Thee for the joyful news

Of our ascended Lord.

3 O, may we treasure well

The counsels that we hear,

Till righteousness and solemn joy

In all our hearts appear.

4 Water the sacred seed,

And give it large increase;

May neither fowls, nor rocks, nor thorns,

Prevent the fruits of peace.

5 And though we sow in tears,

Our souls at last shall come,

And gather in our sheaves with joy,

At heaven’s great harvest-home.

1 Mark the soft falling snow

And the diffusive rain!

To heaven, from whence it fell,

It turns not back again;

Till, watering earth

Through every pore,

It calls forth all

Her secret store.

2 Arrayed in beauteous green,

The hills and valleys shine,

And man and beast are fed

By providence divine:

The harvest bows

Its golden ears,

The copious seed

Of future years.

3 “So,” saith the God of grace,

“My gospel shall descend,

Almighty to effect

The purpose I intend;

Millions of souls

Shall feel its power,

And bear it down

To millions more.”

1 Behold the sun, how bright

From yonder east he springs,

As if the soul of life and light

Were breathing from his wings.

2 So bright the gospel broke

Upon the souls of men;

So fresh the dreaming world awoke

In truth’s full radiance then.

3 Before yon sun arose,

Stars clustered through the sky;

But, O, how dim, how pale, were those,

To his one burning eye!

4 So truth lent many a ray,

To bless the Pagan’s night;

But, Lord, how faint, how cold, were they,

To Thy one glorious light!

1 “Thy kingdom come!” The heathen lands,

In error sunk, Thy presence crave;

And victims bound by tyrant hands

Implore Thee, Father, come and save!

2 “Thy kingdom come!” Each troubled mind

In doubt and darkness calls for Thee;

For Thou hast eyes to give the blind,

And strength to set the captive free.

3 Thy reign of peace and love begin!

Too oft the Christian’s sacred name

Is stained by wrath and shamed by sin;

O, come, assert the gospel’s claim!

4 O, never in that righteous cause

Our hearts be slow, our voices dumb;

Upon the glorious theme we pause,

And fervent pray, “Thy kingdom come!”

1 O God! the darkness roll away

Which clouds the human soul,

And let the bright, the perfect day,

Speed onward to its goal.

2 Let every hateful passion die,

Which makes of brethren foes;

And war no longer raise its cry,

To mar the world’s repose.

3 Let faith, and hope, and charity,

Go forth through all the earth;

And man, in heavenly bearing, be

True to his heavenly birth.

4 Yea, let Thy glorious kingdom come

Of holiness and love,

And make this world a portal meet

For Thy bright courts above.

1 Lord Jesus, come! for here

Our path through wilds is laid;

We watch, as for the dayspring near,

Amid the breaking shade.

2 Lord Jesus, come! for hosts

Meet on the battle-plain;

Our holiest hopes seem vainest boasts,

And tears are shed like rain.

3 Lord Jesus, come! the slave

Still bears his heavy chains;

Their daily bread the hungry crave,

While teem the fruitful plains.

4 Hark! herald voices near

Lead on thy happier day;

Come, Lord, and our hosannas hear!

We wait to strew thy way.

5 Come, as in days of old,

With words of grace and power;

Gather us all within thy fold,

And let us stray no more!

1 Thou, whose almighty word

Chaos and darkness heard,

And took their flight!

Hear us, we humbly pray,

And where the gospel day

Sheds not its glorious ray,

Let there be light!

2 Thou, who didst come to bring,

On Thy redeeming wing,

Healing and sight!

Health to the sick in mind,

Light to the inly blind,

O, now to all mankind

Let there be light!

3 Descend Thou from above,

Spirit of truth and love,

Speed on Thy flight!

Move o’er the waters’ face,

Spirit of hope and grace,

And in earth’s darkest place

Let there be light!

4 Blessed and glorious three,

Thrice holy trinity,

Wisdom, love, might!

Boundless as ocean’s tide,

Rolling in fullest pride,

Through the world, far and wide,

Let there be light!

1 Who shall behold the glorious day,

When, throned on Zion’s brow,

The Lord shall rend the veil away

Which hides the nations now!

When earth no more beneath the fear

Of His rebuke shall lie;

When pain shall cease, and every tear

Be wiped from every eye.

2 Then shall the world no longer mourn

Beneath oppression’s chain;

The days of splendor shall return,

And all be new again.

The fount of life shall then be quaffed

In peace by all who come,

And every wind that blows shall waft

Some long-lost exile home.

1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun

Does his successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2 For him shall endless prayer be made,

And praises throng to crown his head;

His name, like sweet perfume, shall rise

With every morning sacrifice.

3 People, and realms, of every tongue,

Dwell on his love with sweetest song;

And infant voices shall proclaim

Their early blessings on his name.

4 Blessings abound where’er he reigns;

The prisoner leaps to loose his chains;

The weary find eternal rest,

And all the sons of want are blest.

5 Let every creature rise and bring

Peculiar honors to our King;

Angels descend with songs again,

And earth repeat the loud amen!

1 Pour, blessed gospel, glorious news for man!

Thy stream of life o’er springless deserts roll:

Thy bond of peace the mighty earth can span,

And make one brotherhood from pole to pole.

2 On, piercing gospel, on! of every heart,

In every latitude, thou own’st the key:

From their dull slumbers savage souls shall start,

With all their treasures first unlocked by thee!

3 Tread, kingly gospel, through the nations tread!

With all the noblest virtues in thy train:

Be all to thy blest freedom captive led;

And Christ, the true emancipator, reign!

4 Spread, giant gospel, spread thy growing wings!

Gather thy scattered ones from every land:

Call home the wanderers to the King of kings:

Proclaim them all thine own;—’tis His

command!

1 Triumphant Zion! lift thy head

From dust, and darkness, and the dead;

Though humbled long, awake at length

And gird thee with thy Saviour’s strength!

2 Put all thy beauteous garments on,

And let thine excellence be known;

Decked in the robes of righteousness,

Thy glories shall the world confess.

3 No more shall foes unclean invade,

And fill thy hallowed walls with dread;

No more shall sin’s insulting host

Their victory and thy sorrows boast.

4 Thy God on high has heard thy prayer,

His hand thy ruin shall repair;

Nor will thy watchful Monarch cease

To guard thee in eternal peace.

1 Daughter of Zion! from the dust

Exalt thy fallen head;

Again in thy Redeemer trust,

He calls thee from the dead.

2 Awake, awake! put on thy strength,

Thy beautiful array;

The day of freedom dawns at length,

The Lord’s appointed day.

3 Rebuild thy walls, thy bounds enlarge,

And send thy heralds forth;

Say to the south, “Give up thy charge,

And keep not back, O north!”

4 They come, they come;—thine exiled bands,

Where’er they rest or roam,

Have heard thy voice in distant lands,

And hasten to their home.

1 Glorious things of thee are spoken,

Zion, city of our God!

He whose word cannot be broken

Formed thee for His own abode.

2 On the Rock of Ages founded,

What can shake thy sure repose?

With salvation’s walls surrounded,

Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.

3 See! the streams of living waters,

Springing from eternal love,

Well supply thy sons and daughters,

And all fear of want remove.

4 Who can faint while such a river

Ever flows their thirst to assuage?

Love, which, like the Lord, the giver,

Never fails from age to age.

5 Round each habitation hovering,

See the cloud and fire appear!

For a glory and a covering,

Showing that the Lord is near:

6 Thus deriving from their banner

Light by night and shade by day,

Safe they feed upon the manna

Which he gives them when they pray.

1 O fairest-born of Love and Light,

Yet bending brow and eye severe

On all which pains the holy sight,

Or wounds the pure and perfect ear,—

2 The generous feeling, pure and warm,

Which owns the rights of all divine,

The pitying heart, the helping arm,

The prompt self-sacrifice, are thine!

3 Beneath thy broad, impartial eye,

How fade the lines of caste and birth!

How equal in their sufferings lie

The groaning multitudes of earth!

4 Still to a stricken brother true,

Whatever clime hath nurtured him;

As stooped to heal the wounded Jew

The worshipper of Gerizim.

5 In holy words which cannot die,

In thoughts which angels leaned to know,

Christ gave thy message from on high,

Thy mission to a world of woe.

6 That voice’s echo hath not died;

From the blue lake of Galilee,

From Tabor’s lonely mountain-side,

It calls a struggling world to thee.

1 All men are equal in their birth,

Heirs of the earth and skies;

All men are equal, when that earth

Fails from their dying eyes.

2 God greets the throngs who pay their vows

In courts their hands have made;

And hears the worshipper who bows

Beneath the plantain shade.

3 ’Tis man alone who difference sees,

And speaks of high and low;

And worships those, and tramples these,

While the same path they go.

4 O, let man hasten to restore

To all their rights of love!

In power and wealth exult no more,

In wisdom lowly move.

5 Ye great! renounce your earth-born pride;

Ye low! your shame and fear;

Live, as ye worship, side by side;

Your brotherhood revere.

1 Was it in vain that Jesus prayed

For those he came to save,

When darkly o’er his path was laid

The shadow of the grave?

2 Hath Jesus loved and prayed in vain?

O doubting heart, be still!

Yet holds the Lord his glorious reign,

Despite of wrong and ill.

3 Though nations with their battle-cries

Profane the Almighty’s name,

Though bigots to the offended skies

Their own wild wrath proclaim,—

4 Thousands, in every Christian land,

Have never bowed the knee

In worship to the idol-band

Of strife and perfidy.

5 And these are one;—though some may bend

Before the Virgin’s shrine,

While others’ prayers and thanks ascend,

Father! alone at Thine,—

6 Yet they are one; if through their hearts

The soul of love be poured,

As swells some strain of various parts,

Yet all in sweet accord.

1 Hush the loud cannon’s roar,

The frantic warrior’s call!

Why should the earth be drenched with gore?

Are we not brothers all?

2 Want, from the wretch depart!

Chains, from the captive fall!

Sweet mercy, melt the oppressor’s heart,—

Sufferers are brothers all.

3 Churches and sects, strike down

Each mean partition-wall!

Let love each harsher feeling drown,—

Christians are brothers all.

4 Let love and truth alone

Hold human hearts in thrall,

That heaven its work at length may own,

And men be brothers all.

1 How long, O Lord, his brother’s blood

Shall man in battle spill?

How long that mandate be withstood,

Which cries, “Thou shalt not kill?”

2 How long shall glory still be found

In scenes of cruel strife,

Where misery walks, a giant crowned,

Crushing the flowers of life?

3 O, hush, great God! the sounds of war,

And make Thy children feel

That he, with Thee, is noblest far,

Who toils for human weal;—

4 And though forgotten, he alone

Can be a Christian true

Who would his foes as brethren own,

And still their good pursue.

1 Lord! thou didst arise and say

To the troubled waters, Peace!

And the tempest died away;

Down they sank, the foaming seas,

And a calm and heaving sleep

Spread o’er all the glassy deep;

All the azure lake serene

Like another heaven was seen.

2 Lord! thy gracious word repeat

To the billows of the proud!

Quell the tyrant’s martial heat,

Quell the fierce and changing crowd!

Then the earth shall find repose

From oppressions, and from woes;

And an imaged heaven appear

In the world of darkness here.

1 The Past is dark with sin and shame,

The Future dim with doubt and fear;

But, Father, yet we praise Thy name,

Whose guardian love is always near.

2 For man has striven, ages long,

With faltering steps to come to Thee,

And in each purpose high and strong

The influence of Thy grace could see.

3 He could not breathe an earnest prayer,

But Thou wast kinder than he dreamed,

As age by age brought hopes more fair,

And nearer still Thy kingdom seemed.

4 But never rose within his breast

A trust so calm and deep as now;—

Shall not the weary find a rest?

Father, Preserver, answer Thou!

5 ’Tis dark around, ’tis dark above,

But through the shadow streams the sun;

We cannot doubt Thy certain love;

And Man’s true aim shall yet be won!

1 Hark! through the waking earth,

Hark! through the echoing sky,

Herald of freedom’s birth,

There comes a glorious cry.

2 The triple chains that bind

Fall from the weary limb,

And from the down-crushed mind,

As soundeth that high hymn.

3 Unto man’s waiting heart

It saith,—“Arise, be strong!

Bear thou an earnest part

Against all forms of wrong.

4 “Wouldst live in earth as lives

The glorious One above?

He for thy model gives

Himself, and he is Love.

5 “Love in each brother man

The God who loveth him;

Revere the stamp of heaven,

However marred and dim.

6 “Bid fear give place to love;

Bid doubt and passion cease;

Be every word of hate

Forever hushed in peace.”

7 Sound, sound through all the earth!

Sound through the echoing sky!

Proclaim the world’s new birth;

Proclaim the Lord is nigh!

1 God made all his creatures free;

Life itself is liberty;

God ordained no other bands

Than united hearts and hands.

2 Sin the primal charter broke,—

Sin, itself earth’s heaviest yoke;

Tyranny with sin began,

Man o’er brute, and man o’er man.

3 But a better day shall be,

Life again be liberty,

And the wide world’s only bands

Love-knit hearts and love-linked hands.

4 So shall every slavery cease,

All God’s children dwell in peace,

And the new-born earth record

Love, and Love alone, is Lord.

1 Oppression shall not always reign;

There comes a brighter day,

When freedom, burst from every chain,

Shall have triumphant way.

Then right shall over might prevail,

And truth, like hero armed in mail,

The hosts of tyrant wrong assail,

And hold eternal sway.

2 What voice shall bid the progress stay

Of truth’s victorious car?

What arm arrest the growing day,

Or quench the solar star?

What reckless soul, though stout and strong,

Shall dare bring back the ancient wrong,

Oppression’s guilty night prolong,

And freedom’s morning bar?

1 O pure Reformers! not in vain

Your trust in human kind;

The good which bloodshed could not gain,

Your peaceful zeal shall find.

2 The truths ye urge are borne abroad

By every wind and tide;

The voice of nature and of God

Speaks out upon your side.

3 The weapons which your hands have found

Are those which Heaven hath wrought,

Light, Truth, and Love,—your battle-ground,

The free, broad field of Thought.

4 O, may no selfish purpose break

The beauty of your plan,

Nor lie from throne or altar shake

Your steady faith in man.

5 Press on! and if we may not share

The glory of your fight,

We’ll ask at least, in earnest prayer,

God’s blessing on the Right.

1 Hear what God, the Lord, hath spoken;

O my people, faint and few,

Comfortless, afflicted, broken,

Fair abodes I build for you;

Scenes of heartfelt tribulation

Shall no more perplex your ways;

You shall name your walls salvation,

And your gates shall all be praise.

2 There, in undisturbed possession,

Peace and righteousness shall reign;

Never shall you feel oppression,

Never hear of war again;

God shall rise, and, shining o’er you,

Change to day the gloom of night;

He, the Lord, shall be your glory,

God your everlasting light.

1 Our blest Redeemer, ere he breathed

His tender, last farewell,

A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed,

With us to dwell.

2 He came, in tongues of living flame,

To teach, convince, subdue;

All powerful as the wind he came,

As viewless too.

3 He came sweet influence to impart,

A gracious, willing guest,

While he can find one humble heart

Wherein to rest.

4 And his that gentle voice we hear,

Soft as the breath of even,

That checks each fault, that calms each fear

And speaks of heaven.

5 And every virtue we possess,

And every victory won,

And every thought of holiness,

Are his alone.

6 Spirit of purity and grace,

Our weakness pitying see;

O, make our hearts Thy dwelling-place,

And worthier Thee!

1 The Spirit in our hearts

Is whispering, “Wanderer, come!”

The Bride, the church of Christ, proclaims

To all his children, “Come!”

2 Let him that heareth say

To all about him, “Come!”

Let him that thirsts for righteousness,

To Christ, the fountain, come!

3 Yes, whosoever will,

O, let him freely come,

And freely drink the stream of life;

’Tis Jesus bids you come.

4 Lo! Jesus, who invites,

Declares, “I quickly come!”

Lord, even so! I wait thine hour;

Jesus, my Saviour, come!

1 Brother, hast thou wandered far

From thy Father’s happy home,

With thyself and God at war?

Turn thee, brother, homeward come!

2 Hast thou wasted all the powers

God for noble uses gave?

Squandered life’s most golden hours?

Turn thee, brother, God can save!

3 Is a mighty famine now

In thy heart and in thy soul?

Discontent upon thy brow?

Turn thee, God will make thee whole!

4 He can heal thy bitterest wound,

He thy gentlest prayer can hear;

Seek Him, for He may be found;

Call upon Him; He is near.

1 Turn, child of doubt, estranged from God!

To error’s joyless waste betrayed;

No light will there illume thy road,

No friendly voice will give thee aid.

2 O, turn, and leave that cheerless waste!

The shade of death,—the maze of woe!

There is a path that leads to rest,

A fount of life is given below.

3 Thy friend, thy Lord, from heaven revealed,

The lost, the erring, to recall,

That sacred fountain hath unsealed;

With voice of love he speaks to all.

4 He bids the dying wanderer turn,

To walk in duty’s way, and live;

He speaks to wounded souls that mourn,

He speaks,—to heal and to forgive.

1 Soul! celestial in thy birth,

Dwelling yet in lowest earth,

Panting, shrinking to be free,

Hear God’s spirit whisper thee.

2 Thus it saith; in accents mild,—

“Weary wanderer, wayward child,

From thy Father’s earnest love

Still forever wilt thou rove?

3 “Turn to hope, and peace, and light,

Freed from sin, and earth, and night;

I have called, entreated thee,

In my mercies gentle, free.

4 “Human soul, in love divine

I have sought to make thee mine;

Still for thee good angels yearn;

Human soul, return, return!”

1 O, not alone with outward sign

Of fear, or voice from heaven,

The message of a truth divine,

The call of God, is given;

Awakening in the human heart

Love for the True and Right,

Zeal for the Christian’s better part,

Strength for the Christian’s fight.

2 Though heralded by naught of fear,

Or outward sign, or show;

Though only to the inward ear

It whisper soft and low;

Though dropping as the manna fell,

Unseen, yet from above,

Holy and gentle, heed it well,—

The call to Truth and Love.

1 Acquaint thee, O spirit, acquaint thee with God,

And joy, like the sunshine, shall beam on thy road;

And peace, like the dew, shall descend round thy head,

And sleep, like an angel, shall visit thy bed.

2 Acquaint thee, O spirit, acquaint thee with God,

And he shall be with thee when fears are abroad;

Thy safeguard in danger that threatens thy path,

Thy joy in the valley and shadow of death.

1 Thou must be born again!

Such was the solemn word

To him who came, not all in vain,

By night to seek his Lord.

2 Thou must be born again!

But not the birth of clay;

The immortal seed must thence obtain

Deliverance into day.

3 Thou, in thy inmost mind,

Must own the same control;

The same regenerating wind

Must move and guide thy soul.

4 Thou canst not choose but trace

The steps the Master trod,

If once thou feel his truth and grace,

A conscious child of God.

5 The mortal’s birth is past;

The immortal’s birth must be;

Seek well and thou shalt find at last

That blest nativity.

1 God of mercy! God of love!

Hear our sad, repentant songs;

Listen to Thy suppliant ones,

Thou, to whom all grace belongs!

2 Deep regret for follies past,

Talents wasted, time misspent;

Hearts debased by worldly cares,

Thankless for the blessings lent;—

3 Foolish fears and fond desires,

Vain regrets for things as vain;

Lips too seldom taught to praise,

Oft to murmur and complain;—

4 These, and every secret fault,

Filled with grief and shame, we own;

Humbled at Thy feet we bow,

Seeking strength from Thee alone.

5 God of mercy! God of love!

Hear our sad, repentant songs;

O, restore Thy suppliant ones,

Thou to whom all grace belongs!

1 O, send me not away! for I would drink,

Even I, the weakest, at the fount of life;

Chide not my steps, that venture near the brink,

Weary and fainting from the deadly strife.

2 Went I not forth undaunted and alone,

Strong in the majesty of human might?

Lo! I return, all wounded and forlorn,

My dream of glory lost in shades of night.

3 Was I not girded for the battle-field?

Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword?

Behold the fragments of my broken shield,

And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord!

1 O, richly, Father, have I been

Blest evermore by Thee!

And morning, noon, and night Thou hast

Preserved me tenderly.

2 And yet the love which Thou shouldst claim

To idols I have given;

Too oft have bound to earth the hopes

That know no home but heaven.

3 Unworthy to be called Thy son,

I come with shame to Thee,

Father!—O, more than Father, Thou

Hast always been to me!

4 Help me to break the heavy chains

The world has round me thrown,

And know the glorious liberty

Of an obedient son.

5 That I may henceforth heed whate’er

Thy voice within me saith,

Fix deeply in my heart of hearts

A principle of faith,—

6 Faith that, like armor to my soul,

Shall keep all evil out,

More mighty than an angel host,

Encamping round about.

1 Lord, have mercy when we pray

Strength to seek a better way;

When our wakening thoughts begin

First to loathe their cherished sin;

When our weary spirits fail,

And our aching brows are pale;

Then Thy strengthening grace afford;

Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!

2 Lord, have mercy when we know

First how vain this world below;

When its darker thoughts oppress,

Doubts perplex, and fears distress;

When the earliest gleam is given

Of the bright but distant heaven;

Then Thy strengthening grace afford;

Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!

1 To Thine eternal arms, O God,

Take us, Thine erring children, in;

From dangerous paths too boldly trod,

From wandering thoughts and dreams of sin.

2 Those arms were round our childish ways,