Seasons for Prayer.
1 COME at the morning hour,
Come, let us kneel and pray;
Prayer is the Christian pilgrim's staff
To walk with God all day.
2 At noon, beneath the Rock
Of Ages, rest and pray ;
Sweet is that shelter from the sun
In the weary heat of day.
3 At evening, in thy home,
Around its altar, pray;
And, finding there the house of God,
With heaven then close the day.
4 When midnight veils our eyes,
O, it is sweet to say,
I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord,
With thee to watch and pray.
Give Thanks unto the Lord.
1 O, GIVE thanks to him who made
Morning light and evening shade;
Source and giver of all good,
Nightly sleep and daily food:
Quickener of our wearied powers,
Guard of our unconscious hours!
2 O, give thanks to nature's King,
Who made every breathing thing;
His our warm and sentient frame;
His the mind's immortal flame;
O, how close the ties that bind
Spirits to the Eternal Mind!
3 0, give thanks with heart and lip,
For we are his workmanship,
And all creatures are his care;
Not a bird that cleaves the air
Falls unnoticed; but who can
Speak the Father's love to man!
4 0, give thanks for him who came,
In a mortal, suffering frame,
Temple of the Deity;
Came to bear our souls on high;
In the path himself hath trod,
Leading back his saints to God.
1 Now that the sun is beaming bright,
Implore we, bending low,
That he, the Uncreated Light,
May guide us as we go.
2 No sinful word, nor deed of wrong,
Nor thoughts that idly rove,
But simple truth be on our tongue,
And in our hearts be love.
3 And while the hours in order flow,
O, Christ, securely fence
Our gates beleaguered by the foe, -
The gate of every sense.
4 And grant that to thine honor, Lord,
Our daily toil may tend;
That we begin it at thy word,
And in thy favor end.
Watches of the Night and Bay.
1 FATHER, the watches of the night are o'er,
To light and life the soul has risen once more;
Blessed be thou, who through the helpless hours
Hast kept in deepest peace her slumbering powers.
2 Father, the watches of the day are near;
More than from those of night have we to fear;
By rude cares troubled, and by woes opprest,
Through the DAY-WATCHES, Father, give us rest.
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 grace.
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 homage bring.
3 Being of beings, may our praise
Thy courts with grateful fragrance fill!
Still may we stand before thy face,
Still hear and do thy sovereign will!
Seeking a Blessing.
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 that 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, in thy great day, be found
Children of God and heirs of heaven.
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!
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