On thee, our Lord, victorious,
The spirit sent from heaven,
And thus on thee, most glorious,
A triple light was given.
3 To-day on weary nations
The heavenly manna falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
4 New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blest:
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To thee, blest Three in One.
1 THINE holy day's returning,
Our hearts exult to see;
And with devotion burning,
Ascend, O God, to thee!
To-day with purest pleasure,
Our thoughts from earth withdraw;
We search for heavenly treasure,
We learn thy holy law.
2 We join to sing thy praises,
Lord of the Sabbath day;
Each voice in gladness raises,
Its loudest, sweetest lay!
Thy richest mercies sharing,
Inspire us with thy love,
By grace our souls preparing
For nobler praise above.
1 FROM every earthly pleasure,
From every transient joy,
From every mortal treasure
That soon will fade and die;
No longer these desiring,
Upward our wishes tend,
To nobler bliss aspiring,
And joys that never end.
2 What though we are but strangers
And sojourners below,
And countless snares and dangers
Surround the path we go?
Though painful and distressing,
Yet there's a rest above;
And onward still we're pressing,
To reach that land of love.
1 GOD Almighty and All-seeing!
Holy One, in whom we all
Live, and move, and have our being,
Hear us when on thee we call ;
Father, hear us,
As before thy throne we fall.
2 Of all good art thou the Giver;
Weak and wandering ones are we;
Then forever, yea, forever,
In thy presence would we be;
Oh, be near us,
That we wander not from thee.
1 IN thy name, O Lord, assembling,
We, thy people, now draw near:
Teach us to rejoice with trembling;
Speak, and let thy servants hear;
Hear with meekness-
Hear thy word with godly fear.
2 While our days on earth are lengthened,
May we give them, Lord, to thee;
Cheered by hope, and daily strengthened,
May we run, nor weary be,
Till thy glory
Without cloud in heaven we see.
3 There, in worship purer, sweeter,
All thy people shall adore;
Tasting of enjoyment greater
Than they could conceive before;
Full enjoyment,
Full and pure forevermore.
1 WELCOME, days of solemn meeting;
Welcome, days of praise and prayer;
Far from earthly scenes retreating,
your blessings we would share;
Sacred seasons,
In your blessings we would share.
2 Be thou near us, blesséd Saviour,
Still at morn and eve the same;
Give us faith that cannot waver;
Kindle in us heaven's own flame;
Blessed Saviour,
Kindle in us heaven's own flame.
3 When the fervent heart is glowing,
Holy Spirit, hear that prayer:
When the song of praise is flowing,
Let that song thine impress bear;
Holy Spirit,
Let that song thine impress bear.
1 GREAT God! this sacred day of thine
Demands the soul's collected powers;
With joy we now to thee resign
These solemn, consecrated hours :
Oh, may our souls, adoring, own
The grace that calls us to thy throne.
2 Hence, ye vain cares and trifles, fly!
Where God resides appear no more;
Omniscient God, thy piercing eye
Can every secret thought explore;
Oh, may thy grace our hearts refine,
And fix our thoughts on things divine.
3 Thy Spirit's powerful aid impart ;
Oh, may thy word, with life divine,
Engage the ear and warm the heart;
Then shall the day indeed be thine:
Then shall our souls, adoring, own
The grace which calls us to thy throne.
L. M., 6 L.
1 THY glory, Lord, the heavens declare;
The firmament displays thy skill;
The changing clouds, the viewless air,
Tempest and calm thy word fulfill;
Day unto day doth utter speech,
And night to night thy knowledge teach.
2 Though voice nor sound inform the ear,
Well known the language of their song,
When one by one the stars appear,
Led by the silent moon along,
Till round the earth, from all the sky,
Thy beauty beams on every eye.
3 While these transporting visions shine,
Along the path of Providence,
Glory eternal, joy divine,
Thy word reveals, transcending sense;
My soul thy goodness longs to see,
Thy love to man, thy love to me.
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-tossed;
Low at thy feet our sins we lay;
Turn not, O Lord, thy guests away.
L. M., 6
1 THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye;
My noonday walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours deferd.
2 When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant,
To fertile vales, and dewy meads,
My weary, wandering steps he leads;
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
3 Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still:
Thy friendly rod shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
4 Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy presence shall my pains beguile :
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned
And streams shall murmur all around.
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