Hymns for Christian Devotion Part 6

37. L. M. Bowring.

Evening Wors.h.i.+p.

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, G.o.d sublime!

Whose power and wisdom, love and grace, Are greater than the round of time, And wider than the bounds of s.p.a.ce, O how shall thought expression find, All lost in thine immensity!

How shall we seek thee, glorious Mind, Amid thy dread infinity!

3 But thou art present with us here, As in thy glittering, high domain; And grateful hearts and humble fear Can never seek thy face in vain.

Help us to praise thee, Lord of light!

Help us thy boundless love declare; And, here within thy courts to-night, Aid us, and hearken to our prayer.

38. C. M. Mrs. Barbauld.

The Sabbath of the Soul.

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 wors.h.i.+p at thy shrine; But each unworthy thought departs, And leaves this temple thine.

3 Then 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.

39. 7s. M. Bowring.

Lowly Praise.

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 worthless 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!

It can make the humblest song Sweet, acceptable, and strong, As the strains the angels' throng Pour around the throne of heaven.

40. L. M. M. W. Hale.

The Day of Rest.

1 This day let grateful praise ascend To thee, our Father, and our Friend, Thee, Author of this holy light, Thee, throned in boundless power and might.

2 O, let the sacred hours be given To truth, to duty, and to heaven; While trusting faith and holy love Rise fervent to thy throne above.

3 Grant that our earthly Sabbaths be But dawnings of eternity, To shadow forth the glorious rest, The heavenly quiet of the blest.

41. L. M. Bathurst.

Improvement of the Sabbath.

1 This day the Lord hath called his own; O, let us, then, his praise declare, Fix our desires on him alone, And seek his face with fervent prayer.

2 Lord, in thy love we would rejoice, Which bids the burdened soul be free, And, with united heart and voice, Devote these sacred hours to thee.

3 Now let the world's delusive things No more our grovelling thoughts employ But Faith be taught to stretch her wings, In search of heaven's unfailing joy.

4 O, let these earthly Sabbaths, Lord, Be to our lasting welfare blest; The purest comfort here afford, And fit us for eternal rest.

42. S. M. Bulfinch.

Sabbath Wors.h.i.+p.

1 Hail to the Sabbath day!

The day divinely given, When men to G.o.d their homage pay, And earth draws near to heaven.

2 Lord, in this sacred hour, Within thy courts we bend, And bless thy love, and own thy power, Our Father and our Friend.

3 But thou art not alone In courts by mortals trod; Nor only is the day thine own When man draws near to G.o.d.

4 Thy temple is the arch Of yon unmeasured sky; Thy Sabbath, the stupendous march Of grand eternity.

5 Lord, may that holier day Dawn on thy servants' sight; And purer wors.h.i.+p may we pay In heaven's unclouded light.