Hymns for Christian Devotion. E. H. Chapin
mercies of my Lord,
Each moment is itself a gift
To bear me on to God.
3O, help me break the galling chains,
This world has round me thrown,
Each passion of my heart subdue,
Each darling sin disown.
4O Father, kindle in my breast
A never dying flame
Of holy love, of grateful trust
In thine almighty name.
12. H. M. Hayward.
Invocation for Lord's Day Morning.
1Welcome, delightful morn,
Thou day of sacred rest!
We hail thy glad return:
Lord, make these moments blest.
From low delights and mortal toys
We soar to reach immortal joys.
2Now may the King descend,
And fill his throne of grace;
Thy sceptre, Lord, extend,
While we address thy face.
O let us feel thy quickening word,
And learn to know and fear the Lord.
3Descend, celestial Dove,
With all thy quickening powers;
Disclose a Saviour's love,
And bless these sacred hours:
Then shall our souls new life obtain,
Nor sabbaths be enjoyed in vain.
13. C. P. M. Day.
Attendance on Worship.
1I'll bless Jehovah's glorious name,
Whose goodness heaven and earth proclaim,
With every morning light;
And at the close of every day,
To him my cheerful homage pay,
Who guards me through the night.
2Then in his churches to appear,
And pay my humble worship there,
Shall be my sweet employ:
The day that saw my Saviour rise
Shall dawn on my delighted eyes
With pure and holy joy.
3With grateful sorrow in my breast,
I'll celebrate the dying feast
Of my exalted Lord;
And, while his perfect love I view,
His bright example I'll pursue,
And meditate his word.
14. S. P. M. Watts.
Delight in the House of God.
1How pleased and blest was I
To hear the people cry,
"Come, let us seek our God to-day!"
Yes, with a cheerful zeal,
We haste to Zion's hill,
And there our vows and honors pay.
2Zion, thrice happy place,
Adorned with wondrous grace,
And walls of strength embrace thee round;
In thee our tribes appear,
To pray, and praise, and hear
The sacred gospel's joyful sound.
3May peace attend thy gate,
And joy within thee wait,
To bless the soul of every guest;
The man who seeks thy peace,
And wishes thine increase,
A thousand blessings on him rest.
15. 8 & 7s. M. Wesley's Coll.
Divine Love.
1Love 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.
2Breathe, 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.
16. L. M. Pierpont.
Universal Worship.
1O Thou, to whom, in ancient time,
The lyre of Hebrew bards was strung,
Whom kings adored in song sublime,
And prophets praised with glowing tongue!
2Not now on Zion's height alone
Thy favored worshipper may dwell;
Nor where, at sultry noon, thy Son,
Sat weary, by the Patriarch's well.
3From every place below the skies,
The grateful song, the fervent prayer--
The incense of the heart--may rise
To Heaven, and find acceptance there.
4To 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.
5O 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.