2 Shed down, O Lord! a heavenly ray To guide me in the doubtful way; And o'er me hold thy shield of power, To guard me in the dangerous hour.
3 Teach me the flattering paths to shun, In which the thoughtless many run, Who for a shade the substance miss, And grasp their ruin in their bliss.
4 May never pleasure, wealth or pride, Allure my wandering soul aside; But through this maze of mortal ill, Safe lead me to thy heavenly hill.
1 ALL-SEEING God! 'tis thine to know The springs whence wrong opinions flow; To judge from principles within, When frailty errs, and when we sin.
2 Who among men, great Lord of all, Thy servant to his bar shall call ? Judge him, for modes of faith, thy foe, And doom him to the realms of woe?
3 Who with another's eye can read? Or worship by another's creed? Trusting thy grace, we form our own, And bow to thy commands alone.
4 If wrong, correct; accept, if right; While faithful, we improve our light, Condemning none, but zealous still To learn and follow all thy will.
1 HAPPY the man, whose cautious steps Still keep the golden mean;
Whose life, by wisdom's rules well formed, Declares a conscience clean.
2 What blessings bounteous Heaven bestows, He takes with thankful heart; With temperance he both eats and drinks, And gives the poor a part.
3 To sect or party his large soul Disdains to be confined;
The good he loves of every name, And prays for all mankind.
4 His business is to keep his heart; Each passion to control; Nobly ambitious well to rule The empire of his soul.
5 Not on the world his heart is set, His treasure is above;
Nothing beneath the sovereign good Can claim his highest love.
The Blessing of Peace. Ps. 133.
1 BLEST are the sons of peace,
Whose hearts and hopes are one; Whose kind designs to serve and please Through all their actions run.
2 Blest is the pious house,
Where zeal and friendship meet; Their songs of praise, their mingled vows, Make their communion sweet.
3 Thus, when on Aaron's head They poured the rich perfume, The oil through all his raiment spread, And pleasure filled the room.
4 Thus on the heavenly hills The saints are blest above,
Where joy, like morning dew, distils, And all the air is love.
The Blessing of Peace. Ps. 133.
1 How beautiful the sight
Of brethren who agree
In friendship to unite, And bonds of charity ;
'Tis like the precious ointment, shed O'er all his robes, from Aaron's head.
2 'Tis like the dews that fill
The cups of Hermon's flowers; Or Zion's fruitful hill,
Bright with the drops of showers; When mingling odors breathe around, And glory rests on all the ground. 3 For there the Lord commands Blessings, a boundless store, From his unsparing hands, Yea, life for evermore.
Thrice happy they, who meet above, To spend eternity in love.
Love to God and our Neighbor.
1 THUS saith the first, the great command, "Let all thy inward powers unite To love thy Maker and thy God With utmost vigor and delight.
2 "Then shall thy neighbor next in place Share thine affections and esteem; And let thy kindness to thyself Measure and rule thy love to him."
3 This is the sense that Moses spoke; This did the prophets preach and prove; For want of this the law is broke, And the whole law's fulfilled by love.
4 But, oh, how base our passions are! How cold our charity and zeal! Lord, fill our souls with heavenly fire, Or we shall ne'er perform thy will.
1 LET party names no more
The Chris.ian world o'erspread; Gentile and Jew, and bond and free, Are one in Christ their head.
2 Among the saints on earth Let mutual love be found; Heirs of the same inheritance, With mutual blessings crowned.
3 Let envy and ill will Be banished far away;
Those should in holy friendship dwell, Who the same Lord obey.
4 Thus will the church below Resemble that above;
Where streams of pleasure always flow, And every heart is love.
Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.
1 THE glorious universe around, The heavens with all their train, Sun, moon and stars, are firmly bound In one mysterious chain.
2 The earth, the ocean, and the sky To form one world agree; Where all that walk, or swim, or fly, Compose one family.
3 God in creation thus displays His wisdom and his might,
While all his works with all his Harmoniously unite.
4 In one fraternal bond of love, One fellowship of mind,
The saints below and saints above Their bliss and glory find.
5 Here, in their house of pilgrimage, Thy statutes are their song;
There, through one bright, eternal age Thy praises they prolong.'
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