Incense shall rise
From flames of love,
And God approve
The sacrifice.

5 May all the nations throng

To worship in thy house ;
And thou attend the song,
And smile upon their vows;

Indulgent still,
Till earth conspire
To join the choir
On Zion's hill.

L. M.

MRS. STEELE. Pleasure and Advantage of Divine Worship. PR. 84. 1 HAPPY the men, whom strength divine

With ardent love and zeal inspires !
Whose steps to thy blest way incline,

With willing hearts and warm desires. 2 Still they pursue the painful road ;

Increasing strength surmounts their fear
Till all at length, before their God,

In Zion's glorious courts appear. 3 God is a sun ; our brightest day

From his reviving presence flows;
God is a shield, through all the way,

To guard us from surrounding foes. 4 He pours his hindest blessings down,

Profusely down, on souls sincere;
And grace shall guide, and glory crown
The happy favorites of his care.

5 O Lord of hosts, thou God of grace!

How blest, divinely blest, is he,
Who trusts thy love and seeks thy face,
And fixes all his hopes on thee.

8. L. M. Watts.
The Pleasure of Public Worship. Ps. 84.
1 How pleasant, how divinely fair,

O Lord of hosts, thy dwellings are !
With long desire my spirit faints

To meet th’assemblies of thy saints. 2 Blest are the saints who sit on high,

Around thy throne of majesty;
Thy brightest glories shine above,

And all their work is praise and love. 3 Blest are the souls that find a place

Within the temple of thy grace;
There they behold thy gentler rays,

And seek thy face, and learn thy praise. 4 Blest are the men whose hearts are set

To find the way to Zion's gate;
God is their strength; and through the road

They lean upon their helper, God. 5 Cheerful they walk with growing strength,

Till all shall meet in heaven at length;
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.

35

9. H. M. WATTS. Longing for the House of God. Ps. 84. 1 LORD of the worlds above,

How pleasant and how fair
The dwellings of thy love,
Thine earthly temples, are !

To thine abode
My heart aspires,
With warm desires

To see my God.
2 The sparrow for her young

With pleasure seeks a nest,
And wandering swallows long
To find their wonted rest :

My spirit faints,
With equal zeal
To rise and dwell

Among thy saints.
3 O happy souls that pray

Where God appoints to hear !
O happy men that pay
Their constant service there!

They praise thee still;
And happy they
That love the way
To Zion's hill !

4 They go from strength to strength,

Through this dark vale of tears,
Till each arrives at length,
Till each in heaven appears :

O glorious seat,
When God our King
Shall thither bring

Our willing feet!
5 The Lord his people loves;

His hand no good withholds
From those his heart approves,
From pure and pious souls:

Thrice happy he,
O God of hosts,
Whose spirit trusts
Alone in thee !

10. C. M. WATTS.

God present in his Churches. Ps. 84. 1 My soul, how lovely is the place

To which thy God resorts ! 'Tis heaven to see his smiling face,

Though in his earthly courts. 2 There the great Monarch of the skies

His saving power displays;
And light breaks in upon our eyes,

With kind and quickening rays. 3 There, mighty God, thy words declare

The secrets of thy will;
And still we seek thy mercy there,

And sing thy praises still.
4 My heart and flesh cry out for thee,

While far from thine abode;
When shall I tread thy courts, and see
My Saviour and my God?

5 Could I command the spacious land,

And the more boundless sea,
For one blest hour at thy right hand

I'd give them both away.

11.

C. M. WATTS.

Going to Church. Ps. 122. 1 How did my heart rejoice to hear

My friends devoutly say, 6 In Zion let us all appear,

And keep the solemn day!”
2 I love her gates, I love the road;

The church, adorned with grace,
Stands like a palace, built for God,

To show his milder face.
3 Up to her courts, with joys unknown,

The holy tribes repair;
The Son of David holds his throne,

And sits in judgment there.
4 Peace be within this sacred place,

And joy a constant guest :
With holy gifts, and heavenly. grace,

Be her attendants blest.

5 My soul shall pray for Zion still,

While life or breath remains;
There my best friends, my kindred dwell,

There God my Saviour reigns.

38