Invocation to Worship. Ps. c.
1 LET all thy realms, O earth! rejoice Before the Lord, their sovereign King! Serve him with cheerful heart and voice, And his unrivalled glories sing.
2 Assured that he is God alone,
From whom both we and all proceed;
We, whom he chooses for his own,
The flock that he vouchsafes to feed.
3 O enter then his temple gate,
Thence to his courts devoutly press;
And still your grateful hymns repeat,
And still his name with praises bless!
4 For he, and he alone, is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth, which always firmly stood,
To endless ages shall endure.
1 AGAIN our weekly labours end,
Whilst we religion's call attend :
Arise, my soul; enjoy thy rest,
Improve the hour that God has blest.
2 This day may our devotions rise
As grateful incense to the skies;
May heaven that peace divine bestow,
Which none but they who feel it, know!
3 In sacred duties, let the day
In sacred pleasures pass away:
How sweet this day of rest to spend
In hope of that which ne'er shall end!
4 This holy calm within the breast
Is the dear pledge of endless rest,
Which for the sons of God remains,
The end of cares, the end of pains.
50 may we share a glorious part,
When grace hath well refined the heart,
And doubts and fears no more remain,
To break our inward peace again.
6 Then shall we see, and hear, and know,
All we desired, or wished, below;
And every power find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy.
1 O FATHER, though the anxious fear
May cloud to-morrow's way;
Nor fear, nor doubt, shall enter here,-
All shall be thine to-day.
2 We will not bring divided hearts
To worship 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.
5 Sleep, sleep for ever, guilty thoughts,
Let fires of vengeance die;
And, purged from sin, may we behold
A God of purity!
The Sacrifice of the Heart.
1 WHEN, as returns this solemn day,
Man comes to meet his Maker God,
What rites, what honours shall he pay?
How spread his sovereign's name abroad?
2 From marble domes and gilded spires
Shall curling clouds of incense rise?
And gems, and gold, and garlands deck
The costly pomp of sacrifice?
3 Vain, sinful man! creation's Lord
Thy golden offerings well may spare;
But give thy heart, and thou shalt find,
Here dwells a God who heareth prayer.
4 O grant us in this awful hour,
From earth and sin's allurements free,
To feel thy love, to own thy power,
And raise each raptured thought to thee.
The acceptable Offering. Micah vi. 6-8.
1 WHEREWITH shall we approach thee, Lord,
And bow before thy throne?
Or how procure thy kind regard,
And for our guilt atone?
2 Shall altars flame, and victims bleed,
And spicy fumes ascend?
Will these our earnest wish succeed,
And make our God our friend?
3 Let no such hopes our souls delude;
Such pompous rites are vain;
But God has shown us what is good,
And how his love to gain.
4 To men their rights we must allow,
And proofs of kindness give;
To God with humble reverence bow,
And to his glory live.
5 Hands that are clean, and hearts sincere,
He never will despise ;
And cheerful duty will prefer
To costly sacrifice.
The accepted Worshipper. Ps. xv.
1 LORD, who's the happy man that may To thy blest courts repair;
And, while he bows before thy throne,
Shall find acceptance there?
2 'Tis he, whose every thought and deed
By rules of virtue moves ;
Whose tongue disdains to speak the word
His honest heart disproves :
3 Who never will a slander forge,
His neighbour's fame to wound;
Nor hearken to a false report
By malice whispered round :
4 Who vice, tho' dressed in pomp and
Can treat with just neglect ;
And piety, though meanly clad,
Religiously respect
5 Who to his plighted vows and trust
Has ever firmly stood;
And, though he promise to his loss,
He makes his promise good.
|