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.
HYMN 131. S. M. [#]
Solemn Call to Praise.
1 COME, sound his praise abroad,
And hymns of glory sing;
Jehovah is the sovereign God,
The universal King.
2 He formed the deeps unknown;
He gave the seas their bound;
The watery worlds are all his own,
And all the solid ground.
3 Come, worship at his throne;
Come, bow before the Lord:
We are his work, and his alone;
He formed us by his word.
4 To-day attend his voice,
Nor more provoke his rod;
Come, make his heavenly paths your choice,
And own your gracious God.
5 Thus you the joys will share,
Which from devotion rise;
And heavenly grace your souls prepare
For bliss that never dies.
HYMN 132. L. M. [#]
Joys of God's House.
1 GREAT God, attend, while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs :
To spend one day with thee on earth
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth.
2 Might I enjoy the meanest place
Within thy house, O God of grace,
Not tents of ease, nor thrones of
power,
Should tempt me to desert thy door.
3 All needful grace wilt thou bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too;
Thy hand gives all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.
4 O God, my King, whose sovereign sway
The glorious hosts of heaven obey,
Display thy grace, exert thy power,
Till all on earth thy name adore.
HYMN 133. C. P. M. [#]
Attendance on Worship.
1 I'LL bless Jehovah's glorious name,
Whose goodness heaven and earth proclain,
With every morning light;
And, at the close of every day,
To him my cheerful homage pay,
Who guards me through the night.
2 Then 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.
3 With 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.
HYMN 134. 61. L. M. [#]
Lord's Day Morning.
1 GREAT God, this sacred day of thine. Demands our souls' collected powers; May we employ in work divine
These solemn, these devoted hours! O may our souls adoring own
The grace which calls us to thy throne! 2 Hence, ye vain cares and trifles, fly; Where God resides appear no morę : Omniscient God, thy piercing eye
Can every secret thought explore; O may thy grace our hearts refine, And fix our thoughts on things divine!
3 The word of life, dispensed to-day,
Invites us to a heavenly feast;
May every ear the call obey,
Be every heart an humble guest:
O bid the wretched sons of need
On soul-reviving dainties feed!
HYMN 135. C. M. [#]
Angelic Message.
1 WHAT sudden glories did surprise
Shepherds who watched their fold!
A heavenly form salutes their eyes,
Arrayed in shining gold!
2 'Twas night, and gloomy darkness hung
Over the lands afar;
Shepherds in pensive numbers sung,
Or watched the twinkling star.
3 Deep musing on the prophecies
Of glories then to come,
With glimmering hopes and longing eyes,
They of Messiah sung.
4 Behold, the tidings, which we bring
To you of heavenly grace,
Are of your long-expected King,
The Saviour of your race.
5 To-day is born, in Bethlehem,
The long-expected Light,
To rule the New Jerusalem,
And turn to day the night.
1 SHEPHERDS, rejoice; lift up your eyes,
And send your fears away;
News from the region of the skies-
The Saviour's born to-day!
2 No gold, nor purple swaddling bands,
Nor royal, shining things;
A manger for his cradle stands,
And holds the King of kings!
3 Thus Gabriel sang-and straight around
The heavenly armies throng:
They tune their harps to lofty sound,
And thus conclude the
4 Glory to God who reigns above;
Let peace abound on earth;
Mortals shall know their Maker's love,
At their Redeemer's birth.
HYMN 137. H. M. [#]
Christ's Birth proclaimed.
1 HARK! what celestial notes,
What melody, we hear!
Soft on the morn it floats,
And fills the ravished ear.
|