1 SOFTLY now the light of day Fades upon my sight away;
Free from care-from labour free,
Lord, I would commune with thee.
2 Soon, for me, the light of day
Shall for ever pass away:
Then from sin and sorrow free,
Take me, Lord, to dwell with thee!
HYMN. C. M.
Evening Prayer and Praise.
1 INDULGENT Father, by whose care, I've pass'd another day,
Let me this night thy mercy share;
O, teach me how to pray.
2 Show me my sins, that I may mourn
My guilt before thy face;
Direct me, Lord, to Christ alone,
And save me by thy grace.
3 Let each returning night declare
The tokens of thy love;
And ev'ry hour thy grace prepare
My soul for joys above.
4 And when on earth I close mine eyes,
To sleep in death's embrace,
Let me to heav'n and glory rise,
To see thy smiling face.
Evening Communion with God.
1 NOW, from labour and from care,
Twilight shades have set me free;
In the work of praise and pray'r,
Lord, I would converse with thee.
O, behold me from above,
Fill me with a Saviour's love.
2 Sin and sorrow, guilt and wo,
Wither all my earthly joys;
Nought can charm me here below,
But my Saviour's melting voice.
Lord, forgive; thy grace restore,
Make me thine for evermore.
3 For the blessings of this day,
For the mercies of this hour,
For the gospel's cheering ray,
For the Spirit's quick'ning pow'r,
Grateful notes to thee I raise;
O, accept my song of praise.
1 IN mercy, Lord, remember me,
Through all the hours of night,
And grant to me most graciously
The safeguard of thy might.
2 With cheerful heart I close my eyes
Since thou wilt not remove:
Oh, in the morning let me rise
Rejoicing in thy love!
3 Or, if this night should prove the last, And end my transient days;
Lord, take me to thy promis'd rest,
Where I may sing thy praise,
1 FATHER, by saints on earth ador'd,
By saints beyond the skies,
Accept, through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Our ev'ning sacrifice.
2 If kept to-day from wilful sin,
We magnify thy grace;
Thou hast our kind preserver been,
And thine be all the praise.
s We live to testify the grace,
Which sure salvation brings;
And sink to night in thine embrace,
And rest beneath thy wings.
4 But whether, Lord, we wake or sleep, The charge of love divine,
We trust thy Providence to keep
Our souls for ever thine.
1 SAVIOUR, breathe an evening blessing, Ere repose our spirits seal:
Sin and want we come confessing,
Thou canst save, and thou canst heal.
Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow past us fly,
Angel-guards from thee surround us,
We are safe, if thou art nigh.
2 Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from thee;
Thou art He who, never weary,
Watchest where thy people be;
Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb;
May the morn in heav'n awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom!
1 O LORD, another day is flown,
And we, a lonely band,
Are met once more before thy throne,
To bless thy fost'ring hand.
2 And wilt thou bend a list'ning ear
To praises low as ours?
Thou wilt! for thou dost love to hear
The song which meekness pours.
3 And, Jesus, thou thy smiles wilt deign, As we before thee pray;
For thou didst bless the infant train,
And we are less than they.
4 Oh, let thy grace perform its part,
And let contention cease;
And shed abroad in ev'ry heart
Thine everlasting peace.
1 THE night shall hear me raise my song, And in her silent courts my tongue
Shall pour the solitary lay,
For all the mercies of the day.
2 Nor will my God disdain to hear The sigh I breathe-the fervent pray'r:
When, sinking to oblivious rest,
I seek the pillow of his breast.
3 And when the blushing morn shall rise,
To tinge with gold the eastern skies;
With strength renew'd, my thankful lay
Shall hail the new-born beams of day.
1 INSPIRER and Hearer of pray'r,
Before whom a sinner may bend;
My all to thy covenant care,
I sleeping or waking commend.
2 If thou art my shield and my sun,
The night is no darkness to me;
And fast as my moments roll on,
They bring me but nearer to thee.
3 From evil secure, and its dread,
I rest, if my Saviour be nigh;
And songs his kind presence indeed,
Shall in the night season supply.
4 He smiles, and my comforts abound;
His grace as the dew shall descend;
And walls of salvation surround
The soul he delights to defend.
1 IN all my vast concerns with thee,
In vain my soul would try
To shun thy presence, Lord, or flee
The notice of thine eye.
2 Thy all-surrounding sight surveys
My rising and my rest,
My public walks, my private ways
And secrets of my breast.
3 My thoughts lie open to the Lord
Before they're form'd within;
And ere my lips pronounce the word,
He knows the sense
4 Oh wondrous knowledge, deep and high, Where can a creature hide?
Within thy circling arms I lie,
Enclos'd on ev'ry side.
5 So let thy grace surround me still,
And like a bulwark prove,
To guard my soul from ev'ry ill,
Secur'd by sov'reign love.
1 LORD, thou wilt hear me when I
I am for ever thine:
I fear before thee all the day,
Nor would I dare to sin.
2 And while I rest my weary head,
From cares and business free,
'Tis sweet conversing on my bed
With my own heart and thee.
3 I pay this evening sacrifice;
And when my work is done,
Great God, my faith and hope relies
Upon thy grace alone.
4 Thus with my thoughts compos'd to peace,
I'll give mine eyes to sleep;
Thy hand in safety keeps my days,
And will my slumbers keep.
1 BEGONE, my worldly cares, away,
Nor dare to tempt my sight;
Let me begin th' ensuing day,
Before I end this night.
2 Yes, let the work of pray'r and praise
Employ my heart and tongue;
Begin, my soul;-thy Sabbath days
Can never be too long.
3 Let the past mercies of the week
Excite a grateful frame;
Nor let my tongue refuse to speak
Some good of Jesus' name.
4 On wings of expectation borne,
My hopes to heav'n ascend;
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