WEET Saviour, bless us ere we go,
Thy word into our minds instil,
And make our lukewarm hearts to glow
With lowly love and fervent will.
Through life's long day and death's dark night,
O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
The day is done, its hours have run,
And Thou hast taken count of all,
The scanty triumphs grace hath won,
The broken vow, the frequent fall.
Through life's long day and death's dark night,
O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
Grant us, dear Lord, from evil ways
True absolution and release;
And bless us, more than in past days,
With purity and inward peace.
Through life's long day and death's dark night,
O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
Do more than pardon; give us joy,
Sweet fear, and sober liberty,
And simple hearts without alloy
That only long to be like Thee.
Through life's long day and death's dark night, O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
For all we love, the poor, the sad,
The sinful, unto Thee we call ; Oh! let Thy mercy make us glad, Thou art our Jesus, and our All.
Through life's long day and death's dark night, O gentle Jesus, be our Light.
HE day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank Thee that Thy Church unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.
The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren 'neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth's proud empires, pass away;
Thy kingdom stands, and grows for ever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
HOU brightness of the Father's Light,
O Christ, Thy holy ray
Is joy and strength to feeble sight,
Our never-dying Day.
Now, when the sun sinks down to rest,
And all his light grows dim,
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest
We raise our evening hymn.
Thee, Son of God, Thy creatures sing;
And always, night and morn,
To Thee, of life the Living Spring,
Be purest praises borne.
ORD of our life, Whose tender care
Hath led us on till now,
Here lowly at the hour of prayer
Before Thy throne we bow:
We bless Thy gracious hand, and pray
Forgiveness for another day.
Oh! may we daily, hourly, strive
In heavenly grace to grow:
To Thee and to Thy glory live,
Dead else to all below;
Tread in the path our Saviour trod,
Though thorny, yet the path to God.
With prayer our humble praise we bring
For mercies day by day;
Lord, teach our hearts Thy love to sing,
Lord, teach us how to pray:
All that we have, and are, to Thee
We offer through eternity.
SUN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,
It is not night if Thou be near:
Oh! may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes.
When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour's breast.
Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live :
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
If some poor wandering child of Thine
Have spurned to-day the Voice Divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.
Watch by the sick; enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store :
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infant's slumbers, pure and light.
Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in heaven above.
'HE radiant morn hath passed away, And spent too soon her golden store ; The shadows of departing day
Creep on once more.
Our life is but a fading dawn;
Its glorious noon how quickly past!
Lead us, O Christ, when all is gone,
Safe home at last.
Oh! by Thy soul-inspiring grace,
Uplift our hearts to realms on high:
Help us to look to that bright place
Beyond the sky,
Where light, and love, and joy, and peace
In undivided empire reign,
And thronging angels never cease
Their deathless strain:
Where saints are clothed in spotless white,
And evening shadows never fall,
Where Thou, Eternal Light of Light,
Art Lord of all.
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