Family Duties and Blessings. Gen. xviii. 19.
1 FATHER of men! thy care we bless,
Which crowns our families with peace:
From thee they sprung, and by thy hand
Their root and branches are sustained.
2 To God, most worthy to be praised,
Be our domestic altars raised;
Though Lord of heaven, he deigns to dwell With saints in their obscurest cell.
3 To him let each united house,
Morning and night, present their vows;
And servants with the rising race,
Be taught his precepts, and his grace.
4 Then shall the charms of wedded love
Still more delightful blessings prove;
And parents' hearts shall overflow
With joys that parents only know.
5 O may each future age proclaim
The honours of thy glorious name;
While pleased, and thankful, we remove
To join thy family above!
'Some trust in Chariots, and some in Horses: Ps. xx. 7.
1 FOR safety in the evil day,
Some trust to strength, to wealth, or speed; But vain is mammon's bright array,
The rapid car, and warrior steed.
2 If heaven but frown,-they fade, they fly,-
An arm unseen consumes their might;
They faint, they totter, sink, and die,
Oppressed by everlasting night.
3 But we to God, the wise and just,
Will lift the voice of prayer and praise;
In his almighty arm we trust,
And in his name our banner raise.
Desires after Christian Obedience.
1 FROM the table now retiring,
Which for us the Lord hath spread,
May our souls, refreshment finding,
Grow in all things like our Head.
2 His example by beholding,
May our lives his image bear; Him our Lord and Master calling, His commands may we revere. 3 Love to God and man displaying, Walking steadfast in his way,Joy attend us in believing!
Peace from God, through endless day!
421. L. M.
An Evening Hymn.
1 GLORY to thee, my God! this night,
For all the blessings of the light:
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings!
Beneath thine own almighty wings!
2 Forgive me, Lord! through thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done,
That with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.
3 O may my soul on thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close!
Sleep that shall me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.
4 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below!
Praise him above, ye heavenly choir!
O may his praise my soul inspire!
A Hymn for Charity Children.
1 GOD of glory! God of love!
Lord of all the worlds above!
Thee we bless for daily food,
Thee we bless for every good.
Thee we sing, with loud acclaim,
Praising thy all-glorious name.
2 More than all, we praise thee, Lord!
For the blessings of thy word,
For the tidings Jesus brought,
For the precepts Jesus taught.
Thee we sing, &c.
3 Gracious Father! heavenly King!
Feeble lips presume to sing;
Infant voices humbly raise
Grateful, fervent songs of praise.
Thee we sing, &c.
The aged Christian's Prayer. Ps. lxxi. 17, 18. 1 GOD of my childhood, and my youth, The guide of all my days!
I have declared thy heavenly truth,
And seen thy wondrous ways.
2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,
And leave my fainting heart?
Who shall sustain my sinking years,
If God, my Strength, depart?
3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim
To the surviving age;
And leave a savour of thy name,
When I shall quit the stage.
4 The land of silence and of death
Awaits my next remove :
O may these poor remains of breath
Proclaim thy boundless love!
Praise to God through the whole of Existence. Ps. cxlvi. 2.
1 GoD of my life, through all its days
My grateful powers shall sound thy praise;
The song shall wake with dawning light,
And cheer the dark and silent night.
2 When anxious cares would break my rest,
And griefs would rend my throbbing breast,
Thy tuneful praises, raised on high,
Shall check the murmur and the sigh.
3 When death o'er nature shall prevail,
And all the powers of language fail,
Joy through my swimming eyes shall break,
And look the thanks I cannot speak.
4 But Oh! when that blessed morn is come,
Which breaks the slumbers of the tomb,
With what glad accents shall I rise
To join the music of the skies!
Reflections in the Review of departed Days.
1 GOD of the changing year! whose arm of power
In safety leads through danger's darkest hour;
Here, in thy temple, bow thy creatures down
To bless thy mercy, and thy might to own:
"Thee first, thee last,' the source and spring of blessing,
From age to age, from sire to son confessing.
2 Thine are the beams that cheer us on our way,
And pour around the gladdening light of day;
Thine is the night, and the fair orbs that shine
To cheer its hours of darkness,—all are thine:
Thy hand hath fixed the seasons' sure succession,
And marked the circling year's complete progression
3 If round our path the thorns of sorrow grew,
And mortal friends were faithless,-thou wert true;
Did sickness shake the frame, or anguish tear
The wounded spirit,-thou wert present there;
Where'er we roved, our wandering steps attending,
With outstretched arm our heads from ill defending.
4 Yet, when our hearts review departed days,
How vast thy mercies! how remiss our praise!
Well may we dread thine awful eye to meet,
Bend at thy throne, and worship at thy feet;
Well may we bow in silent shame before thee,
And bless the clouds that scatter darkness o'er thee.
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