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6.

L. M. 6 L.

Seeking Refuge.

HEBER.

1 FORTH from the dark and stormy sky,
Lord, to thine altar's shade we fly;
Forth from the world, its hope and fear,
Father, we seek thy shelter here:
Weary and weak, thy grace we pray;
Turn not, O Lord, thy guests away.

2 Long have we roamed in want and pain;
Long have we sought thy rest in vain ;
Wildered in doubt, in darkness lost,
Long have our souls been tempest-tost:
Low at thy feet our sins we lay;
Turn not, O Lord, thy guests away.

7.

L. M.

The Hour of Prayer.

RAFFLES.

1 BLEST hour, when mortal man retires
To hold communion with his God,
To send to heaven his warm desires,
And listen to the sacred word.

2 Blest hour, when earthly cares resign
Their empire o'er his anxious breast,
While, all around, the calm divine
Proclaims the holy day of rest.

3 Blest hour, when God himself draws nigh,
Well pleased his people's voice to hear,
To hush the penitential sigh,

And wipe away the mourner's tear.

4 Blest hour! for, where the Lord resorts,
Foretastes of future bliss are given,
And mortals find his earthly courts
The house of God, the gate of heaven.

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Invitation to the House of God.

1 COME to the house of prayer,

O thou afflicted, come;

E. TAYLOR.

The God of peace shall meet thee there;
He makes that house his home.

2 Come to the house of praise,
Ye who are happy now;
In sweet accord your voices raise,
In kindred homage bow.

3 Ye aged, hither come,

For ye have felt his love;

Soon shall your trembling tongues be dumb, Your lips forget to move.

4 Ye young, before his throne,

Come, bow; your voices raise;
Let not your hearts his praise disown
Who gives the power to praise.

5 Thou, whose benignant eye
In mercy looks on all,
Who seest the tear of misery,
And hear'st the mourner's call, -

6 Up to thy dwelling-place
Bear our frail spirits on,

9.

--

Till they outstrip time's tardy pace,
And heaven on earth be won.

C. M. H. M. WILLIAMS.

Habitual Devotion.

1 WHILE thee I seek, protecting Power,
Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour

With better hopes be filled.

2 Thy love the power of thought bestowed;
To thee my thoughts would soar;
Thy mercy o'er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore.

3 In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!

Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by thee.

4 In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,

My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.

5 When gladness wings my favored hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill;
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet thy will.

6 My lifted eye, without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see;
My steadfast heart shall know no fear;
That heart shall rest on thee.

10.

11.

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1 O FATHER, though the anxious fear
May cloud to-morrow's doubtful way,
Nor fear nor doubt shall enter here;
All shall be thine at least to-day.

2 We will not bring divided hearts

To worship at thy sacred shrine ;
But each unholy thought departs,
And leaves the temple wholly thine.

3 O Father, God below, above!

Man's noblest work is praising thee;
Thy spirit o'er our hearts shall move,
And tune them all to harmony.

C. M.

The Sabbath of the Soul.

BARBAULD.

1 SLEEP, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,
Of earth and folly born;

Ye shall not dim the light that streams
From this celestial morn.

2 To-morrow will be time enough
To feel your harsh control;
Ye shall not violate this day,
The Sabbath of my soul.

3 Sleep, sleep for ever, guilty thoughts;
Let fires of vengeance die;

And, purged from sin, may I behold
A God of purity!

12.

13.

S. M.

Sabbath Worship.

1 HAIL to the Sabbath day!
The day divinely given,

BULFINCH.

When men to God their homage pay
And earth draws near to heaven.

2 Lord, in this sacred hour

Within thy courts we bend,

And bless thy love, and own thy power,
Our Father and our Friend.

3 But thou art not alone

In courts by mortals trod;
Nor only is the day thine own
When man draws near to God.

4 Thy temple is the arch

Of yon unmeasured sky;

Thy Sabbath, the stupendous march
Öf grand eternity.

5 Lord, may that holier day

Dawn on thy servants' sight;
And purer worship may we pay
In heaven's unclouded light.

H. M.

The Resurrection celebrated.

1 AWAKE, ye saints, awake,
And hail the sacred day;
In loftiest songs of praise

Your joyful homage pay;

COTTERILL.

Come bless the day The type of heaven's
That God hath blest, Eternal rest.

2 On this auspicious morn

The Lord of life arose,

And burst the bars of death,

And vanquished all our foes;

And now he pleads

Our cause above,

And reaps the fruit

Of all his love.

3 All hail, triumphant Lord!
Heaven with hosannas rings;
And earth, in humbler strains,
Thy praise responsive sings;

Worthy the Lamb, Through endless years
That once was slain, To live and reign.

14.

L. M.

The Sacrifice of the Heart.

BARBAULD.

1 WHEN, as returns this solemn day,
Man comes to meet his Maker, God,
What rites, what honors shall he pay?
How spread his sovereign 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 solemn hour,

From earth and sin's allurements free,
To feel thy love, to own thy power,
And raise each raptured thought to thee!

15.

7s. M. 6 L.

The Sabbath in the Sanctuary.

NEWTON.

1 SAFELY through another week
God has brought us on our way;
Let us now a blessing seek,

Waiting in his courts to-day, -
Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.

2 While we seek supplies of grace,
Through the dear Redeemer's name,
Show thy reconciling face,

Take away our sin and shame ;
From our worldly cares set free,
May we rest, this day, in thee.

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