TOW that the sun is beaming bright,
Implore we, bending low,
That he, the uncreated Light,
May guide us as we go.
No sinful word, nor deed of wrong,
Nor thoughts that idly rove,
But simple truth be on our tongue,
And in our hearts be love.
And, while the hours in order flow,
O Lord, securely fence
Our gates beleaguered by the foe,
The gate of every sense.
And grant that to thine honor, Lord,
Our daily toil may tend;
That we begin it at thy word,
And in thy favor end.
HRIST, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only light,
Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Triumph o'er the shades of night :
Dayspring from on high, be near!
Daystar, in my heart appear!
Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by thee;
Joyless is the day's return,
Till thy mercy's beams I see ;
Till they inward light impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.
Visit, then, this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, radiancy divine;
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.
A MORNING HYMN.
AWAKE, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.
In conversation be sincere ;
Keep conscience as the noon-tide clear;
Think how all-seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.
By influence of the light divine,
Let thy own light to others shine;
Reflect all heaven's propitious rays
In ardent love and cheerful praise.
All praise to thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me, whilst I slept !
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless light partake.
Lord, I my vows to thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew;
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with thyself my spirit fill.
Direct, control, suggest this day
All I design, or do, or say;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In thy sole glory may unite.
'OME to me, Lord, when first I wake,
As the faint lights of morning break;
Bid purest thoughts within me rise,
Like crystal dewdrops to the skies.
Come to me in the sultry noon,
Or earth's low communings will soon
Of thy dear face eclipse the light,
And change my fairest day to night.
Come to me in the evening shade;
And if my heart from thee have strayed,
Oh! bring it back, and from afar
Smile on me like thine evening star.
Come to me in the midnight hour,
When sleep withholds her balmy power;
Let my lone spirit find its rest,
Like John, upon my Saviour's breast.
Come to me through life's varied way;
And when its pulses cease to play,
Then, Saviour, bid me come to thee,
That where thou art thy child may be.
TILL, still with thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than the daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with thee !
Alone with thee, amid the mystic shadows,
The solemn hush of nature newly born;
Alone with thee in breathless adoration,
In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.
As in the dawning, o'er the waveless ocean,
The image of the morning-star doth rest,
So in this stillness thou beholdest only
Thine image in the waters of my breast.
Still, still with thee! as to each new-born morning
A fresh and solemn splendor still is given,
So doth this blessed consciousness, awaking,
Breathe, each day, nearness unto thee and heaven.
When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber,
Its closing eye looks up to thee in prayer;
Sweet the repose beneath thy wings o'ershading,
But sweeter still to wake and find thee there.
Šo shall it be, at last, in that bright morning,
When the soul waketh, and life's shadows flee;
Oh, in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with thee !
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