FATHER, Source of every blessing,
Tune my heart to grateful lays:
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for ceaseless songs of praise.
Teach me some melodious measure,
Sung by raptured saints above;
Fill my soul with sacred pleasure,
While I sing redeeming love.
Thou didst seek me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold above;
Thou, to save my soul from danger,
Didst redeem me with thy love.
By thy hand restored, defended,
Safe through life thus far I've come :
Safe, O Lord! when life is ended,
Bring me to my heavenly home.
PRAISE the Lord; ye heavens, adore him;
Praise him, angels, in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before him;
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
GREAT God, the followers of thy Son,
We bow before thy mercy-seat,
To worship thee, the Holy One,
And pour our wishes at thy feet.
Oh, grant thy blessing here to-day!
Oh, give thy people joy and peace!
The tokens of thy love display,
And favor that shall never cease.
We seek the truth which Jesus brought;
His path of light we long to tread;
Here be his holy doctrines taught,
And here their purest influence shed.
May faith and hope and love abound;
Our sins and errors be forgiven;
And we, in thy great day, be found
Children of God and heirs of heaven!
COME, Christians, brethren, ere we part,
Join every voice and every heart;
One solemn hymn to God we raise,
One final song of grateful praise.
Christians, we here may meet no more,
But there is yet a happier shore;
And there, released from toil and pain,
Soon, brethren, we may meet again.
20. The Spirit that helpeth our Infirmities.
SPIRIT of power, and truth, and love,
Who sitt'st enthroned in light above,
Descend, and bear us on thy wings
Far from these low and fleeting things.
'Tis thine the wounded soul to heal;
'Tis thine to make the hardened feel;
Thine to give light to blinded eyes,
And bid the earth-bound spirit rise.
Compassed by foes on every side,
By sin and sore temptation tried,
Where can we look or whither flee,
If not, great Strengthener, to thee?
Come, Holy Spirit, like the fire,
With burning zeal our souls inspire;
Come, like the south wind, breathing balm,
Our joys refresh, our passions calm;
Come like the sun's enlightening beam;
Come like the cooling, cleansing stream;
With all thy graces present be:
Spirit of God, we wait for thee.
William Lindsay Alexander. 1849.
O God, whose presence glows in all
Within, around us, and above!
Thy word we bless, thy name we call,
Whose word is Truth, whose name is
Love.
That truth be with the heart believed
Of all who seek this sacred place;
With power proclaimed, in peace
ceived, -
Our spirits' light, thy Spirit's grace.
That love its holy influence pour,
To keep us meek and make us free,
And throw its binding blessing more
Round each with all, and all with thee.
Send down its angel to our side;
Send in its calm upon the breast:
For we would know no other guide,
And we can need no other rest.
Not now on Zion's height alone Thy favored worshipper may dwell; Nor where, at sultry noon, thy Son Sat weary by the patriarch's well.
ROCKINGHAM. [ENGLISH.] L. M.
Come, Holy Spirit.
THOU Source divine of life and light,
Whose beams disperse the shades of night!
Oh, show us, Lord of light and grace,
The brightness of thy loving face.
Come, holy Sun of heavenly love,
Come in thy radiance from above,
And to our inward hearts convey
Thy Holy Spirit's cloudless ray.
Wilt thou our actions deign to bless,
And loose the bonds of wickedness;
From sudden falls our feet defend,
And guide us safely to the end.
May faith, deep rooted in the soul,
Subdue our flesh, our minds control;
May guile depart, and discord cease,
And all within be joy and peace.
Oh, hallowed thus be every day;
Let meekness be our morning ray ;
Our faith like noontide splendor glow,
Our souls the twilight never know.
Ambrose of Milan. 397.
Tr. by John Chandler. 1837.
Prayer for the Spirit of God.
SPIRIT of Truth, who makest bright
All souls that long for heavenly light,
Appear, and on my darkness shine;
Descend, and be my Guide divine.
Spirit of Power, whose might doth dwell
Full in the souls thou lovest well,
Unto this fainting heart draw near,
And be my daily Quickener.
Spirit of Joy, who makest glad
Each broken heart by sin made sad,
Pour on this mourning soul thy cheer;
Give me to bless my Comforter.
O tender Spirit, who dost mourn
Whene'er from thee thy people turn,
Give me each day to grieve thee less ;
Enjoy my fuller faithfulness:
Till thou shalt make me meet to bear
The sweetness of heaven's holy air,
The light wherein no darkness is,
The eternal, overflowing bliss!
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