3 My willing soul would stay
In such a frame as this,
And sit and sing herself away
To everlasting bliss.
Rev. Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)
1 SAVIOUR, breathe an evening blessing, Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing,
Thou canst save and thou canst heal.
Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow near us fly,
Angel-guards from thee surround us,
We are safe if thou art nigh.
2 Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from thee;
Thou art he who, never weary,
Watchest where thy people be.
Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom.
James Edmeston (1791-1867.)
PRAISE the God of all creation;
Praise the Father's boundless love;
Praise the Lamb, our expiation,
Priest and King enthroned above;
Praise the Fountain of salvation,
Him by whom our spirits live;
Undivided adoration
To the one Jehovah give.
Josiah Conder (1789-1855.)
MAY the grace of Christ, our Saviour,
And the Father's boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit's favor,
Rest upon us from above.
Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,
Joys which earth cannot afford.
Rev. John Newton (1725-1807.)
1 A GLORY gilds the sacred page,
Majestic like the sun;
It gives a light to every age,
It gives, but borrows none.
2 The hand that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
His truths upon the nations rise,
They rise, but never set.
3 Let everlasting thanks be thine,
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.
4 My soul rejoices to pursue
The steps of him I love,
Till glory breaks upon my view
In brighter worlds above.
Wm. Cowper (1731-1800.)
1 WALK in the light! so shalt thou know That fellowship of love His Spirit only can bestow,
Who reigns in light above.
2 Walk in the light! and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly his,
Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined,
In whom no darkness is.
3 Walk in the light! and e'en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear;
Glory shall chase away its gloom,
For Christ hath conquered there.
4 Walk in the light! and thou shalt see
Thy path, though thorny, bright;
For God by grace shall dwell in thee,
And God himself is light.
Bernard Barton (1784-1849.)
1 Он! how I love thy holy law!
'Tis daily my delight;
And thence my meditations draw
Divine advice by night.
2 My waking eyes prevent the day,
To meditate thy word;
My soul with longing melts away
To hear thy gospel, Lord.
3 Thy heavenly words my heart engage,
And well employ my tongue;
And in my tiresome pilgrimage
Yield me a heavenly song.
4 When nature sinks, and spirits droop,
Thy promises of grace
Are pillars to support my hope,
And there I write thy praise.
Rev. Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)
1 LORD, I have made thy word my choice,
My lasting heritage;
There shall my noblest powers rejoice,
My warmest thoughts engage.
2 I'll read the histories of thy love,
And keep thy laws in sight,
While through the promises I rove,
With ever fresh delight.
3 'Tis a broad land of wealth unknown,
Where springs of life arise;
Seeds of immortal bliss are sown,
And hidden glory lies.
4 The best relief that mourners have,
It makes our sorrows blest;
Our fairest hope beyond the grave,
And our eternal rest.
Rev. Isaac Watts (1674-1748.)
1 O WORD of God, incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky!
We praise thee for the radiance,
That, from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps,
Shines on from age to age.
2 The church from thee, her Master,
Received the gift divine;
And still that light she lifteth
O'er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket
Where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven-drawn picture
Of thee, the living Word.
3 Oh! make thy church, dear Saviour,
A lamp of burnished gold,
To bear before the nations
Thy true light, as of old.
Oh! teach thy wandering pilgrims
By this their path to trace,
Till, clouds and darkness ended,
They see thee face to face.
Bishop William Walsham How, 1867.
1 GOD, in the gospel of his Son,
Makes his eternal counsels known;
Where love in all its glory shines,
And truth is drawn in fairest lines.
2 Here sinners of a humble frame May taste his grace and learn his name; May read, in characters of blood,
The wisdom, power, and grace of God.
3 The prisoner here may break his chains;
The weary rest from all his pains,
The captive feel his bondage cease,
The mourner find the way of peace.
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