And seek to keep my heart and house
From all pollution free.
Where'er I have a tent,
An altar will I raise;
And thither my oblations bring,
Of humble prayer and praise.
Could I my wish obtain,
My household, Lord, should be
Devoted to Thyself alone,
A nursery for Thee.
Parents praying for their offspring-
1 GOD only wise, almighty, good,
Send forth thy truth and light,
To point us out the narrow road,
And guide our steps aright;
To steer our dangerous course between
The rocks on either hand,
And fix us in the golden mean,
And bring our charge to land.
2 Made apt by thy sufficient grace
To teach as taught by Thee,
We come to train in all thy ways
Our rising progeny:
Their selfish will by times subdue,
And mortify their pride,
And lend their youth a sacred clue
To find the Crucified.
3 We would in every step look up,
By thy example taught,
To' alarm their fear, excite their hope,
And rectify their thought.
We would persuade them to obey,
With mildest zeal proceed,
And never take the harsher way,
When love will do the deed.
4 For this we ask, in faith sincere,
The wisdom from above
To touch their hearts with filial fear,
And pure, ingenuous love;
To watch their will to sense inclined,
Withhold the hurtful food,
And gently bend their tender mind,
And draw their souls to God.
1 PEACE be to this habitation;
Peace to all that dwell therein;
Peace, the earnest of salvation;
Peace, the fruit of pardon'd sin;
Peace, that speaks the heavenly Giver,
Peace to worldly minds unknown;
Peace divine, that lasts for ever,
Peace, that comes from God alone.
2 Jesus, Prince of Peace, be near us,
Fix in all our hearts thy home;
With thy gracious presence cheer us;
Let thy sacred kingdom come;
Raise to heaven our expectation,
Give our favour'd souls to prove
Glorious and complete salvation,
In the realms of bliss above.
The young invited to Christ.
1 YE hearts with youthful vigour warm,
In smiling crowds draw near,
And turn from every mortal charm,
A Saviour's voice to hear.
2 He, Lord of all the worlds on high,
Stoops to converse with you;
And lays his radiant glories by,
Your friendship to pursue.
3" The soul, that longs to see my face,
Is sure my love to gain;
And those that early seek my grace,
Shall never seek in vain."
4 What object, Lord, my soul should move,
If once compared with Thee?
What beauty should command my love,
Like what in Christ I see?
5 Away, ye false delusive toys,
Vain tempters of the mind!
'Tis here I fix my lasting choice,
And here true bliss I find.
The blessedness of benevolence.
1 BLESS'D is the man whose softening heart
Feels all another's pain;
To whom the supplicating eye
Was never raised in vain:
2 Whose breast expands with generous warmth
A stranger's woes to feel;
And bleeds in pity o'er the wound
He wants the power to heal.
3 He spreads his kind, supporting arms
To every child of grief:
His secret bounty largely flows,
And brings unask'd relief.
4 To gentle offices of love
His feet are never slow:
He views, through mercy's melting eye,
5 Peace from the bosom of his God,
My peace to him I give;
And when he kneels before the throne,
His trembling soul shall live.
6 To him protection shall be shown,
And mercy from above
Descend on those who thus fulfil
The perfect law of love.
For Sunday or Charity Schools.
1 BLESS'D is the man whose heart expands At melting Pity's call;
And the rich blessings of whose hands
Like heavenly manna fall.
2 Children our kind protection claim;
And God will well approve,
When infants learn to lisp his name,
And their Creator love.
3 Be ours the bliss, in wisdom's way,
To guide untutor❜d youth,
And lead the mind that went astray
To virtue and to truth.
4 Almighty God, thine influence shed
To aid this good design:
The honours of thy name be spread,
And all the glory thine.
Instruction from the works of God.
1 THY humblest works, with full accord,
Confirm thy word, Almighty Lord;
And spread beneath man's downward eyes
A scene which bids him seek the skies.
2 Emblem of zeal that never tires,
Nor kindles with unhallow'd fires-
Such be my zeal ! In eddying tides
Yon stream its active chrystal guides:
3 Or pausing, as a noble wood,
Or wilder cliff, o'erhangs its flood,
(Each wave, each dimpling curl repress'd)
Displays the picture on its breast.
4 O well! were mine as pure a course;
O well! with half the truth and force,
Did this degenerate heart of mine
Reflect the beams of grace divine!
For an abundant Harvest.
1 FOUNTAIN of mercy, God of love!
How rich thy bounties are!
The rolling seasons, as they move,
Proclaim thy constant care.
2 When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness mark'd its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.
3 The spring's sweet influence, Lord, was thine
The plants in beauty grew:
Thou gav'st refulgent suns to shine,
And mild, refreshing dew.
4 These various mercies from above
Matured the swelling grain;
A kindly harvest crowns thy love,
And plenty fills the plain.
5 We own and bless, thy gracious sway,
Thy hand all nature hails;
Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day,
Summer nor winter, fails.
Passage through life.
1 WE seek a rest beyond the skies, In everlasting day:
Through floods and flames the passage lies, But Jesus guards the way.
2 The swelling flood, and raging flame,
Hear and obey his word;
Then let us triumph in his name,
Our Saviour is the Lord.
|