DUKE STREET.

L. M.

JOHN HATTON.

859

Laying the foundation.

1 O LORD of hosts, whose glory fills
The bounds of the eternal hills,
And yet vouchsafes, in Christian lands,
To dwell in temples made with hands;
2 Grant that all we who here to-day
Rejoicing this foundation lay,
May be in very deed thine own,
Built on the precious Corner-stone.
3 Endue the creatures with thy grace
That shall adorn thy dwelling-place;
The beauty of the oak and pine,
The gold and silver, make them thine.
4 To thee they all pertain; to thee
The treasures of the earth and sea;
And when we bring them to thy throne
We but present thee with thine own.
5 The heads that guide endue with skill;
The hands that work preserve from ill;
That we, who these foundations lay,
May raise the topstone in its day.

Their holy hands in humble prayer,
Or tune their hearts to grateful praise.

4 Be this, O Lord, that honored place, The house of God, the gate of heaven; And may the fullness of thy grace

To all who here shall meet be given. 5 And hence, in spirit, may we soar To those bright courts where seraphs bend;

With awe like theirs, on earth adore,
Till with their anthems ours shall blend.

861

UNKNOWN.

God's guardian presence.

1 THIS stone to thee in faith we lay;
To thee this temple, Lord, we build;
Thy power and goodness here display,
And be it with thy presence filled.

2 Here, when thy people seek thy face,
And dying sinners pray to live,
Hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place,
And when thou hearest, Lord, forgive!
3 Here, when thy messengers proclaim
The blessed gospel of thy Son,
Still, by the power of his great name,
Be mighty signs and wonders done.

4 But will indeed Jehovah deign
Here to abide, no transient guest?
Here will the world's Redeemer reign?
And here the Holy Spirit rest?

5 Thy glory never hence depart;
Yet choose not, Lord, this house alone;
Thy kingdom come to every heart,
In every bosom fix thy throne.

JAMES MONTGOMERY,

HURSLEY.

L. M.

PETER RITTER, ARR. BY WILLIAM HENRY MONK.

862 The earthly and the heavenly temple.

1 ENTER thy temple, glorious King!

And write thy name upon its shrine, Thy peace to shed, thy joy to bring, And seal its courts forever thine.

2 Abide with us, O Lord, we pray, Our strength, our comfort, and our light; Sun of our joy's unclouded day!

Star of our sorrow's troubled night!

3 If from thy paths our souls should stray,
Yet turn to seek thy pardoning grace,
Cast not our contrite prayer away,
But hear from heaven, thy dwelling-place.

4 Grant us to walk in peace and love,
And find, at last, some humble place

In that great temple built above,
Where dwell thy saints before thy face.

MRS. EMILY H. MILLER,

863 A humble offering to Jehovah.

1 THE perfect world, by Adam trod,
Was the first temple, built by God;
His flat laid the corner-stone,
And heaved its pillars one by one.

2 He hung its starry roof on high,
The broad expanse of azure sky;
He spread its pavement, green and bright,
And curtained it with morning light.

3 The mountains in their places stood,
The sea, the sky; and all was good;
And when its first pure praises rang,
"The morning stars together sang."

4 Lord, 'tis not ours to make the sea,
And earth, and sky, a house for thee;
But in thy sight our offering stands,
A humbler temple, "made with hands."

NATHANIEL P. WILLIS.

MURRAY, H. M.

2d.

| 1st.

GERMAN.

And grateful praise ascend,

Like incense, to the skies:

Here may thy word melodious sound And spread celestial joys around.

3 Here may our unborn sons And daughters sound thy praise, And shine, like polished stones,

Through long-succeeding days: Here, Lord, display thy saving power, While temples stand and men adore.

4 Here may the listening throng Receive thy truth in love; Here Christians join the song

Of seraphim above;

Till all, who humbly seek thy face,
Rejoice in thy abounding grace.

BENJAMIN FRANCIS.

GERMAN.

866 Dedication of a hall of science. 1 THE Lord our God alone is strong; His hands build not for one brief day; His wondrous works, through ages long, His wisdom and his power display. 2 His mountains lift their solemn forms, To watch in silence o'er the land;

The rolling ocean, rocked with storms, Sleeps in the hollow of his hand.

3 Beyond the heavens he sits alone,
The universe obeys his nod;
The lightning-rifts disclose his throne,
And thunders voice the name of God.

And will he, from his radiant throne, Accept our temples for his own?

2 These walls we to thy honor raise;
Long may they echo with thy praise:
And thou, descending, fill the place
With choicest tokens of thy grace.

3 Here let the great Redeemer reign,
With all the graces of his train;
While power divine his word attends,
To conquer foes, and cheer his friends.
4 And in the great decisive day,
When God the nations shall survey,
May it before the world appear
That crowds were born to glory here.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE.

UNKNOWN.

DUNDEE. C. M.

GUILLAUME FRANC.

869

Dedication hymn.

1 0 THOU, whose own vast temple stands, Built over earth and sea,

Accept the walls that human hands
Have raised to worship thee!

2 Lord, from thine inmost glory send,
Within these courts to bide,

The peace that dwelleth without end,
Serenely by thy side!

3 May erring minds that worship here
Be taught the better way;

And they who mourn, and they who fear, Be strengthened as they pray.

4 May faith grow firm, and love grow warm, And pure devotion rise,

While round these hallowed walls the storm, Of earthborn passion dies.

870

WILLIAM C. BRYANT.

Blessings entreated.

O GOD, though countless worlds of light Thy power and glory show,

Though round thy throne, above all height,
Immortal seraphs glow,-

2 Yet, Lord, where'er thy saints apart
Are met for praise and prayer,
Wherever sighs a contrite heart,
Thou, gracious God, art there.

3 With grateful joy, thy children rear
This temple, Lord, to thee;

Long may they sing thy praises here,
And here thy beauty see.

4 Here, Saviour, deign thy saints to meet; With peace their hearts to fill;

[S. M. Tune, St. Thomas. Page 186.]

871 The honor and safety of a nation

1 GREAT is the Lord our God,
And let his praise be great;
He makes his churches his abode,
His most delightful seat.

2 These temples of his grace,
How beautiful they stand!
The honors of our native place,
And bulwarks of our land.

3 In Zion God is known,
A refuge in distress;

How bright has his salvation shone
Through all her palaces!

4 In every new distress

We'll to his house repair;

We'll think upon his wondrous grace And seek deliverance there.

Doxology.

ISAAC WATTS.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God whom we adore,
Be glory, as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

TATE AND BRADY.