5 Seasons, and months, and weeks, and days,
Demand successive songs of praise;
And be the grateful homage paid,
With morning light and evening shade.
6 Here in Thy house let incense rise,
And circling Sabbaths bless our eyes;
Till to those lofty heights we soar,
Where days and years revolve no more.
P. Doddridge.
FOR Thy mercy and Thy grace,
Constant through another year,
Hear our song of thankfulness s;
Jesus, our Redeemer, hear.
2 Lo! our sins on Thee we cast,
Thee, our perfect sacrifice;
And, forgetting all the past,
Press towards our glorious prize.
3 Dark the future; let Thy light
Guide us, bright and morning star : Fierce our foes, and hard the fight; Arm us, Saviour, for the war.
4 In our weakness and distress, Rock of strength, be Thou our stay; In the pathless wilderness
Be our true and living way.
5 Who of us death's awful road
In the coming year shall tread?
With Thy rod and staff, O God,
Comfort Thou his dying bed.
6 Keep us faithful, keep us pure,
Keep us evermore Thine own;
Help, O help us to endure;
Fit us for the promised crown.
7 So within Thy palace gate
We shall praise, on golden strings,
Thee the only Potentate,
Lord of lords, and King of kings.
P. M. 8,7,8,7 (8,8,8,9).
DAYS and moments quickly flying
Speed us onward to the dead:
Oh, how soon shall we be lying
Each within his narrow bed!
(AFTER 3D AND 6TH VERSES.)
Life passeth soon;
Death draweth near:
Keep us, good Lord,
Till Thou appear;
With Thee to live,
With Thee to die,
With Thee to reign
Thro' eternity.
2 Jesus, merciful Redeemer,
Rouse dead souls to hear Thy voice; Wake, oh, wake each idle dreamer
Now to make th' eternal choice!
3 Mark we whither we are wending;
Ponder how we soon must go
To inherit bliss unending
Or eternity of woe.
4 As a shadow life is fleeting;
As a vapor so it flies:
For the bygone years retreating,
Pardon grant, and make us wise;
5 Wise that we our days may number,
Strive and wrestle with our sin;
Stay not in our work nor slumber
Till Thy holy rest we win.
6 Soon before the Judge all-glorious
We with all the dead shall stand;
Saviour, over death victorious,
Place us then on Thy right hand.
A FEW more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come,
And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep within the tomb;
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that great day;
Oh, wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
2 A few more suns shall set
O'er these dark hills of time,
And we shall be where suns are not,
A far serener clime:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that blest day;
Oh, wash me in Thy precious blood,
Ánd take my sins away.'
3 A few more storms shall beat
On this wild rocky shore,
And we shall be where tempests cease,
And surges swell no more:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that calm day;
Oh, wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
4 A few more struggles here,
A few more partings o'er,
A few more toils, a few more tears,
And we shall weep no more: 45
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that bright day;
Oh, wash me in Thy precious blood,
Ánd take my sins away.
5 'Tis but a little while
And He shall come again,
Who died that we might live, who lives That we with Him may reign:
Then, O my Lord, prepare
My soul for that glad day;
Oh, wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.
WHILE with ceaseless course the sun
Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here:
Fixed in an eternal state,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little, none can know.
2 As the winged arrow flies
Speedily the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind;
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upward, Lord, our spirits raise :
All below is but a dream.
3 Thanks for mercies past receive ;
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us henceforth how to live
With eternity in view:
Bless Thy word to young and old;
Fill us with a Saviour's love;
And when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with Thee above.
FATHER, let me dedicate
All this year to Thee,
In whatever worldly state
Thou wilt have me be.
Not from sorrow, pain, or care,
Freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer:
Glorify Thy name.
2 Can a child presume to choose
Where or how to live?
Can a Father's love refuse
All the best to give?
More Thou givest every day
Than the best can claim,
Nor withholdest aught that may
Glorify Thy name.
3 If in mercy Thou wilt spare
Joys that yet are mine;
If on life, serene and fair,
Brighter rays may shine,
Let my glad heart, while it sings,
Thee in all proclaim,
And, whate'er the future brings,
Glorify Thy name.
4 If Thou callest to the cross,
And its shadow come,
Turning all my gain to loss,
Shrouding heart and home, -
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