Watchfulness and Brotherly Reproof.
Ps. 141.
1 My God, accept my early vows,
Like morning incense in thy house;
And let my nightly worship rise,
Sweet as the evening sacrifice.
2 Watch o'er my lips, and guard them, Lord,
From every rash and heedless word;
Nor let my feet incline to tread
The guilty path where sinners lead.
3 O may the righteous, when I stray,
Smite and reprove my wandering way!
Their gentle words, like ointment, shed,
Shall never bruise, but cheer my head.
4 When I behold them pressed with grief,
I'll cry to Heaven for their relief;
And by my warm petitions prove
How much I prize their faithful love.
Morning or Evening Song.
1 My God, how endless is thy love!
Thy gifts are every evening new;
And morning mercies, from above,
Gently distil like early dew.
2 Thou spread'st the curtains of the night,
Great Guardian of my sleeping hours;
Thy sovereign word restores the light,
And quickens all my drowsy powers.
2 What mercies has this day bestowed!
How largely hast thou blest!
My cup with plenty overflowed,
With cheerfulness my breast.
3 Now may sweet slumbers close my eyes, From pain and sickness free;
And let my waking thoughts arise
To meditate on thee.
4 So bless each future day and night,
Till life's fond scene is o'er;
At length, to realms of endless light
Enraptured let me soar.
1 IN mercy, Lord, remember me,
This instant passing night,
And grant to me most graciously
The safeguard of thy might.
2 With cheerful heart I close my eyes,
Since thou wilt not remove;
O in the morning let me rise,
Rejoicing in thy love.
3 Or if this night should prove the last,
And end my transient days,
Lord, take me to thy promised rest,
Where I may sing thy praise.
4 Thus I am sure to live or die
To thee, the God of love;
In life and death I do rely
On thee who reign'st above.
1 INTERVAL of grateful shade,
Welcome to my weary head!
Welcome, slumbers to mine eyes,
Tired with glaring vanities!
2 My great Master still allows
Needful periods of repose:
By my heavenly Father blest,
Thus I give my powers to rest.
3 Heavenly Father! gracious name!
Night and day his love the same!
Far be each suspicious thought,
Every anxious care forgot!
4 Thou, my ever-bounteous God,
Crown'st my days with various good :
Thy kind eye, which cannot sleep,
My defenceless hours shall keep.
5 What if death my sleep invade?
Should I be of death afraid?
While encircled by thine arm,
Death may strike, but cannot harm.
6 With thy heavenly presence blest,
Death is life, and labour rest:
Welcome, sleep or death to me,
Still secure, for still with thee!
1 THE Swift-declining day,
How fast its moments fly!
While evening's broad and gloomy shade
Gains on the western sky.
3 Ye mortals! mark its pace;
And use the hours of light;
And know, your Maker can command
An instantaneous night.
3 His word blots out the sun
In its meridian blaze,
And cuts from smiling vigorous youth
The remnant of its days.
4 On the dark mountain's brow
Your feet shall quickly slide;
And from its airy summit dash
Your momentary pride.
5 Give glory to the LORD,
Who rules the rolling sphere;
Submissive at his footstool bow,
And seek salvation there.
6 Then shall new lustre break,
Through horror's darkest gloom, And lead you to unchanging light In a celestial home,
Nature's Evening Hymn.
1 THE heavenly spheres to thee, O God, Attune their evening hymn:
All wise, all holy, thou art praised
In song of seraphim!
Unnumbered systems, suns and worlds
Unite to worship thee,
While thy majestic greatness fills
Space, time, eternity.
2 Nature, a temple worthy thee,
That beams with light and love;
Whose flowers so sweetly bloom below,
Whose stars rejoice above,
Whose altars are the mountain cliffs
That rise along the shore;
Whose anthems, the sublime accord
Of storm and ocean roar;
3 Her song of gratitude is sung
By spring's awakening hours;
Her summer offers at thy shrine
Its earliest, loveliest flowers;
Her autumn brings its ripened fruits,
In glorious luxury given;
While winter's silver heights reflect
Thy brightness back to heaven.
4 On all thou smil'st; and what is man, Before thy presence, God?
A breath but yesterday inspired,
Tomorrow but a clod.
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