Amid the silence, else so drear,
Think the Almighty leans to hear;
Well pleased to list, at such a time,
The wakeful heart, in praise sublime.
Still watch and pray and raise the hymn,
Throughout the hours of darkness dim!
God will not spurn the humblest guest,
But give us of His holy rest.
In the still silence of the voiceless night,
When from my wakeful eyes the slumbers flee,
Whom in the darkness doth my spirit seek,
O God, but Thee?
And if there be a weight upon my breast,
Some vague impression of the day foregone,
Scarce knowing what it is, I fly to Thee
More tranquil than the stillness of the night,
More peaceful than the silence of this hour,
More blest than anything, my spirit lies
For what is there on earth that I desire,
Of all that it can give or take from me,
Or whom in heaven doth my spirit seek,
O God, but Thee?
'I SLEPT, I WOKE; THE LORD SUSTAINED ME.'
As every day Thy mercy spares
Will bring its trials or its cares,
O Father, till my life shall end,
Be Thou my counsellor and friend!
Teach me Thy statutes all divine,
And let Thy will be always mine!
When each day's scenes and labors close,
And wearied nature seeks repose,
With pardoning mercy, richly blest,
Guard me, my Father, while I rest;
And as each morning sun shall rise,
O, lead me onward to the skies!
WHEN warmer suns and bluer skies
Proclaim the opening year,
What happy sounds of life arise,
What lovely scenes appear!
Earth with her thousand voices sings
Her song of gladsome praise;
And every blade of grass that springs
God's loving law obeys.
The early flowers bloom bright and fair,
Fair shines the morning sky;
The birds make music in the air,
The brook goes singing by.
Like this spring morning sweet and clear,
That greets our gladdened eyes,
The spring of heaven's eternal year
Shall bring new earth and skies.
PRAISE and thanks and cheerful love
Rise from everything below,
To the mighty One above,
Who His wondrous love doth show:
Praise Him, each created thing!
God, your Maker; God of spring!
Praise Him, trees so lately bare;
Praise Him, fresh and new-born flowers;
All ye creatures of the air;
All ye soft-descending showers!
Praise, with each awakening thing,
God, your Maker; God of spring!
Praise Him, man! — thy fitful heart
Let this balmy season move
To employ its noblest part,
Gentlest mercy, sweetest love;
Blessing, with each living thing,
God, your Father; God of spring!
THE earth, all light and loveliness,
In summer's golden hours,
Shines, in her bridal vesture clad,
And crowned with festal flowers,
So radiantly beautiful,
So like to heaven above,
We scarce can deem more fair that world
Of perfect bliss and love.
Is this a shadow faint and dim
Of that which is to come?
What shall the unveiled splendor be
Of our celestial home,
Where waves the glorious tree of life,
Where streams of bliss gush free,
And all is glowing in the light
Of immortality!
How glad the tone when summer's sun Wreathes the gay world with flowers, And trees bend down with golden fruit, And birds are in their bowers!
The morn sends silent music down
Upon each earthly thing;
And always since creation's dawn
The stars together sing.
Shall man remain in silence, then,
While all beneath the skies
The chorus joins? no, let us sing,
And while our voices rise,
O, let our lives, great God, breathe forth A constant melody;
every action be a tone
In that sweet hymn to Thee!
O LORD of seasons! unto Thee
Our hymn with grateful heart we raise,
For all Thy gifts, so rich and free,
That crown these sweet autumnal days.
By Thy dear love the lap of Spring
Was heaped with many a blooming flower,
And smiling Summer joyed to bring
The sunshine and the gentle shower.
And Autumn pours her riches now
Of ripening grain and bursting shell;
And golden sheaf and laden bough
The fulness of Thy bounty tell.
Beneath blue skies the fragrant breeze
O'er rustling fallen leaves doth blow;
In gold and purple robed, the trees
The fulness of Thy beauty show.
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