4 O'er every foe victorious,
He on his throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blest;
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name'shall stand forever;
That name to us is-Love.
GREAT God, thy watchful care we bless,
Which guards these sacred courts in peace;
Nor dare tumultuous foes invade,
To fill thy worshippers with dread.
2 These walls we to thy honor raise;
Long may they echo to thy praise!
And thou, descending, fill the place
With choicest tokens of thy grace.
3 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.
HYMN 522. L. M. [232]
GREAT God attend, while Zion sings
The joy that from thy presence springs;
To spend one day with thee on earth,
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth.
2 Might I enjoy the meanest place
Within thine house, O God of grace,
Not tents of ease, nor thrones of power,
Should tempt my feet to leave thy door.
3 God is our sun, he makes our day;
God is our shield, he guards our way
From all th' assaults of hell and sin;
From foes without and foes within.
4 All needful grace will God bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too;
He gives us all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.
HYMN 523. S. M. [233]
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 wond'rous grace,
And seek deliverance there.
HYMN 524. L. M. [233]
BEHOLD thy temple, God of grace,
The house that we have rear'd for thee,
Regard it as thy resting place,
And fill it with thy majesty.
2 With outstretched hands on thee we call, Prostrate before thy throne we bow;
O, let the cloud of glory fall
On all thy waiting servants now.
3 Now by thy presence sanctify
This earthly sanctuary, Lord;
And to its courts be ever nigh,
And here thy hallow'd name record.
4 When from its altar shall arise
Joint supplication to thy name,
Deign to accept the sacrifice,
Thyself our answering God proclaim.
5 Now, therefore, O our God arise,
In this thy resting place appear;
And let thy people's longing eyes
Behold thee fix thy dwelling here.
HYMN 525. L. M. [234]
FOUNTAIN of life, enthroned above,
To thee our grateful songs shall rise;
And may this tribute of our love
Prove an accepted sacrifice.
2 Tho' poor the offering, wilt thou deign In mercy to accept it, Lord!
Show us that thou canst dwell with men, And make this temple thine abode.
3 Here may our supplications rise, As holy incense to thy throne; And grace descend in rich supplies,
To make thy power and mercy known. 4 These walls shall to thy praise resound, Till we arise to dwell with thee;
May future ages catch the sound,
And still prolong the melody.
HYMN 526. L. M. [426]
THE perfect world, by Adam trod,
Was the first temple, built by God;
His fiat laid the corner stone:
He spake, and lo! the work was done.
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 rung,
The morning stars together sung.
4 Lord, 'tis not ours to make the sea,
And earth, and sky, a house for thee;
But in thy sight our offering stands,
An humble temple built with hands.
AND will the great eternal God
On earth establish his abode ?
And will he, from his radiant throne
Avow our temple for his own?
2 We bring the tribute of our praise;
And sing that condescending grace,
Which to our notes will lend an ear,
And call us sinful mortals near.
3 Our Father's watchful care we bless,
Which guards our synagogues in peace!
That no tumultuous foes invade,
To fill our worshippers with dread.
4 These walls we to thy honor raise;
Long may they echo to thy praise;
And thou, descending, fill the place,
With choicest tokens of thy grace.
5 Here let the great Redeemer reign,
With all the glories of his train;
While power divine his word attends,
To conquer foes, and cheer his friends.
6 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.
HYMN 528. L. M. [424]
HERE, in thy name, eternal God,
We build this earthly house for thee;
O, choose it for thy fixed abode,
And guard it long from error free.
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 When children's voices raise the song,
Hosanna! to their heavenly King,
Let heaven with earth the strain prolong;
Hosanna! let the angels sing.
5 But will, indeed, Jehovah deign
Here to abide, no transient guest?
Here will our great Redeemer reign,
And here the Holy Spirit rest?
6 Thy glory never hence depart,
Yet choose not, Lord, this house alone; Thy kingdom come to every heart;
In every bosom fix thy throne.
HYMN 529. P. M. [336]
THOU, who hast in Zion laid
The true Foundation-stone,
And with those a covenant made,
Who build on that alone:
|
