53 Vigil. S.M.

(1169) Morning Song.

See how the morning sun

Pursues his shining way;

And wide proclaims his Maker's praise,

With ev'ry bright'ning ray.

2 Thus would my rising soul

Its heavenly Parent sing,

And to its great Original

The humble tribute bring.

3 Serene I laid me down,

Beneath his guardian care;

I slept, and I awoke, and found

My kind Preserver near.

4 My life I would anew

Devote, O Lord, to thee;

And in thy service I would spend

A long eternity.

T. Scott.

(1171) Evening Blessing Desired.

Savior, breathe an evening blessing,

E'er repose our spirits seal;

Sin and want we come confessing,

Thou canst save and thou canst heal.

2 Though destruction walk around us,

Though the arrows past us fly;

Angel guards from thee surround us,

We are safe if thou art nigh.

3 Though the night be dark and dreary,

Darkness cannot hide from thee;

Thou art he who, never weary,

Watchest where thy people be.

4 Should swift death this night o'ertake us,

And our couch become our tomb,

May the morn in heaven awake us,

Clad in bright and deathless bloom.

James Edmeston, 1820.