VIII. VARIOUS OCCASIONS.
362.
P. M.
Sterling.
A Hymn of Morning.
1 Sweet morn! from countless cups of gold,
Thou liftest reverently on high
More incense fine than earth can hold,
To fill the sky.
2 Where’er the vision’s boundaries glance,
Existence swells with living power,
And all the illumined earth’s expanse
Inhales the hour.
3 In man, O morn! a loftier good,
With conscious blessing, fills the soul,—
A life by reason understood,
Which metes the whole.
4 To thousand tasks of fruitful hope,
With skill against his toil, he bends,
And finds his work’s determined scope
Where’er he wends.
5 From earth and earthly toil and strife
To deathless aims his soul may rise,
Each dawn may wake to better life,
With purer eyes.
6 Such grace from Thee, O God, be ours,
Renewed with every morning’s ray,
And freshening still with added flowers
Each future day.
7 To man is given one primal star;
One dayspring’s beam has dawned below;
From Thine our inmost glories are,
With Thine we glow.
8 Like earth awake and warm and bright,
With joy the spirit moves and burns;
So up to Thee, O Fount of Light,
Our light returns.
363.
7s. M.
Episcopal Coll.
Morning Hymn.
1 Now the shades of night are gone;
Now the morning light is come:
Lord, may we be Thine to-day;
Drive the shades of sin away.
2 Fill our souls with heavenly light,
Banish doubt, and clear our sight;
In Thy service, Lord, to-day,
May we stand, and watch, and pray.
3 Keep our haughty passions bound;
Save us from our foes around;
Going out and coming in,
Keep us safe from every sin.
364.
7s. M.
Furness.
Morning Hymn.
1 In the morning I will pray
For God’s blessing on the day;
What this day shall be my lot,
Light or darkness, know I not.
2 Should it be with clouds o’ercast,
Clouds of sorrow, gathering fast,
Thou, who givest light divine,
Shine within me, Lord, O, shine!
3 Show me, if I tempted be,
How to find all strength in Thee,
And a perfect triumph win
Over every bosom sin.
4 Keep my feet from secret snares,
Keep mine eyes, O God, from tears!
Every step Thy love attend,
And my soul from death defend!
365.
C. M.
St. Ambrose.
Morning Hymn.
1 Now that the sun is beaming bright,
Implore we, bending low,
That He, the uncreated Light,
May guide us as we go.
2 No sinful word, nor deed of wrong,
Nor thoughts that idly rove,
But simple truth be on our tongue,
And in our hearts be love.
3 And while the hours in order flow,
Securely keep, O God,
Our hearts, beleaguered by the foe
That tempts our every road.
4 And grant that to Thine honor, Lord,
Our daily toil may tend;
That we begin it at Thy word,
And in Thy favor end.
366.
L. M.
Pierpont.
Morning Hymn for a Child.
1 O God! I thank Thee that the night
In peace and rest hath passed away,
And that I see in this fair light
My Father’s smile, that makes it day.
2 Be Thou my guide, and let me live
As under Thine all-seeing eye;
Supply my wants, my sins forgive,
And make me happy when I die.
367.
P. M.
Heber.
Evening Aspiration.
God that madest earth and heaven,
Darkness and light!
Who the day for toil hast given,
For rest the night!
May Thine angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet Thy mercy send us,
Holy dreams and hopes attend us,
This livelong night!
368.
7s. M.
St. Gregory.
Evening Hymn.
1 Source of light and life divine!
Thou didst cause the light to shine;
Thou didst bring Thy sunbeams forth
O’er Thy new-created earth.
2 Shade of night and morning ray
Took from Thee the name of day:
Now again the shades are nigh,
Listen to Thy children’s cry!
3 May we ne’er, by guilt depressed,
Lose the way to endless rest;
May no thoughts, corrupt and vain,
Draw our souls to earth again.
4 Rather help them still to rise
Where our dearest treasure lies;
Help us in our daily strife,
Make us struggle into life!
369.
L. M.
*Wordsworth.
Sunset Hymn.
1 Up to the throne of God is borne
The voice of praise at early morn,
And He accepts the reverent hymn
Sung as the light of day grows dim.
2 Look up to heaven! the obedient sun
Already through his course hath run;
He cannot halt or go astray,
But our immortal spirits may.
3 Lord, since his rising in the east,
If we have faltered or transgressed,
Guide, from Thy love’s abundant source,
What yet remains of this day’s course.
4 Help with Thy grace, through all life’s day,
Our upward and our downward way;
And glorify for us the west,
When we shall sink into our rest.
370.
P. M.
Anonymous.
Vespers.
1 Fading, still fading, the last beam is shining;
Father in heaven! the day is declining;
Safety and innocence flee with the light,
Temptation and danger walk forth with the night;
From the fall of the shade till the morning bells chime,
Shield us from danger and keep us from crime!
Father! have mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!
2 Father in heaven! O, hear, when we call,
Through Jesus Christ, who is Saviour of all!
Fainting and feeble, we trust in Thy might;
In doubting and darkness Thy love be our light!
Let us sleep on Thy breast while the night taper burns,
And wake in Thy arms when the morning returns.
Father! have mercy, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen!
371.
7s. M.
*Furness.
The Light of Stars.
1 Slowly, by God’s hand unfurled,
Down around the weary world
Falls the darkness; O, how still
Is the working of His will!
2 Mighty spirit, ever nigh!
Work in me as silently;
Veil the day’s distracting sights,
Show me heaven’s eternal lights.
3 Living stars to view be brought
In the boundless realms of thought;
High and infinite desires,
Flaming like those upper fires!
4 Holy Truth, Eternal Right,
Let them break upon my sight;
Let them shine serene and still,
And with light my being fill.
372.
L. M.
Pierpont.
Evening Hymn for a Child.
1 Another day its course hath run,
And still, O God! Thy child is blest;
For Thou hast been by day my sun,
And Thou wilt be by night my rest.
2 Sweet sleep descends, mine eyes to close;
And now, while all the world is still,
I give my body to repose,
My spirit to my Father’s will.
373.
L. M.
Doddridge.
The Eternal Sabbath.
1 Lord of the Sabbath, hear our vows,
On this Thy day, in this Thy house;
And own, as grateful sacrifice,
The songs which from Thy churches rise.
2 Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love;
But there’s a nobler rest above;
To that our longing souls aspire,
With earnest hope and strong desire.
3 No more fatigue, no more distress;
Nor sin nor death shall reach the place;
No groans to mingle with the songs
Which warble from immortal tongues.
4 No rude alarms of raging foes;
No cares to break the long repose;
No midnight shade, no clouded sun,
But sacred, high, eternal noon.
5 O long expected day, begin;
Dawn on these realms of woe and sin!
Fain would we leave this weary road,
And pass through death, to rest with God.
374.
C. M.
Christian Hymns.
Sabbath Morning.
1 How sweet, how calm, this Sabbath morn!
How pure the air that breathes!
How soft the sounds upon it borne!
How light its vapor wreathes!
2 It seems as if the Christian’s prayer,
For peace and joy and love,
Were answered by the very air
That wafts its strain above.
3 Let each unholy passion cease,
Each evil thought be crushed,
And every care that mars our peace
In Faith and Love be hushed.
375.
L. M.
*Montgomery.
Sabbath Evening.
1 Within Thy courts have millions met,
Millions this day before Thee bowed;
Their faces heavenward were set,
Their vows to Thee, O God! they vowed.
2 Still as the light of morning broke
O’er island, continent, and deep,
Thy far-spread family awoke,
Sabbath all round the world to keep.
3 From east to west the sun surveyed,
From north to south, adoring throngs;
And still where evening stretched her shade
The stars came forth to hear their songs.
4 And not a prayer, a tear, a sigh,
Hath failed this day some suit to gain;
To hearts that sought Thee Thou wast nigh
Nor hath one sought Thy face in vain.
5 The poor in spirit Thou hast fed,
The feeble soul hath strengthened been.
The mourner Thou hast comforted,
The pure in heart their God have seen.
6 And Thou, soul-searching God! hast known
The hearts of all that bent the knee,
And all their prayers have reached Thy throne,
In soul and truth who worshipped Thee.
376.
C. M.
*
Baptism.
1 When from the Jordan’s gleaming wave
Came forth the Sinless One,
A voice athwart the heavens flashed,
“Lo! my beloved son!”
2 The Baptist, gazing on his face,
With the soul’s radiance bright,
Beheld upon his sacred head
A snow-white dove alight.
3 Now with baptismal waters touched,
Thy children, Father, see!
While heart and soul, and mind and strength,
They consecrate to Thee.
4 Send down on them Thy holy dove,
Thy spirit undefiled;
Be each in purity and faith
Thy well-beloved child!
5 O help them in the wilderness
To conquer doubt and sin;
To see above them still Thy Peace,
And hear Thy voice within!
377.
L. M.
W. Boston Coll.
Baptism of a Child.
1 This child we dedicate to Thee,
O God of grace and purity!
Shield it from sin and threatening wrong,
And let Thy love its life prolong.
2 O, may Thy spirit gently draw
Its willing soul to keep Thy law;
May virtue, piety, and truth,
Dawn even with its dawning youth!
3 We, too, before Thy gracious sight,
Once shared the blest baptismal rite,
And would renew its solemn vow,
With love, and thanks, and praises, now.
4 Grant that, with true and faithful heart,
We still may act the Christian’s part,
Cheered by each promise Thou hast given,
And laboring for the prize in heaven.
378.
S. M.
Disciples’ H. B.
Baptism of a Child.
1 To Thee, O God in heaven,
This little one we bring,
Giving to Thee what Thou hast given,
Our dearest offering.
2 Into a world of toil
These little feet will roam,
Where sin its purity may soil,
Where care and grief may come.
3 O, then, let Thy pure love,
With influence serene,
Come down, like water, from above,
To comfort and make clean!
379.
S. M.
Disciples’ H. B.
Baptism of Children.
1 To Him who children blest,
And suffered them to come,
To Him who took them to his breast,
We bring these children home.
2 To Thee, O God, whose face
Their spirits still behold,
We bring them, praying that Thy grace
May keep, Thine arms enfold.
3 And as this water falls
On each unconscious brow,
Thy holy spirit grant, O Lord,
To keep them pure as now!
380.
C. M.
Gaskell.
Marriage Hymn.
1 We join to pray, with wishes kind,
A blessing, Lord, from Thee,
On those who now the bands have twined,
Which ne’er may broken be.
2 We know that scenes not always bright
Must unto them be given;
But let there shine o’er all the light
Of love, and truth, and heaven.
3 Still hand in hand, their journey through,
Meek pilgrims may they go;
Mingling their joys as helpers true,
And sharing every woe.
4 In faith, and trust, and heart, the same,
The same their home above;
May each in each still feed the flame
Of pure and holy love.
381.
7s. M.
Anonymous.
Marriage Hymn.
1 Father, in Thy presence now
Has been pledged the nuptial vow;
Heart to heart, as hand in hand,
Linked in one Thy children stand.
2 God of love! this union bless,
Not with earth’s low happiness;
But with joys whose heavenly spring
Shall diviner raptures bring.
3 May these blended souls be found
Firm in duty’s active round;
Daily every burden share,
Nightly seek Thy shadowing care.
4 When against their trembling forms
Shoot the arrows of life’s storms;
Or when age and sickness wait
Heralds at life’s parting gate;—
5 In the fulness of belief,
May they look beyond the grief;
And together fearless tread
In the path where Thou shall lead.
382.
L. M.
Norton.
Dedication of a Church.
1 Where ancient forests widely spread,
Where bends the cataract’s ocean-fall;
On the lone mountain’s silent head,
There are Thy temples, God of all!
2 The tombs Thine altars are; for there,
When earthly loves and hopes have fled,
To Thee ascends the spirit’s prayer,
Thou God of the immortal dead!
3 All space is holy, for all space
Is filled by Thee;—but human thought
Burns clearer in some chosen place,
Where Thine own words of love are taught.
4 Here be they taught; and may we know
That faith Thy servants knew of old,
Which onward bears, through weal or woe,
Till death the gates of heaven unfold.
5 Nor we alone; may those whose brow
Shows yet no trace of human cares
Hereafter stand where we do now,
And raise to Thee still holier prayers.
383.
C. M.
Bryant.
Dedication Hymns.
1 O Thou, whose own vast temple stands
Built over earth and sea,
Accept the walls that human hands
Have raised to worship Thee!
2 Lord, from Thine inmost glory send,
Within these courts to bide,
The peace that dwelleth, without end,
Serenely by Thy side!
3 May erring minds that worship here
Be taught the better way;
And they who mourn, and they who fear,
Be strengthened as they pray.
4 May faith grow firm, and love grow warm,
And pure devotion rise,
While round these hallowed walls the storm
Of earth-born passion dies.
384.
C. M.
*
Ordination Hymn.
1 O God! Thy children, gathered here,
Thy blessing now we wait;
Thy servant, girded for his work,
Stands at the temple’s gate.
2 A holy purpose in his heart
Has deepened calm and still;
Now from his childhood’s Nazareth
He comes, to do Thy will.
3 O Father! keep his soul alive
To every hope of good;
And may his life of love proclaim
Man’s truest brotherhood!
4 O Father! keep his spirit quick
To every form of wrong;
And in the ear of sin and self
May his rebuke be strong!
5 And as he doth Christ’s footsteps press,
If e’er his faith grow dim,
Then, in the dreary wilderness,
Thine angels strengthen him!
6 And give him in Thy holy work
Patience to wait Thy time,
And, toiling still with man, to breathe
The soul’s serener clime.
7 O grant him many hearts to lead
Into Thy perfect rest;
Bless Thou him, Father, and his flock:
Bless! and they shall be blest!
385.
C. M.
*
Ordination.
1 Go, preach the gospel in my name,
Said he of Bethlehem:
Teach of a crown more glorious
Than earthly diadem.
2 Teach ye as I have taught, in love;
Be hate unthought, unspoken;
Bind up the bleeding heart, nor let
The bruised reed be broken.
3 If any scorn you for the truth
Which ye shall publish free,
Think of the lonely midnight hour
In dark Gethsemane:
4 Think of my prayers on Olivet,
My musings by the sea;
And though the heavy chain may bind,
That truth shall make you free.
386.
L. M.
*
Ordination.
1 Thy servant’s sandals, Lord, are wet
With Jordan’s wave but lately met,
And in that sacred river fall
The olden thoughts, the spirit’s pall.
2 He stands upon the holy land,
And angels take his trustful hand;
The Jordan sanctifies his breast,
And Christ now leads him to his rest.
3 His rest? his battle! he must win
Fair Zion’s gate through ranks of sin;
Why are these words, this solemn show,
If sin be not his deadly foe?
4 There gathers here no heavenly host;
No fiery tongues of Pentecost,—
No gentle dove with winnowing wings
The spirit to thy servant brings.
5 The still, small voice hath called him here,
And thus is God himself most near:—
My people, lift your hearts in prayer,
And keep your God forever there.
387.
S. M.
Drummond.
A Public Fast.
1 “Is this a fast for me?”
Thus saith the Lord our God;
“A day for man to vex his soul,
And feel affliction’s rod?
2 “No; is not this alone
The sacred fast I choose:
Oppression’s yoke to burst in twain,
The bands of guilt unloose?
3 “To nakedness and want
Your food and raiment deal,
To dwell your kindred race among,
And all their sufferings heal?
4 “Then, like the morning ray,
Shall spring your health and light;
Before you, righteousness shall shine,
Around, my glory bright!”
388.
7 & 6s. M.
Italian.
Prayer of a Stricken People.
1 O Thou, whose power stupendous
Upholds the earth and sky,
Thy grace preserving send us,—
To Thee, O Lord! we cry.
2 From wilds of fearful error,
Wherein we darkly stray,
Oppressed with doubt and terror,
For saving aid we pray.
3 O God of mercy, hear us!
Our pain, our sorrow, see;
Thy healing pity spare us,
And bring us home to Thee!
389.
6s. M.
Anonymous.
The New Year.
1 Joy! joy! a year is born;
A year to man is given,
For hope, and peace, and love,
For faith, and truth, and heaven.
Though earth be dark with care,
With death and sorrow rife,
Yet toil, and pain, and prayer,
Lead to our higher life.
2 Behold, the fields are white!
No longer idly stand!
Go forth in love and might;
Man needs thy helping hand.
Thus may each day and year
To prayer and toil be given,
Till man to God draw near,
And earth become like heaven.
390.
C. M.
Gaskell.
A New Year.
1 Our Father! through the coming year
We know not what shall be,
But we would leave without a fear
Its ordering all to Thee.
2 It may be we shall toil in vain
For what the world holds fair,
And all its good we thought to gain
Deceive, and prove but care.
3 It may be it shall darkly blend
Our love with anxious fears,
And snatch away the valued friend,
The tried of many years.
4 It may be it shall bring us days
And nights of lingering pain,
And bid us take our farewell gaze
Of these loved haunts of men.
5 But calmly, Lord, on Thee we rest;
No fears our trust shall move;
Thou knowest what for each is best,
And Thou art perfect love.
391.
7s. M.
Anonymous.
The God of Spring.
1 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 Father! God of spring!
2 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,
Praise your Maker,—God of spring!
3 Praise him, man!—thy fitful heart
Let this balmy season move
To employ its noblest part,
Softest mercy, sweetest love,—
Blessing, with each living thing,
God the bounteous,—God of spring!
392.
7 & 6s. M.
W. V.
Spring.
1 There cometh o’er the spirit,
With each returning year,
The thought that Thou, the Father,
Art ever to us near;
With hope of life dispelling
The death that winter brought;
And flowers and fruits foretelling,
With fragrant beauty fraught.
2 ’Tis this which calls Thy children
In sweet accord to raise,
Beneath thy blue-domed temple,
One general hymn of praise
To Thee, the ever-living,
The universal King,
Who never ceasest giving
Each good and perfect thing.
3 The streamlet from the mountain,—
It speaketh, Lord, of Thee,
As from its snow-capped fountain
It rushes to the sea;
The gentle dew descending,
And cloud’s refreshing shower,—
O God, our Heavenly Father,
All, all, proclaim Thy power.
393.
8 & 7s. M.
Anonymous.
Hymn of Spring.
1 Praise the Lord, when blushing morning
Wakes the blossoms fresh with dew!
When the world, again created,
Beams with beauties fair and new!
2 Praise the Lord, when early breezes
Come so fragrant from the flowers!
Praise, thou willow by the brookside!
Praise, ye birds, among the bowers!
3 Praise the Lord! and may His blessing
Guide us in the way of truth,
Keep our feet from paths of error,
Make us holy in our youth.
4 Praise the Lord, ye hosts of heaven!
Angels, sing your sweetest lays!
All things utter forth His glory!
Sound your great Creator’s praise!
394.
C. M.
J. Richardson.
The Hymn of Summer.
1 How glad the tone when summer’s sun
Wreaths the gay world with flowers,
And trees bend down with golden fruit,
And birds are in their bowers!
2 The morn sends silent music down
Upon each earthly thing;
And always since creation’s dawn
The stars together sing.
3 Shall man remain in silence, then,
While all beneath the skies
The chorus joins? no, let us sing,
And while our voices rise,
4 O, let our lives, great God, breathe forth
A constant melody;
And every action be a tone
In that sweet hymn to Thee!
395.
C. M.
Mrs. Miles.
Summer.
1 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.
2 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!
396.
C. M.
Anonymous.
Seed-Time and Harvest Shall Not Cease.
1 Fountain of life, and God of love!
How rich Thy bounties are!
The rolling seasons, as they move,
Proclaim Thy constant care.
2 When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness marked its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.
3 The spring’s sweet influence, Lord, was Thine,
Its mild, refreshing showers;
Thou gav’st the ripening suns to shine,
And summer’s golden hours.
4 Thy quickening life, forever near,
Matured the swelling grain;—
The bounteous harvest crowns the year,
And plenty fills the plain.
5 With thankful hearts we trace Thy way
Through all our smiling vales;
Thou, by whose love, nor night nor day,
Seed-time nor harvest, fails!
397.
10 & 11s. M.
*Doddridge.
Thanksgiving for the Fruits of the Earth.
1 House of our God, with cheerful anthems ring,
While all our lips and hearts His mercies sing;
The fruitful year His bounties shall proclaim,
And all its days be vocal with His name.
The Lord is good, His mercy never-ending,
His blessings in perpetual showers descending.
2 The earth, enlightened by His rays divine,
Brought forth the grass, the corn, and oil, and wine;
Crowned with His goodness, let the people meet,
And lay their thankful offerings at his feet;
With grateful love that hand divine confessing,
Which on each heart bestoweth every blessing.
3 His mercy never ends; the dawn, the shade,
Still see new beauties through new scenes displayed;
Succeeding ages bless this sure abode,
And children lean upon their fathers’ God:
The soul of man, through its immense duration,
Drinks from this source immortal consolation.
4 Burst into praise, my soul! all nature, join!
Angels and men, in harmony combine!
While human years are measured by the sun,
And while eternity its course shall run,
His goodness, in perpetual showers descending,
Exalt in songs and raptures never-ending!
398.
L. M.
Mrs. Sigourney.
The Year Crowned with Goodness.
1 God of the year! with songs of praise,
And hearts of love, we come to bless
Thy bounteous hand, for Thou hast shed
Thy manna o’er our wilderness.
2 In early spring-time Thou didst fling
O’er earth its robe of blossoming;
And its sweet treasures, day by day,
Rose quickening in Thy blessed ray.
3 God of the seasons! Thou hast blest
The land with sunlight and with showers;
And plenty o’er its bosom smiles,
To crown the sweet autumnal hours.
4 Praise, praise to Thee! Our hearts expand,
To view these blessings of Thy hand,
And on the incense-breath of love
Ascend to their bright home above.
399.
C. M.
Bowring.
The Hymn of the Seasons.
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,
Beams with Thy 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 golden fruits,
In glorious luxury given;
While Winter’s silver heights reflect
Thy brightness back to heaven.
400.
10s. M.
Emily Taylor.
The Changing Year.
1 God of the changing year, whose arm of power
In safety leads through danger’s darkest hour,—
Here in Thy temple bow Thy children down,
To bless Thy mercy, and Thy might to own.
2 Thine are the beams that cheer us on our way,
And pour around the gladdening light of day;
Thine is the night, and the fair orbs that shine
To cheer its hours of darkness,—all are Thine.
3 If round our path the thorns of sorrow grew,
And mortal friends were faithless, Thou wast true
Did sickness shake the frame, or anguish tear
The wounded spirit, Thou wast present there.
4 O, lend Thine ear, and lift our voice to Thee;
Where’er we dwell, still let Thy mercy be;
From year to year, still nearer to Thy shrine
Draw our frail hearts, and make them wholly Thine!
401.
C. M.
Gaskell.
Close of the Year.
1 O God! to Thee our hearts would pay
Their gratitude sincere,
Whose love hath kept us, night and day,
Throughout another year.
2 Of every breath, and every power,
Thou wast the gracious source;
From Thee came every happy hour
Which smiled along its course.
3 And if sometimes across our path
A cloud its shadows threw,
Thou didst not waft it there in wrath,
But loving-kindness true.
4 For joy and grief alike we pay
Our thanks to Thee above;
And only pray to grow each day
More worthy of Thy love.
402.
L. M.
*John Taylor.
The Worth of Years.
1 Like shadows gliding o’er the plain,
Or clouds that roll successive on,
Man’s busy generations pass;
And while we gaze, their forms are gone.
2 O Father, in whose mighty hand
The boundless years and ages lie,
Teach us Thy boon of life to prize,
And use the moments as they fly;—
3 To crowd the narrow span of life
With wise designs and virtuous deeds;
And so shall death but lead us on
To nobler service that succeeds.
403.
P. M.
*Milman.
Funeral Hymn.
1 Brother, thou art gone before us,
And thy saintly soul is flown,
Where tears are wiped from every eye,
And sorrows are unknown;
From the burden of the flesh,
And from care and fear, released,
Where the wicked cease from troubling,
And the weary are at rest.
2 Sin no more can taint thy spirit,
Nor can doubt thy faith assail;
Thy soul its welcome has received,
Thy strength shall never fail;
And thou’rt sure to meet the good,
Whom on earth thou lovedst best,
Where the wicked cease from troubling,
And the weary are at rest.
3 To the grave thy body bearing,
Low we place it mid the dead;
And lay the turf above it now,
And seal its narrow bed;
But thy spirit soars away,
Free, among the faithful blest,
Where the wicked cease from troubling
And the weary are at rest.
404.
C. M.
Whittier.
Not Lost, But Gone Before.
1 Another hand is beckoning us,
Another call is given;
And glows once more with angel steps
The path that leads to heaven.
2 O, half we deemed she needed not
The changing of her sphere,
To give to heaven a shining one,
Who walked an angel here.
3 Unto our Father’s will alone
One thought hath reconciled;
That He whose love exceedeth ours
Hath taken home his child.
4 Fold her, O Father, in thine arms,
And let her henceforth be
A messenger of love between
Our human hearts and Thee.
5 Still let her mild rebukings stand
Between us and the wrong,
And her dear memory serve to make
Our faith in goodness strong.
405.
7s. M.
J. H. Bancroft.
The Christian’s Burial.
1 Brother, though from yonder sky
Cometh neither voice nor cry,
Yet we know for thee to-day
Every pain hath passed away.
2 Not for thee shall tears be given,
Child of God, and heir of heaven;
For he gave thee sweet release;
Thine the Christian’s death of peace.
3 Well we know thy living faith
Had the power to conquer death;
As a living rose may bloom
By the border of the tomb.
4 Brother, in that solemn trust,
We commend thy dust to dust;
In that faith we wait, till, risen,
Thou shalt meet us all in heaven.
5 While we weep as Jesus wept,
Thou shalt sleep as Jesus slept;
Then with Jesus thou shalt rest,
Crowned, and glorified, and blest.
406.
7s. M.
Anonymous.
Funeral Hymn.
1 Clay to clay, and dust to dust!
Let them mingle,—for they must!
Give to earth the earthly clod,
For the spirit’s fled to God.
2 Never more shall midnight’s damp
Darken round this mortal lamp;
Never more shall noonday’s glance
Search this mortal countenance.
3 Look aloft! The spirit’s risen;
Death cannot the soul imprison:
’Tis in heaven that spirits dwell,
Glorious, though invisible.
4 Thither let us turn our view;
Peace is there, and comfort too;
There shall those we love be found,
Tracing life’s eternal round.
407.
C. M.
Dale.
“Weep Not.”
1 Dear as thou wast, and justly dear,
We would not weep for thee;
One thought shall check the starting tear,—
It is—that thou art free.
2 And thus shall faith’s consoling power
The tears of love restrain;
O, who that saw thy parting hour
Could wish thee here again?
3 Gently the passing spirit fled,
Sustained by grace divine;
O, may such grace on us be shed,
And make our end like thine!
408.
10s. M.
Montgomery.
Death in Manhood.
1 Go to the grave in all thy glorious prime,
In full activity of zeal and power:
A Christian cannot die before his time;
The Lord’s appointment is the servant’s hour.
2 Go to the grave; at noon from labor cease;
Rest on thy sheaves, thy harvest work is done;
Come from the heat of battle, and in peace,
Soldier, go home; with thee the field is won.
3 Go to the grave, for there thy Saviour lay,
In death’s embraces, ere he rose on high;
And all the ransomed, by that narrow way,
Pass to eternal life beyond the sky.
4 Go to the grave,—no, to thy home above;
Be thy pure spirit present with the Lord,
Where thou for faith and hope hast perfect love,
And open vision for the written word.
409.
12 & 11s. M.
Heber.
The Resurrection and the Life.
1 Thou art gone to the grave;—but we will not deplore thee,
Though sorrows and darkness encompass the tomb;
The Saviour has passed through its portals before thee,
And the lamp of his love is thy guide through the gloom.
2 Thou art gone to the grave: we no longer behold thee,
Nor tread the rough paths of the world by thy side;
But the wide arms of mercy are spread to enfold thee,
And sinners may hope, since the Sinless hath died.
3 Thou art gone to the grave; and, its mansion forsaking,
Perchance thy tried spirit in doubt lingered long;
But the sunshine of heaven beamed bright on thy waking,
And the song that thou heard’st was the seraphim’s song.
4 Thou art gone to the grave; but we will not deplore thee,
Since God was thy refuge, thy guardian, thy guide;
He gave thee, He took thee, and He will restore thee;
And death has no sting, since the Saviour hath died.
410.
C. M.
Mrs. Hemans.
Death of the Young.
1 Calm on the bosom of thy God,
Fair spirit, rest thee now!
E’en while with us thy footstep trod,
His seal was on thy brow.
2 Dust, to its narrow house beneath!
Soul, to its home on high!
They that have seen thy look in death
No more may fear to die.
3 Lone are the paths, and sad the hours,
Since thy meek spirit’s gone;
But, O, a brighter home than ours,
In heaven, is now thine own!
411.
8 & 7s. M.
Briggs’ Coll.
Death of a Child.
1 Fare thee well, our fondly cherished!
Dear, dear blossom, fare thee well!
He who lent thee hath recalled thee,
Back with Him and His to dwell.
2 Like a sunbeam through our dwelling
Shone thy presence, bright and calm;
Thou didst add a zest to pleasure;
To our sorrows thou wast balm.
3 Yet while mourning, O our lost one,
Come no visions of despair!
Seated on thy tomb, Faith’s angel
Saith, thou art not, art not there.
4 Where, then, art thou? with the Saviour,
Blest, forever blest, to be;
’Mid the sinless little children
Who have heard his “Come to me.”
5 Passed the shades of death’s dark valley,
Thou art leaning on his breast,
Where the wicked may not enter,
And the weary are at rest.
6 Plead, that in a Father’s mercy
All our sins may be forgiven;
Angel! plead, that thou may’st greet us,
Ransomed, at the gates of heaven.
412.
7s. M.
Anonymous.
Funeral Hymn of a Child.
1 To the Father’s love we trust
That which was enshrined in dust;
While we give the earth to earth,
Finds the soul its heavenly birth.
Angels wait the angel child,
Gentle, young, and undefiled.
2 Said not oft those pleading eyes
That they longed for purer skies?
Did not oft the falling tear
Speak of roughening billows here?
Prayed we not that she might rest
On her Heavenly Father’s breast?
3 Give the spirit, then, to God,
And its vesture to the sod;
Life, henceforth, shall have a ray
Kindled ne’er to pass away,
And a light from angel eyes
Draw us upward to the skies.
413.
7 & 6s. M.
Anonymous.
Children in Heaven.
1 In the broad fields of heaven,—
In the immortal bowers,
By life’s clear river dwelling,
Amid undying flowers,—
There hosts of beauteous spirits,
Fair children of the earth,
Linked in bright bands celestial,
Sing of their human birth.
2 They sing of earth and heaven,—
Divinest voices rise
To God, their gracious Father,
Who called them to the skies:
They all are there,—in heaven,—
Safe, safe, and sweetly blest;
No cloud of sin can shadow
Their bright and holy rest.
414.
8 & 7s. M.
Pierpont.
For a Charitable Occasion.
1 Mighty One, whose name is holy,
Thou wilt save Thy work alive,
And the spirit of the lowly
Thou wilt visit and revive.
What Thy prophets thus have spoken,
Ages witness as they roll;
Bleeding hearts and spirits broken,
Touched by Thee, O God, are whole.
2 By Thy pitying spirit guided,
Jesus sought the sufferer’s door;
Comfort for the poor provided,
And the mourner’s sorrows bore;—
So Thy mercy’s angel, bending,
Heard a friendless prisoner’s call,
And through night’s cold vault descending,
Loosed from chains Thy servant Paul.
3 Father, as Thy love is endless,
Working by Thy servants thus,
The forsaken and the friendless
Deign to visit, e’en by us;
So shall each, with spirit fervent
Laboring with Thee here below,
Be declared Thy faithful servant,
Where there’s neither want nor woe.
415.
6 & 4s. M.
Nicoll.
God Save the Poor!
1 Lord, from Thy blessed throne,
Sorrow look down upon!
God save the Poor!
Teach them true liberty,
Make them from tyrants free,
Let their homes happy be!
God save the Poor!
2 The arms of wicked men
Do Thou with might restrain,—
God save the Poor!
Raise Thou their lowliness,
Succor Thou their distress,
Thou whom the meanest bless!
God save the Poor!
3 Give them stanch honesty,
Let their pride manly be,
God save the Poor!
Help them to hold the right,
Give them both truth and might,
Lord of all life and light!
God save the Poor!
416.
7 & 6s. M.
Heber.
Missionary Hymn.
1 From Greenland’s icy mountains,
From India’s coral strand,
Where Afric’s sunny fountains
Roll down their golden sand;
From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver
Their land from error’s chain.
2 What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle;
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile?
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strewn;
The heathen in his blindness
Bows down to wood and stone.
3 Shall we, whose souls are lighted
By wisdom from on high,
Shall we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! O salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till earth’s remotest nation
Shall learn Messiah’s name.
417.
6 & 4s. M.
Anonymous.
“How Beautiful upon the Mountains.”
1 Where, for a thousand miles,
The sweet Ohio smiles,
On bed of sand;
Where prairies blossom broad,
Fair gardens sown by God,
And lakes their ocean-flood
Pour from His hand;
2 Where sleep in rest profound,
Beneath each ancient mound,
A buried race;
There, brother, go and teach;
From heart to heart shall reach
Thy free and earnest speech
Of heavenly grace.
3 Where the tall forest waves
Above those mouldering graves,
God’s truth declare;
While his first temples spread
Their arches o’er thy head,
Lift, o’er the slumbering dead,
The voice of prayer.
4 While rolls the living tide,
Down Alleghany’s side,
Its ceaseless flood;
Upon the mountains, there,
How beautiful appear
The feet of those who bear
Tidings of good!
5 O Thou, whose suns and rains
Upon those mighty plains
Fall evermore;
Send down the dews of peace,
The sun of righteousness,
And let Thy light increase
From shore to shore!
418.
8 & 7s. M.
A. C. Coxe.
Western Missions.
1 Westward, Lord, the world alluring,
Has Thy risen day-star beamed,
And, the sinking soul assuring,
O’er the world’s wide ocean streamed.
Westward, still, the midnight breaking,
Westward, still, its light be poured!
Heathen Thy possession making,
Utmost lands Thy dwelling, Lord!
2 Westward, where the waving prairie,
Dark as slumbering ocean, lies,
Let thy starlight, Son of Mary,
O’er the shadowed billows rise!
Here be heard, ye herald voices,
Till the Lord his glory shows,
And the lonely place rejoices
With the bloom of Sharon’s rose.
3 Where the wilderness is lying,
And the trees of ages nod,
Westward, in the desert crying,
Make a highway for our God.
Westward, till the church be kneeling
In the forest aisles so dim,
And the wild-wood’s arches pealing
With the people’s holy hymn.
419.
6 & 4s. M.
E. Davis.
For a Peace Meeting.
1 Not with the flashing steel,
Not with the cannon’s peal,
Or stir of drum;
But in the bonds of love,
Our white flag floats above;
Her emblem is the dove;—
’Tis thus we come.
2 The laws of Christian light,—
These are our weapons bright,
Our mighty shield;
Christ is our leader high;
And the broad plains which lie
Beneath the blessed sky,
Our battle-field.
3 What is that great intent
On which each heart is bent,
Our hosts among?
It is that hate may die,
That war’s red curse may fly,
And war’s high praise for aye
No more be sung.
4 On, then, in God’s great name!
Let each pure spirit’s flame
Burn bright and clear;
Stand firmly in your lot,
Cry ye aloud, doubt not,
Be every fear forgot;
Christ leads us here!
5 So shall earth’s distant lands,
In happy, holy bands,
One brotherhood,
Together rise and sing,
Gifts to one altar bring,
And heaven’s Eternal King
Pronounce it good.
420.
10 & 6s. M.
*
In Time of War.
1 Lord, once our faith in man no fear could move;
Now save it from despair!
The trial comes; strengthen the might of love:
Father, Thou hearest prayer!
2 Thou hearest; and we hear, above this din,
Thy blessed word sound clear:
“I purge this land from slavery and sin;
The reign of heaven draws near.”
3 O, never falter, ye who strive to bring
In men the heavenly birth;
For still the angel hosts unfaltering sing,
“Peace to the weary earth!”
4 O, never falter! peace must come by pain;
Heaven is not found, but won;
Hold the dark angel till he moulds again
The peace he hath undone.
5 We know not, Lord, what storms and trials strong
Must work our world’s new birth;
But we will toil, with this for working-song,—
“Peace to the weary earth!”
6 Peace to the weary, struggling, sin-sick earth!
Peace to the heart of man!
Storm shall bring calm; that high reward is worth
All we must bear, or can.
421.
11 & 10s. M.
Longfellow.
Peace on Earth.
1 Down the dark future, through long generations,
The sounds of war grow fainter and then cease;
And, like a bell with solemn, sweet vibrations,
I hear once more the voice of Christ say, “Peace!”
2 Peace! and no longer, from its brazen portals,
The blast of war’s great organ shakes the skies;
But beautiful as songs of the immortals,
The holy melodies of love arise.
422.
C. M.
Anonymous.
Glory to God, Through Peace on Earth.
1 “To God be glory! Peace on earth!”
Let us repeat again
The hymn that hailed the Saviour’s birth,—
“Peace and good will to men!”
2 Good will to men! O God, we hail
This of Thy law the sum;
For as this shall o’er earth prevail,
So shall Thy kingdom come!
423.
C. M.
R. W. Emerson.
The House Our Fathers Built to God.
1 We love the venerable house
Our fathers built to God;
In heaven are kept their grateful vows,
Their dust endears the sod.
2 Here holy thoughts a light have shed
From many a radiant face,
And prayers of tender hope have spread
A perfume through the place.
3 And anxious hearts have pondered here
The mystery of life,
And prayed the Eternal Spirit clear
Their doubts and aid their strife.
4 From humble tenements around
Came up the pensive train,
And in the church a blessing found,
Which filled their homes again.
5 For faith, and peace, and mighty love,
That from the Godhead flow,
Showed them the life of heaven above
Springs from the life below.
6 They live with God, their homes are dust;
But here their children pray,
And, in this fleeting lifetime, trust
To find the narrow way.
7 On him who by the altar stands,
On him Thy blessing fall!
Speak through his lips Thy pure commands,
Thou Heart, that lovest all!
424.
C. M.
J. Weiss.
Epiphany.
1 A wondrous star our pioneer,
We left the mystic land
Where heaven-nurtured childhood slept,
Where yet old visions stand.
2 O God! the land of dreams we left,
Repose we left for aye,
And followed meekly to the place
Where our Redeemer lay.
3 That humble manger we have found;
The world his cradle is;
His life is hidden far below
Its sins and miseries.
4 The world throws wide its brazen gates;
With Thee we enter in;
O, grant us, in our humble sphere,
To free that world from sin.
5 We have one mind in Christ our Lord
To stand and point above;
To hurl rebuke at social wrong;
But all, O God, in love.
6 The star is resting in the sky;
To worship Christ we came;
The moments haste; O, touch our tongues
With Thy celestial flame!
7 The truest worship is a life;
All dreaming we resign;
We lay our offerings at thy feet,—
Our lives, O Christ, are thine!
425.
L. M.
*
The Children of the Cross.
1 Thou Lord of Hosts, whose guiding hand
Hast brought us here, before Thy face,
Our spirits wait for Thy command,
Our silent hearts implore Thy peace!
2 Those spirits lay their noblest powers,
As offerings, on Thy holy shrine;
Thine was the strength that nourished ours;
The children of the cross are Thine.
3 While watching on our arms, at night,
We saw Thine angels round us move:
We heard Thy call, we felt Thy light,
And followed, trusting to Thy love.
4 And now, with hymn and prayer we stand,
To give our strength to Thee, great God!
We would redeem Thy holy land,
That land which sin so long has trod.
5 Send us where’er Thou wilt, O Lord,
Through rugged toil and wearying fight;
Thy conquering love shall be our sword,
And faith in Christ our truest might.
6 Send down Thy constant aid, we pray;
Be Thy pure angels with us still;
Thy truth, be that our firmest stay;
Our only rest, to do Thy will.
426.
C. M.
Nicoll.
The Reformers.
1 An offering at the shrine of power
Our hands shall never bring;
A garland on the car of pomp
Our hands shall never fling;
Applauding in the conqueror’s path
Our voices ne’er shall be;
But we have hearts to honor those
Who bade the world go free!
2 Praise to the good, the pure, the great,
Who made us what we are,—
Who lit the flame which yet shall glow
With radiance brighter far!
Glory to them in coming time,
And through eternity,
Who burst the captive’s galling chain,
And bade the world go free!
427.
L. M.
Mrs. Hemans.
Earth’s Nameless Martyrs.
1 The kings of old have shrine and tomb
In many a minster’s haughty gloom;
And green, along the ocean-side,
The mounds arise where heroes died;
But show me on thy flowery breast,
Earth! where thy nameless martyrs rest!
2 The thousands that, uncheered by praise,
Have made one offering of their days;
For truth, for heaven, for freedom’s sake,
Resigned the bitter cup to take;
And silently, in fearless faith,
Have bowed their noble souls to death.
3 O, haply all around lie strewed
The ashes of that multitude!
It may be that each day we tread
Where thus devoted hearts have bled,
And the sweet flowers the children sow
Take root in holy dust below.
4 What though no stone the record bears
Of their deep thoughts and lonely prayers,
May not our inmost hearts be stilled,
With knowledge of their presence filled,
And by their lives be taught to prize
The meekness of self-sacrifice?
428.
6s. M.
Luther.
The Martyrs’ Ashes.
1 Flung to the heedless winds,
Or on the waters cast,
Their ashes shall be watched,
And gathered at the last;
And from that scattered dust,
Around us and abroad,
Shall spring a plenteous seed
Of witnesses for God.
2 The Father hath received
Their latest living breath;
Yet vain is Satan’s boast
Of victory in their death;
Still, still, though dead, they speak,
And, trumpet-tongued, proclaim
To many a wakening land
The one prevailing name.
429.
C. M.
Moravian.
The Noble Army of Martyrs.
1 Glory to God! whose witness-train,
Those heroes bold in faith,
Could smile on poverty and pain,
And triumph even in death.
2 O, may that faith our hearts sustain,
Wherein they fearless stood
When, in the power of cruel men,
They poured their willing blood.
3 God, whom we serve, our God, can save;
Can damp the scorching flame,
Can build an ark, or smooth the wave,
For such as love His name.
4 Yea, should it even to man appear,
At times, as though the Lord
Forsook His chosen servants here,
We yet will trust His word.
5 Lord! if Thine arm support us still
With its eternal strength,
We shall o’ercome the mightiest ill,
And conquerors prove, at length.
430.
S. M.
Graham.
God With Us on the Deep.
1 Heave, mighty ocean, heave!
And blow, thou boisterous wind!
Onward we swiftly glide, and leave
Our home and friends behind.
2 Away, away we steer,
Upon the ocean’s breast;
And dim the distant heights appear,
Like clouds along the west.
3 There is a loneliness
Upon the mighty deep;
And hurried thoughts upon us press,
As onward still we sweep.
4 But there is hope and joy,
Wherever we may be;
Danger nor death can e’er destroy
Our trust, O God, in Thee!
5 Then wherefore should we grieve
Or what have we to fear?
Though home and friends and life we leave,
Our God is ever near.
6 Sweep, mighty ocean, sweep!
Ye winds, blow foul or fair!
Our God is with us on the deep,
Our home is everywhere.
431.
P. M.
Mrs. Southey.
The Mariner’s Hymn.
1 Launch thy bark, mariner!
Christian, God speed thee!
Let loose the rudder bands,
Good angels lead thee!
Set thy sails warily,
Tempests will come;
Steer thy course steadily,
Christian, steer home!
2 Look to the weather bow,
Breakers are round thee;
Let fall thy plummet now,
Shallows may ground thee.
Reef in thy foresail there;
Hold the helm fast;
So,—let the vessel wear,—
By swept the blast.
3 Slacken no sail yet, at
Inlet or island;
Straight for the beacon steer,—
Straight for the highland;
Crowd all the canvass on,
Cut through the foam;—
Christian! cast anchor now;
Heaven is thy home!
432.
8 & 7s. M.
Sterling.
The Husbandman’s Hymn.
1 Many a power within earth’s bosom,
Noiseless, hidden, works beneath;
Hence are seed and leaf and blossom,
Golden ear and clustered wreath.
2 Wind and frost, and hour and season,
Land and water, sun and shade,—
Work with these, as bids thy reason,
For they work thy toil to aid.
3 Sow thy seed and reap in gladness!
Man himself is all a seed;
Hope and hardship, joy and sadness,
Slow the plant to ripeness lead.
433.
L. M.
Flint.
Remembrance of Our Fathers.
1 In pleasant lands have fallen the lines
That bound our goodly heritage,
And safe beneath our sheltering vines
Our youth is blest, and soothed our age.
2 What thanks, O God, to Thee are due,
That Thou didst plant our fathers here,
And watch and guard them as they grew,
A vineyard to the planter dear!
3 The toils they bore our ease have wrought;
They sowed in tears,—in joy we reap;
The birthright they so dearly bought
We’ll guard, till we with them shall sleep.
4 Thy kindness to our fathers shown,
In weal and woe, through all the past,
Their grateful sons, O God, shall own,
While here their name and race shall last.
434.
8 & 6s. M.
Heber.
Prayer for Our Country.
1 From foes that would our land devour;
From guilty pride and lust of power;
From wild sedition’s lawless hour;
From yoke of slavery;
2 From blinded zeal, by faction led;
From giddy change, by fancy bred;
From poisoned error’s serpent head;
Good Lord, preserve us free!
435.
L. M.
Whittier.
The Day of Freedom.
1 O Thou, whose presence went before
Our fathers in their weary way,
As with Thy chosen moved of yore
The fire by night, the cloud by day!
2 When, from each temple of the free,
A nation’s song ascends to heaven,
Most holy Father, unto Thee
Now let our humble prayer be given.
3 Sweet peace be here; and hope and love
Be round us as a mantle thrown,
As unto Thee, supreme above,
The knee of prayer is bowed alone.
4 And grant, O Father, that the time
Of earth’s deliverance may be near,
When every land, and tongue, and clime,
The message of Thy love shall hear;—
5 When, smitten as with fire from heaven,
The captive’s chain shall sink in dust,
And to his fettered soul be given
The glorious freedom of the just.
436.
C. M.
*
American Slavery.
1 The land our fathers left to us
Is foul with hateful sin;
When shall, O Lord, this sorrow end,
And hope and joy begin?
2 What good, though growing might and wealth
Shall stretch from shore to shore,
If thus the fatal poison-taint
Be only spread the more?
3 Wipe out, O God, the nation’s sin,
Then swell the nation’s power;
But build not high our yearning hopes,
To wither in an hour!
4 No outward show nor fancied strength
From Thy stern justice saves;
There is no liberty for them
Who make their brethren slaves!
437.
7s. M.
J. R. Lowell.
Anti-Slavery Hymn.
1 Men! whose boast it is that ye
Come of fathers brave and free,
If there breathe on earth a slave,
Are ye truly free and brave?
If ye do not feel the chain,
When it works a brother’s pain,
Are ye not base slaves indeed,
Slaves unworthy to be freed?
2 Is true freedom but to break
Fetters for our own dear sake,
And with leathern hearts forget
That we owe mankind a debt?
No! true freedom is to share
All the chains our brothers wear,
And with heart and hand to be
Earnest to make others free.
3 They are slaves, who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves, who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing, and abuse,
Rather than, in silence, shrink
From the truth they needs must think;
They are slaves, who dare not be
In the right with two or three.
438.
L. M.
Caroline Sewall.
Remember Them Who Are in Bonds.
1 Lord, when Thine ancient people cried,
Oppressed and bound by Egypt’s king,
Thou didst Arabia’s sea divide,
And forth Thy fainting Israel bring.
2 Lo, in these latter days, our land
Groans with the anguish of the slave:
Lord God of hosts! stretch forth Thy hand,
Not shortened that it cannot save.
3 Roll back the swelling tide of sin,
The lust of gain, the lust of power;
The day of freedom usher in:
How long delays the appointed hour?
4 As Thou of old to Miriam’s hand
The thrilling timbrel didst restore,
And to the joyful song her land
Echoed from desert to the shore;
5 O let Thy smitten ones again
Take up the chorus of the free,—
Praise ye the Lord! His power proclaim,
For He hath conquered gloriously!
439.
8, 7, & 4s. M.
*Montgomery.
Slavery.
1 Ages, ages have departed,
Since the first dark vessel bore
Afric’s children, broken-hearted,
To this far-off western shore;
She, like Rachel,
Weeping, for they were no more.
2 Millions, millions have been slaughtered
In the fight and on the deep;
Millions, millions more have watered,
With such tears as captives weep,
Fields of labor
Where their wasted bodies sleep.
3 Mercy, mercy, vainly pleading,
Rends her garments, smites her breast,
Till a voice from heaven proceeding
Gladden all the waiting west:
“Come, ye weary!
Come, and I will give you rest!”
4 Tidings, tidings of salvation!
Brothers, rise with one accord,
Purge the plague-spot from our nation,
Till, unto their rights restored,
Slaves no longer,
All are freemen in the Lord!
440.
P. M.
*Montgomery.
Watch for the Morning.
1 Climb we the mountain afar,
In the still hour of even;
Led by yon beautiful star,
First of the daughters of heaven:
Darkness yet covers the face of the deep;
Spirit of freedom! go forth in thy might,
Break the slave’s bondage like infancy’s sleep,
The moment when God shall say, Let there be light!
2 Gaze we meanwhile for the day,
Praying in thought while we gaze;
Watch for the morning’s first ray;
Prayer then be turned into praise!
Shout to the valleys, Behold ye the morn,
Long, long desired, but denied to our sight;
Lo, myriads of slaves into men are new-born;
The word was omnipotent, and there is light!
441.
L. M.
*Whittier.
Mercy and Not Sacrifice.
1 O Thou, at whose rebuke, the grave
Back to warm life the sleeper gave,
Who, waking, saw with joy, above,
A brother’s face of tenderest love;—
2 Thou, unto whom the blind and lame,
The sorrowing, and the sin-sick came;
The burden of thy holy faith
Was love and life, not hate and death.
3 O, once again thy healing lay
On the blind eyes which know thee not,
And let the light of thy pure day
Shine in upon the darkened thought!
4 O, touch the hearts of men, and show
The power which in forbearance lies;
And let them feel that Mercy now
Is better than old Sacrifice!
442.
L. M.
*Mrs. Livermore.
Redeeming Power of Love.
1 What precept, Jesus, is like thine,—
Forgive, as ye would be forgiven!
In this we see the power divine,
Which shall transform our earth to heaven.
2 O, not the harsh and scornful word
The victory over sin can gain,
Not the dark prison, or the sword,
The shackle, or the weary chain.
3 But from our spirits there must flow
A love that will the wrong outweigh;
Our lips must only blessings know,
And wrath and sin shall die away.
4 ’Twas heaven that formed the holy plan
To win the wanderer back by love;
Thus let us save our brother, man,
And imitate our God above.