4 Thy Spirit's powerful aid impart;
O, may thy word, with life divine,
Engage the ear, and warm the heart!
Then shall the day indeed be thine.

RIPPON'S COL.

545

H. M.

The Lord's Day Morning.

1 AWAKE, our drowsy souls;
Shake off each slothful band;
The wonders of this day
Our noblest songs demand:
Auspicious morn,
Thy blissful rays
Bright seraphs hail

In songs of praise.

2 At thy approaching dawn,
Reluctant death resigned
The glorious Prince of life,
In dark domains confined:
The angelic host

Around him bends,

And 'midst their shouts
The Lord ascends.

3 All hail, triumphant Lord;

Heaven with hosannas rings;
While earth, in humbler strains,
Thy praise responsive sings:
"Worthy art thou,

Who once wast slain,
Through endless years
To live and reign."

546

L. M.

Sabbath Hymn.

MRS. BARBAuld.

1 WHEN, as returns this solemn day,
Man comes to meet his Maker, God,
What rites, what honors shall he pay?
How spread his Sovereign's praise abroad?
2 From marble domes, and gilded spires,
Shall curling clouds of incense rise?
And gems, and gold, and garlands deck
The costly pomp of sacrifice?

3 Vain, sinful man! Creation's Lord

Thy golden offerings well may spare; But give thy heart, and thou shalt find Here dwells a God who heareth prayer.

547

C. M.

Sabbath Hymn.

MRS. BARBauld.

1 SLEEP, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,
Of earth and folly born;

Ye shall not dim the light that streams
From this celestial morn.

2 To-morrow will be time enough
To feel your harsh control;
Ye shall not violate, this day,
The Sabbath of the soul.

3 Sleep, sleep forever, guilty thoughts;
Let fires of vengeance die;

And, purged from sin, may I behold
A God of purity.

When men to God their homage pay,
And earth draws near to heaven.

2 Lord, in thy sacred hour,

Within thy courts, we bend,

And bless thy love, and own thy power,
Our Father and our Friend!

3 But thou art not alone

In courts by mortals trod,

Nor only is the day thine own
When men draw near their God.

4 Thy temple is the arch

Of yon unmeasured sky,

Thy Sabbath the stupendous march
Of grand eternity.

5 Lord, may that holier day

Dawn on thy servants' sight,
And grant us in those courts to pray
Of pure, unclouded light.

549

L. M.

God the Glory and Defence of Sion.

WATTS.

1 HAPPY the church, thou sacred place,
The seat of thy Creator's grace;
Thine holy courts are his abode,
Thou earthly palace of our God.

2 Thy walls are strength, and at thy gates
A guard of heavenly warriors waits;
God's arms embrace this happy ground,
Like brazen bulwarks built around.

3 Thy foes in vain designs engage;
Against his throne in vain they rage,
Like rising waves with angry roar,
That dash and die upon the shore.

4 God is our Shield, and God our Sun;
Swift as the fleeting moments run,
On us he sheds new beams of grace,
And we reflect his brightest praise.

550

S. P. M.

WATTS.

Going to Church. Ps. 122.

1 HOW pleased and blessed was I To hear the people cry,

"Come, let us seek our God to-day!" Yes, with a cheerful zeal,

We'll haste to Zion's hill,

And there our vows and honors

pay.

2 Zion, thrice happy place,

Adorned with wondrous grace,

And walls of strength embrace thee round;

In thee our tribes appear,

To pray, and praise, and hear

The sacred gospel's joyful sound.

3 May peace attend thy gate,

And joy within thee wait

To bless the soul of every guest;

The man that seeks thy peace,
And wishes thine increase,

A thousand blessings on him rest.

4 My tongue repeats her vows

"Peace to this sacred house!"

For there my friends and kindred dwell; And, since my glorious God

Makes thee his blest abode,

My soul shall ever love thee well.

551

H. M.

PRINCE'S N. E. VERS.
OF PSALMS.

Ps. 134.

1 YE servants of the Lord,

Who in the Lord's house wait,
And keep your watch before
The threshold of his gate,
The Lord's praise sing

By silent night,
Till cheerful light
Of morning spring.

2 Lift, in his holy place,

Your joyful hands on high,
And say, "The Lord we bless,

Who made the earth and sky."
And may he still

Thee greatly bless,
With joy and grace,

From Zion hill.

435