DEDICATIONS AND ORDINATIONS.
HYMN 478. S. P. M. [#]
On opening a Place of Worship.
1 How does my heart rejoice
To hear the public voice,
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 honours pay.
2 Zion, thrice happy place!
Adorned with wondrous grace,
And walls of strength enclose thee round;
In thee our souls 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 who 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 here my friends and brethren dwell;
And, since my glorious God
Makes this his blest abode,
My soul shall ever love thee well.
HYMN 479. C. M. [#]
Consecration of a Place of Worship.
1 GREATEST of beings, Source of good,
We bow before thy throne,
Which from eternity hath stood,
And worship thee alone.
2 Wilt thou vouchsafe thy presence here, And shed propitious rays,
While with united hands we rear
An altar to thy praise?
3 Here, then, in every heart be found
The dwelling of thy choice;
And here be heard that sweetest sound,
The cheerful, thankful voice.
4 Here may the mind, while sunk in woes,
And comfort long delays,
On Mercy's gentle breast repose,
And change its sighs for praise.
5 May love, with sweet, resistless force,
Compel her guests to come;
Arrest the sinner's downward course,
And call the wanderer home.
6 While life eternal all
Here may the way be shown,
To know thyself, God only true,
And Christ, thy chosen Son.
HYMN 480. L. M. [#]
Worship acceptable in all Places.
10 THOU, to whom, in ancient time,
The lyre of Hebrew bards was strung,
Whom kings adored in song sublime,
And prophets praised with glowing tongue;
2 Not now on Zion's height alone,
Thy favoured worshipper may dwell;
Not where, at sultry noon, thy Son
Sat, weary, by the patriarch's well:
3 From every place below the skies,
The grateful song, the fervent prayer,
The incense of the heart, may rise
To heaven, and find acceptance there.
4 In this thy house, whose doors we now
For social worship first unfold,
To thee the suppliant throng shall bow,
While circling years on years are rolled.
5 To thee shall age, with snowy hair,
And strength and beauty, bend the knee,
And childhood lisp, with reverent air,
Its praises and its prayers to thee.
6 O thou, to whom, in ancient time,
The lyre of prophet bards was strung,
To thee, at last, in every clime,
Shall temples rise, and praise be sung.
1 Jehovah, God, our heavenly King,
This temple to thy name we raise;
In strains as pure as angels sing,
O may its walls resound thy praise.
2 Here may thy truth in radiance shine,
And grateful hearts its influence feel;
And at its pure and holy shrine,
In ardent homage may we kneel.
3 May virtue's bright and living flame,
From souls renewed by heavenly love,
Waft its sweet incense to thy name,—
A sacrifice thou wilt approve.
4 When, in thine earthly dwelling-place,
We meet to mingle praise and prayer,
May we in love the world embrace,
And all to thy remembrance bear:
5 And when thy love our souls shall raise,
When every knee to thee shall bend,
O, then, we'll give thee deathless praise,
Eternal Father, changeless Friend.
1 PRAISE ye the Lord, around whose throne All heaven in ceaseless worship waits; Whose glory fills the worlds unknown; Praise ye the Lord, from Zion's gates.
2 With mingling souls and voices join,
To him the swelling anthem raise;
Repeat his name with joy divine,
And fill the temple with his praise.
3 All-gracious God, to thee we owe
Each joy and blessing time affords; Light, life and health, and all below, Spring from thy presence, Lord of lords. 4 Thine be the praise, for thine the love, That freely all our sins forgave, Pointed our dying eyes above,
And showed us life beyond the grave.
5 Immortal life! this thought disarms
The terrors of our mortal shore ;
It brings to view eternal charms,
When other comforts are no more.
HYMN 483. C. M. [#]
House of Prayer dedicated to God.
1 SUPREME in power, O God of grace,
Thy throne is fixed on high;
Yet to thy wanting, suppliant race,
Art thou forever nigh,
2 Before thy mercy-seat we bend,
Implore thy smiles divine,
Where justice, truth and mercy blend,
And in full splendour shine.
3 Wilt thou, our Father and our Friend,
Accept this house of prayer?
And may thy potent arm defend
This temple of thy care.
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