2 Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love;
But there's a nobler rest above;
To that our labouring souls aspire,
With ardent and with strong desire.
3 No more fatigue, no more distress,
Nor sin, nor death, shall reach the place;
No groans shall mingle with the songs,
Which warble from immortal tongues.
4 No rude alarms, no raging foes,
To interrupt the long repose;
No midnight shade, no clouded sun,
To veil the bright, eternal noon.
5 O long-expected day, begin!
Dawn on these realms of death and sin!
Fain would we quit this weary road,
And sleep in death, to rest with God.
HYMN 127. L. M. [#]
Annual Convention.
1 DEAR Lord, behold thy servants, here,
From various parts, together meet,
To tell their labours through the year,
And lay the harvest at thy feet.
2 In thy wide fields and vineyards, Lord,
We've toiled and wrought with watchful care; Thy wheat hath flourished by thy word, Thy love consumed the choking tare.
3 The reapers cry, Thy fields are white, And ready to be gathered in;
The labourer shouts, with sweet delight,
This is the day to finish sin!
4 Lord, bless us while we here remain;
With holy love thy servants fill;
O may thy doctrine drop like rain,
And like the silent dew distil.
5 While we attend thy churches' care,
O grant us wisdom from above;
With cautious steps and humble prayer,
May we fulfil the works of love.
HYMN 128. L. M. [#]
Where Multitudes meet.
1 Now multitudes assembled are,
To bow before their Maker's throne;
O may the Lord our souls prepare,
And make us all in union one.
2 Oft, when our Saviour dwelt below,
He preached where great assemblies were ; Then did his word like waters flow ;
He made the multitude his care.
S No soul unfed did Christ dismiss,
But gave a full supply of food:
His power is still the same to bless,
And his provisions rich and good.
4 May Jesus rise in every heart,
With healing mercies in his wings;
The bread of life to all impart,—
The grace which full salvation brings.
HYMN 129. L. M. [#]
Public Worship.
1 FOR thee, O God, our constant praise
In Zion waits, thy chosen seat;
Our promised altars there we'll raise,
And all our zealous vows complete.
2 O thou, who to my humble prayer
Didst always bend thy listening ear,
To thee shall all mankind repair,
And at thy gracious throne appear.
3 Our sins, though numberless, in vain
To stop thy flowing mercy try;
For thou wilt cleanse the guilty stain,
And wash away the crimson dye.
4 Blest is the man, who, near thee placed,
Within thy sacred dwelling lives;
Whilst we at humbler distance taste
The vast delight thy worship gives.
HYMN 130. L. M. [#]
Pleasures of Worship.
1 How pleasant, how divinely fair,
O Lord of hosts, thy dwellings are!
With long desire my spirit faints
To meet and worship with thy saints.
2 Blest are the saints who sit on high
Around thy throne of majesty ;
Thy brightest glories shine above,
And all their work is praise and love.
3 Blest are the souls that find a place
Within the temple of thy grace;
There they behold thy gentler rays,
And seek thy face, and learn thy praise.
4 Blest are the men whose hearts are set
To find the way to Zion's gate :
God is their Strength, and through the road
They lean upon their Helper, God.
5 Cheerful they walk, with growing strength,
Till all shall meet in heaven at length;
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.
HYMN 131. S. M. [#]
Solemn Call to Praise.
1 COME, sound his praise abroad,
And hymns of glory sing;
Jehovah is the sovereign God,
The universal King.
2 He formed the deeps unknown;
He gave the seas their bound;
The watery worlds are all his own,
And all the solid ground.
3 Come, worship at his throne;
Come, bow before the Lord:
We are his work, and his alone;
He formed us by his word.
4 To-day attend his voice,
Nor more provoke his rod;
Come, make his heavenly paths your choice,
And own your gracious God.
5 Thus you the joys will share,
Which from devotion rise;
And heavenly grace your souls prepare
For bliss that never dies.
HYMN 132. L. M. [#]
Joys of God's House.
1 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 thy house, O God of grace,
Not tents of ease, nor thrones of
power,
Should tempt me to desert thy door.
All needful grace wilt thou bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too;
Thy hand gives all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.
4 O God, my King, whose sovereign sway
The glorious hosts of heaven obey,
Display thy grace, exert thy power,
Till all on earth thy name adore.
HYMN 133. C. P. M. [#]
Attendance on Worship.
1 I'LL bless Jehovah's glorious name,
Whose goodness heaven and earth proclaim,
|