New hopes to open in the sun ;
New efforts worth the will;
Or tasks, with yesterday begun,
More bravely to fulfil.
Fresh seeds for all the time to be
Are in my hand to sow,
Whereby, for others and for me,
Undreamed-of fruit may grow.
And if, when eventide shall fall
In shade across my way,
It seems that nought my thoughts recall
But life of every day,-
Yet if each step in shine or shower
Shall be with Thee for guide,
Then blest be every happy hour
That keeps me at thy side.
OUR day of praise is done;
The evening shadows fall;
But pass not from us with the sun,
True Light that lightenest all.
Around the throne on high,
Where night can never be,
The white-robed harpers of the sky
Bring ceaseless hymns to Thee.
Too faint our anthems here;
Too soon of praise we tire:
But O the strains how full and clear
Of that eternal choir !
Yet, Lord, to thy dear Will
If Thou attune the heart,
We in thine angels' music still
May bear our lower part.
'Tis thine each soul to calm,
Each wayward thought reclaim,
And make our life a daily psalm
Of glory to thy name.
A little while, and then
Shall come the glorious end;
And songs of angels and of men
In perfect praise shall blend.
LORD of power, Lord of might;
God and father of us all;
Lord of day and Lord of night,
Listen to our solemn call;
Listen, whilst to Thee we raise
Songs of prayer, and songs of praise.
Light and love and life are thine,
Great Creator of all good;
Fill our souls with light divine;
Give us, with our daily food,
Blessings from thy heavenly store,
Blessings rich for evermore.
Graft within our heart of hearts
Love undying for thy name;
Bid us, ere the day departs,
Spread afar our Maker's fame:
Young and old together bless,
Clothe our souls with righteousness.
Full of years and full of peace,
May our life on earth be blest;
When our trials here shall cease,
And at last we sink to rest,
Fountain of eternal Love,
Call us to our home above.
FATHER, now the day is over,
As the sun sinks in the west,
Ere the night creep slowly round us,
Ere soft slumber be our guest,
Let us bless Thee that to-day,
Thou, O God, hast been our stay.
Lord, we need no earthly temple,
For, where we thy love have found,
All thy humblest creatures teach us
Where we are is holy ground:
Lord, we need no holier place
Than where we thy love can trace.
For the birds and flowers we thank Thee,
For each song and perfume sweet,
For the faith that dare address Thee,
For the love that may Thee greet;
Most, that we for every gift
May our souls to Thee uplift.
For the love of friends we bless Thee,
Who to-day our joys have shared,
Whose true hearts spread out before us,
Have thy love to us declared ;
For each thought of truth and love
They have echoed from above.
For the mystic band which binds us
Each to each, and all to Thee,
And with all the past entwines us,
In the world's long harmony;
For each striving human soul
Which is part of thy great whole.
For each gift Thou hast withholden
From our foolish, grasping hands;
For each pang which quick has chidden
Every breach of thy commands;
For the weariness and pain
Which Thou hast not sent in vain.
Pour thy Spirit, Lord, upon us,
Guard us in unconscious sleep;
Be that Spirit ever with us,
While death slumbers o'er us creep;
And, our life's long journey past,
We are safe with Thee at last.
O SHADOW in a sultry land,
We gather to thy breast,
Whose love, enfolding us like night,
Brings quietude and rest ;
Glimpse of a fairer life to be,
In foretaste here possessed.
From all our wanderings we come,
From drifting to andfro,
From tossing on life's restless deep
Amid its ebb and flow;
The grander sweep of tides serene
Our spirits yearn to know.
That which the garish day has lost
The twilight vigil brings,
While softlier the vesper bell
Its silver cadence rings,—
The sense of an immortal trust,
The touch of angel wings.
Drop down behind the solemn hills,
O day with golden skies;
Serene, above its fading glow,
Night, starry-crowned, arise;
So beautiful may heaven be
When life's last sunbeam dies.
O Love divine, of all that is
The sweetest still and best,
Fain would I come and rest to-night
Upon thy tender breast:
pray Thee turn me not away;
For, sinful though I be,
Thou knowest every thing I need,
And all my need of Thee.
And yet the spirit in my heart
Says, Wherefore should I pray
That Thou shouldst seek me with thy love,
Since Thou dost seek alway?
And dost not even wait until
I urge my steps to Thee;
But in the darkness of my life
Art coming still to me.
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