THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE.'
GOD is in His holy temple:
Earthly thoughts be silent now,
While with reverence we assemble,
And before His presence bow.
He is with us now and ever,
When we call upon His name,
Aiding every good endeavor,
Guiding every upward aim.
God is in His holy temple ;-
In the pure and holy mind;
In the reverent heart and simple;
In the soul from sense refined:
Then let every low emotion
Banished far and silent be,
And our souls in pure devotion,
Lord, be temples worthy Thee!
O FATHER! with protecting care
Meet us in this our house of prayer;
Assembled in Thy sacred name,
Thy promised blessing here we claim.
But chiefest in the cleanséd breast,
Eternal! let Thy spirit rest,
And make the secret soul to be
A temple pure and worthy Thee.
" NOT IN TEMPLES MADE WITH HANDS.'
O LORD! where'er Thy people meet,
There they behold Thy mercy-seat;
Where'er they seek Thee, Thou art found,
And every place is hallowed ground.
For Thou, within no walls confined,
Inhabitest the humble mind;
Such ever bring Thee where they come,
And, going, take Thee to their home.
Here may we prove the power of prayer
To strengthen faith, and sweeten care;
To teach our faint desires to rise,
And bring all heaven before our eyes.
OUR Father God! not face to face
May mortal sense commune with Thee,
Nor lift the curtains of that place
Where dwells Thy secret Majesty:
Yet wheresoe'er our spirits bend
In reverent faith and humble prayer,
Thy promised blessing will descend,
And we shall find Thy spirit there.
Lord! be the spot where now we meet
An open gateway into heaven;
Here may we sit at Jesus' feet,
And feel our deepest sins forgiven.
Here may desponding care look up;
And sorrow lay its burden down,
Or learn, of him, to drink the cup,
To bear the cross, and win the crown.
Here may the sick and wandering soul
To truth still blind, to sin a slave,
Find better than Bethesda's pool,
Or than Siloam's healing wave.
And may we learn, while here apart
From the world's passion and its strife,
That Thy true shrine 's a loving heart,
And Thy best praise a holy life!
To the Truth that makes us free,
To the Light that leads to Thee,
We this hour would dedicate,
And Thy blessing, Lord, await.
Canst Thou be approached by men?
Angels and archangels, when
God His brightness on them sheds,
Veil their faces, bow their heads.
Yet we know, O God, Thou art
Present in the lowly heart;
There will He descend and reign,
Whom the heavens cannot contain.
In our hearts Thy temple rear;
Show us, God, Thy glory there;
Fill us with that light divine,
Which shall make all places Thine.
LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, YE GATES!'
O BLEST the souls, forever blest,
Where God as sovereign is confest!
O happy hearts, the blessed homes
To which the King in glory comes!
Fling wide thy portals, O my heart!
Be thou a temple set apart;
So shall thy Sovereign enter in,
And new and nobler life begin.
Deliverer, come! we open wide
Our hearts to Thee; here, Lord, abide!
Let all Thy glorious presence feel;
O King of souls! Thyself reveal.
FORTH from the dark and stormy sky,
Lord, to Thine altar's shade we fly;
Forth from the world, its hope and fear,
Father, we seek Thy shelter here:
Weary and weak, Thy grace we pray;
Turn not, O Lord! Thy guests away.
Long have we roamed in want and pain,
Long have we sought Thy rest in vain ;
Wildered in doubt, in darkness lost,
Long have our souls been tempest-tost:
Low at Thy feet our sins we lay;
Turn not, O Lord! Thy guests away.
O GOD! unworthy of Thy boundless love,
Too oft, with careless feet, from Thee we rove;
Yet now, encouraged by Thy voice, we come,
Returning children, to a Father's home.
O, by that Power in which all fulness dwells,
O, by that Love which every love excels,
O, by that Grace which meets repented sin,
Open Thou wide Thine arms, and take us in!
'I WILL ARISE AND GO UNTO MY FATHER.' L. M.
To Thine eternal arms, O God!
Take us, Thine erring children, in;
From dangerous paths too boldly trod,
From wandering thoughts and dreams of sin.
Those arms were round our childish ways,
A guard through helpless years to be ;
O leave not our maturer days,
We still are helpless without Thee!
We trusted hope and pride and strength:
Our strength proved false, our pride was vain,
Our dreams have faded all at length, -
We come to Thee, O Lord! again.
A guide to trembling steps yet be!
Give us of Thine eternal powers
So shall our paths all lead to Thee,
And life smile on like childhood's hours.
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