Opening of Service

Verse 1

Christ is our Corner-stone,
On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone
The courts of heaven are filled:
On His great love our hopes we place
Of present grace and joys above.

Verse 2

O then with hymns of praise
These hallowed courts shall ring;
Our voices we will raise
The Three in One to sing;
And thus proclaim in joyful song,
Both loud and long, that glorious Name.

Verse 3

Here, gracious God, do Thou
For evermore draw nigh;
Accept each faithful vow,
And mark each suppliant sigh;
In copious shower on all who pray,
Each holy day, Thy blessings pour.

Verse 4

Here may we gain from heaven
The grace which we implore;
And may that grace, once given,
Be with us evermore,
Until that day when all the blest
To endless rest are called away.

Verse 1

Come, Holy Spirit, calm my mind,
And fit me to approach my God;
Remove each vain, each worldly thought,
And lead me to Thy blest abode.

Verse 2

Hast Thou imparted to my soul
A living spark of heavenly fire?
O kindle now the sacred flame;
Teach it to burn with pure desire.

Verse 3

Impress upon my wandering mind
The love that Christ for sinners bore;
And give a new, a contrite heart,
A heart the Saviour to adore.

Verse 4

A brighter faith and hope impart,
And let me now the Saviour see:
O soothe and cheer my burdened heart,
And bid my spirit rest in Thee.

Verse 1

Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy Name to sing,
Help us to praise:
Father, all-glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of days.

Verse 2

Come, Thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on Thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come, and Thy people bless,
And give Thy word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

Verse 3

Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

Verse 4

To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be
Hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.

Verse 1

Come, Thou Almighty King,
Help us Thy Name to sing,
Help us to praise:
Father, all-glorious,
O’er all victorious,
Come, and reign over us,
Ancient of days.

Verse 2

Come, Thou Incarnate Word,
Gird on Thy mighty sword,
Our prayer attend:
Come, and Thy people bless,
And give Thy word success;
Spirit of holiness,
On us descend.

Verse 3

Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
In this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
Now rule in every heart,
And ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

Verse 4

To the great One in Three
Eternal praises be
Hence evermore.
His sovereign majesty
May we in glory see,
And to eternity
Love and adore.

Verse 1

Father, again in Jesus’ Name we meet,
And bow in penitence beneath Thy feet:
Again to Thee our feeble voices raise,
To sue for mercy, and to sing Thy praise.

Verse 2

O we would bless Thee for Thy ceaseless care,
And all Thy work from day to day declare:
Is not our life with hourly mercies crowned?
Does not Thine arm encircle us around?

Verse 3

Alas, unworthy of Thy boundless love,
Too oft with careless feet from Thee we rove;
But now, encouraged by Thy voice, we come,
Returning sinners to a Father’s home.

Verse 4

O by that Name in whom all fulness dwells,
O by that love which every love excels,
O by that blood so freely shed for sin,
Open blest mercy’s gate, and take us in.

Verse 1

Father of all, to Thee
With loving hearts we pray,
Through Him, in mercy given,
The Life, the Truth, the Way:
From heaven, Thy throne, in mercy shed
Thy blessings on each bendèd head.

Verse 2

Father of all, to Thee
Our contrite hearts we raise,
Unstrung by sin and pain,
Long voiceless in Thy praise;
Breathe Thou the silent chords along,
Until they tremble into song.

Verse 3

Father of all, to Thee
We breathe unuttered fears,
Deep-hidden in our souls,
That have no voice but tears;
Take Thou our hand, and through the wild
Lead gently on each trembling child.

Verse 4

Father of all, may we
In praise our tongues employ,
When gladness fills the soul
With deep and hallowed joy;
In storm and calm give us to see
The path of peace, which leads to Thee.

Verse 1

Father of heaven, whose love profound
A ransom for our souls hath found,
Before Thy throne we sinners bend:
To us Thy pardoning love extend.

Verse 2

Almighty Son, Incarnate Word,
Our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord,
Before Thy throne we sinners bend:
To us Thy saving grace extend.

Verse 3

Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
The soul is raised from sin and death,
Before Thy throne we sinners bend:
To us Thy quickening power extend.

Verse 4

Jehovah,—Father, Spirit, Son—
Mysterious Godhead, Three in One,
Before Thy throne we sinners bend:
Grace, pardon, life, to us extend.

Verse 1

Hosanna to the living Lord!
Hosanna to the Incarnate Word!
To Christ, Creator, Saviour, King,
Let earth, let heaven, Hosanna sing!
Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Verse 2

Hosanna, Lord! Thine angels cry;
Hosanna, Lord! Thy saints reply;
Above, beneath us, and around,
The dead and living swell the sound:
Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Verse 3

O Saviour, with protecting care,
Return to this Thy house of prayer;
Assembled in Thy sacred Name,
Where we Thy parting promise claim:
Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Verse 4

But, chiefest, in our cleansèd breast,
Eternal, bid Thy Spirit rest,
And make our secret soul to be
A temple pure, and worthy Thee:
Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Verse 5

So, in the last and dreadful day,
When earth and heaven shall melt away,
Thy flock, redeemed from sinful stain,
Shall swell the sound of praise again:
Hosanna, Lord! Hosanna in the highest!