Worship, Times of

Verse 1

Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide:
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Verse 2

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Verse 3

I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

Verse 4

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless:
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Verse 5

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee:
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Verse 1

Again, as evening’s shadow falls,
We gather in these hallowed walls;
And vesper hymn and vesper prayer
Rise mingling on the holy air.

Verse 2

May struggling hearts that seek release
Here find the rest of God’s own peace;
And, strengthened here by hymn and prayer,
Lay down the burden and the care.

Verse 3

O God, our Light, to Thee we bow;
Within all shadows standest Thou;
Give deeper calm than night can bring,
Give sweeter songs than lips can sing.

Verse 4

Life’s tumult we must meet again;
We cannot at the shrine remain;
But in the spirit’s secret cell
May hymn and prayer for ever dwell.

Verse 1

All praise to Him who dwells in bliss,
Who made both day and night;
Whose throne is darkness, in th’ abyss
Of uncreated light.

Verse 2

Each thought and deed His piercing eyes
With strictest search survey;
The deepest shades no more disguise
Than the full blaze of day.

Verse 3

Whom Thou dost guard, O King of kings,
No evil shall molest:
Under the shadow of Thy wings
Shall they securely rest.

Verse 4

Thy angels shall around their beds
Their constant stations keep:
Thy faith and truth shall shield their heads,
For Thou dost never sleep.

Verse 5

May we, with calm and sweet repose,
Our heavenly thoughts refreshed,
Our eyelids with the morn’s unclose,
And bless the Ever-bless’d.

Verse 1

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light;
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thy own almighty wings.

Verse 2

Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Verse 3

Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
To die, that this vile body may
Rise glorious at the awful day.

Verse 4

O may my soul on Thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close;
Sleep that may me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.

Verse 5

When in the night I sleepless lie,
My soul with heavenly thoughts supply;
Let no ill dreams disturb my rest,
No powers of darkness me molest.

Verse 6

O when shall I, in endless day,
For ever chase dark sleep away,
And hymns with the supernal choir
Incessant sing, and never tire!

Verse 1

Almighty God, Thy word is cast
Like seed upon the ground;
O may it grow in humble hearts,
And righteous fruits abound.

Verse 2

Let not the foe of Christ and man
This holy seed remove,
But give it root in praying souls
To bring forth fruits of love.

Verse 3

Let not the world’s deceitful cares
The rising plant destroy,
But may it, in converted minds,
Produce the fruits of joy.

Verse 4

Let not Thy Word, so kindly sent
To raise us to Thy throne,
Return to Thee, and sadly tell
That we reject Thy Son.

Verse 1

And now the wants are told
That brought Thy children to Thy knee;
Here lingering still, we ask for nought,
But simply worship Thee.

Verse 2

The hope of heaven’s eternal days
Absorbs not all the heart
That gives Thee glory, love, and praise,
For being what Thou art.

Verse 3

For Thou art God, the One, the same,
O’er all things high and bright;
And round us, when we speak Thy Name,
There spreads a heaven of light.

Verse 4

O wondrous peace, in thought to dwell
On excellence Divine;
To know that nought in man can tell
How fair Thy beauties shine.

Verse 5

O Thou, above all blessing blest,
O’er thanks exalted far,
Thy very greatness is a rest
To weaklings as we are;

Verse 6

For when we feel the praise of Thee
A task beyond our powers,
We say, “A perfect God is He,
And He is fully ours.”

Verse 1

Another six days’ work is done,
Another Sabbath is begun;
Return, my soul, enjoy thy rest,
Improve the day thy God hath blest.

Verse 2

Come, bless the Lord, whose love assigns
So sweet a rest to wearied minds,
Provides an antepast of heaven,
And gives this day the food of seven.

Verse 3

O that our thoughts and thanks may rise,
As grateful incense, to the skies;
And draw from heaven that sweet repose
Which none but he that feels it knows.

Verse 4

This heavenly calm within the breast
Is the dear pledge of glorious rest
Which for the Church of God remains,
The end of cares, the end of pains.

Verse 5

In holy duties let the day,
In holy pleasures, pass away:
How sweet a Sabbath thus to spend,
In hope of one that ne’er shall end.

Verse 1

As now the sun’s declining rays
Towards the eve descend,
E’en so our years are sinking down
To their appointed end.

Verse 2

Lord, on the cross Thine arms were stretched
To draw us to the sky;
O grant us then that cross to love,
And in those arms to die.

Verse 3

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Holy Ghost,
All glory be from saints on earth,
And from the angel host.