And willing crowds surround thy board.
With sacred joy and sweet accord.

In peace, here may our sons
And daughters sound thy praise;
And shine like polish'd stones,

Through long succeeding days.
Here, Lord! display thy saving pow'r,
While churches stand and saints adore.

C. M.

597. On opening a Place of Worship. DEAR Shepherd of thy people, here Thy presence now display;

As thou hast giv'n a place for prayer,
So give us hearts to pray.

2 Show us some token of thy love,
Our fainting hope to raise;

And pour thy blessings from above,
That we may render praise.

3 Within these walls let holy peace,
And love, and concord, dwell;
Here give the troubled conscience ease,
The wounded spirit heal.

The feeling heart, the melting eye,
The humbled mind bestow;
And shine upon us from on high,
To make our graces grow!

5 May we in faith receive thy word,
In faith present our prayers;
And, in the presence of our Lord,
Unbosom all our cares.

6 And may the gospel's joyful sound,
Enforc'd by mighty grace,

Awaken many sinners round,
To come and fill the place.

PARTICULAR OCCASIONS AND

CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. SEASONS.

(70.) L. M.

598. The seasons formed by God's control 1 GREAT God, at whose all-pow'rful call,

first arose this beauteous frame!

By thee the seasons change, and all The changing seasons speak thy name. 2 Thy bounty bids the infant year,

From winter storms recover'd, rise; When thousand grateful scenes appear, Fresh op'ning to our wond'ring eyes.

3 O how delightful 'tis to see

The earth in vernal beauty drest!
While in each herb, and flow'r, and tree,
Thy blooming glories shine confest!

4 Aloft, full beaming, reigns the sun,
And light and genial heat conveys;
And, while he leads the seasons on,
From thee derives his quick'ning rays.

5 Around us, in the teeming field,

Stands the rich grain or purpled vine;
At thy command they rise, to yield

The strength'ning bread or cheering wine. Indulgent God! from ev'ry part

Thy plenteous blessings largely flow; We see; we taste;-let ev'ry heart With grateful love and duty glow.

L. M.

599. The seasons crowned with goodness.

1

ET

Psalm Ixv. 11.

TERNAL Source of every joy! Well may thy praise our lips employ, While in thy temple we appear To hail the Sovereign of the year.

410

2 Wide as the wheels of nature roll,
Thy hand supports and guides the whole!
The sun is taught by thee to rise,
And darkness when to veil the skies.

3 The flowery spring, at thy command,
Perfumes the air and paints the land:
The summer rays with vigour shine
To raise the corn and cheer the vine.

4 Thy hand, in autumn, richly pours
Through all our coast redundant stores,
And winters, soften'd by thy care,
No more the face of horror wear.

5 Seasons, and months, and weeks, and days,
Demand successive songs of praise;
And be the grateful homage paid,
With morning light and evening shade.

6 Here in thy house let incense rise,
And circling sabbaths bless our eyes,
Till to those lofty heights we soar,
Where days and years revolve no more

P. M.

600. Jesus seen in the Seasons; or, I will preise

1

the Lord at all times.

INTER has a joy for me,

WD

While the Saviour's charms I read
Lowly, meek, from blemish free,
In the snow-drop's pensive head,

2 Spring returns, and brings along
Life-invigorating suns:

Hark! the turtle's plaintive song,
Seems to speak his dying groans!

3 Summer has a thousand charms
All expressive of his worth;
"Tis his sun that lights and warms,
His the air that cools the earth

4 What, has autumn left to sav
Nothing of a Saviour's grace?
Yes, the beams of milder day
Tell me of his smiling face.
5 Light appears with early dawn,
While the sun makes haste to rise,
See his bleeding beauties drawn
On the blushes of the skies.

6 Evening with a silent pace,
Slowly moving in the west,
Shows an emblem of his grace,
Points to an eternal rest.

1 BLEAK winter is subdu'd at length,
Compell'd to yield the day:

The sun returning in his strength
Drives all the storms away.

2 Behold the youthful spring is come,
How alter'd is the scene!

The trees and shrubs are dress'd in bloom,
The earth array'd in green.

3 Where'er we tread, beneath our feet
The flowers spontaneous spring;
And warbling birds, in concert sweet,
Invite our hearts to sing.

4 But, ah! in vain I strive to join,
Oppress'd with sin and doubt;
I feel 'tis winter still within,
Though all is spring without.

5 Oh! would my Savicur from on high
Break through these clouds and shine!
No creature then more blest than L
No song more loud than mine.

6 Till their no softly-warbling thrush,
Nor cowslips' sweet perfume,
Nor beauties of each painted bush,
Can dissipate my gloom.

The Spring improved.

1 BEHOLD! long-wish'd-for spring is come,

How alter'd is the scene!

The trees and shrubs are dress'd in bloom, The earth array'd in green.

2 Where'er we tread, the clustering flowers Beauteous around us spring;

The birds, with joint harmonious powers,
Invite our hearts to sing.

8 But, ah! in vain I strive to join,
Oppress'd with sin and doubt;
1 feel 'tis winter still within,
Though all is spring without.

4 0! would my Saviour, from on high,
Break through these clouds and shine,
No creature then more blest than I,
No song more loud than mine.

5 Lord, let thy word my hopes revive,
And overcome my foes;

O make my languid graces thrive,
And blossom like the rose!

603.

SUMMER AND HARVEST.

C. M.

Summer-a Harvest Hyma.

TO praise the ever-bounteous Lord,
My soul, wake all thy powers:
He calls, and at his voice come forth
The smiling harvest hours.

2 His covenant with the earth he keeps
My tongue, his goodness sing;