4 So bless each future day and night, Till life's fond scene is o'er ; Enraptured, let me soar. 687 KEBLE. " Abide with us, for it is toward Evening.” Luke xxiv. 29. 1 'TIS gone, that bright and orbed blaze, Fast fading from our wistful gaze; The last, faint pulse of quivering light. 2 Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear, It is not night, if thou be near; To hide thee from thy servant's eyes. 3 When the soft dews of kindly sleep My wearied eyelids gently steep, Forever on my Savior's breast. For without thee I cannot live; 688 WATTS. Morning or Evening. 1 MY God, how endless is thy love! Thy gifts are every evening new, Gently distil like early dew. 2 Thou spread'st the curtains of the night, Great Guardian of my sleeping hours; And quickens all my drowsy powers. 3 I yield my powers to thy command; To thee I consecrate my days; Demand perpetual songs of praise. 689 P. M. H. WARE, Jun. Prayer at Morning and Evening. 1 TO prayer, to prayer! for the morning breaks, And earth in her Maker's smiles awakes : Send upward the incense of grateful prayer. 2 To prayer! for the glorious sun is gone, And the gathering darkness of night comes on: night. 690 H. K. WHITE. And we, a lonely band, To bless thy fostering hand. 2 And wilt thou lend a listening ear To praises low as ours ? The song which meekness pours. 3 O, let thy grace perform its part, And let contention cease ; Thine everlasting peace. A flock by Jesus led, In glory on our head. And thou wilt bless our way, The dawn of lasting day. 691 J. Q. Adams. In Sickness. 1 LORD of all worlds, let thanks and praise To thee forever fill my soul ; With blessings thou hast crowned my days, My heart, my head, my hand control : o, let no vain presumption rise, No impious murmur in my heart, To crave the boon thy will denies, Or shrink from ill thy hands impart. 2 Thy child am I, and not an hour, Revolving in the orbs above, But brings some token of thy love: And shall this bosom dare repine, In darkness dare deny the dawn, Or spurn the treasures of the mine, Because one diamond is withdrawn? 3 The fool denies, the fool alone, Thy being, Lord, and boundless might, Denies the firmament, thy throne, Denies the sun's meridian light; Denies the fashion of his frame, The voice he hears, the breath he draws; O idiot atheist! to proclaim Effects unnumbered without cause ! 4 Matter and mind, mysterious one, Are man's for threescore years and ten; Where, ere the thread of life was spun? Where, when reduced to dust again? All-seeing God, the doubt suppress; The doubt thou only canst relieve; My soul thy Savior-Son shall bless, Fly to thy gospel, and believe. 692 DODDRIDGE. In every chastening stroke ; Thy presence I invoke. And thou hast bowed thine ear; And brought salvation near. 3 Unfold, ye gates of righteousness, That, with the pious throng, And tune my grateful song. 4 Praise to the Lord, whose gentle hand Renews our laboring breath; Triumphant e'en in death. 693 C. M. Watts. A Morning Song. For a Child. 1 MY God! who makes the sun to know His proper hour to rise, Doth send him round the skies. 2 When, from the chambers of the east, His morning race begins, But round the world he shines. 3 So, like the sun, would I fulfil The business of the day, March on my heavenly way. Nor let my soul complain Has all been spent in vain. 540 |