Look how we grovel here below,
Fond of these trifling toys:
Our souls can neither fly nor go
To reach eternal joys!
In vain we tune our formal songs,
In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies.
Dear Lord! and shall we ever live
At this poor dying rate;
Our love so faint, so cold to thee,
And thine to us so great?
Come, Holy Spirit, heav'nly Dove,
With all thy quick'uing pow'rs,
Come shed abroad a Saviour's love,
And that shall kindle ours.
115. C. M. Dr. Watts.
Going to public Worship. Psalm cxxii. OW did my heart rejoice to hear My friends devoutly say,
"In Zion let us all appear,
"And keep the solemn day!"
I love her gates, I love the road;
The church adorn'd with grace,
Stands like a palace built for God
To show his milder face.
Up to her courts with joys unknown
The holy tribes repair;
The Son of David holds his throne,
And sits in judgment there.
He hears our praises and complaints!
And while his awful voice
Divides the sinners from the saints,
We tremble and rejoice.
Peace be within this sacred place,
And joy a constant guest!
With holy gifts and heav'nly grace
Be her attendants blest.
My soul shall pray for Zion still,
While life or breath remains;
There my best friends, my kindred dwell,
There God my Saviour reigns!
Sevens. Mr. D. Turner.
The Excellency of public Worship.
ORD of hosts, how lovely fair,
Ben on earth, thy temples are!
Here thy waiting people see
Much of heaven, much of thee!
From thy gracious presence flows,
Bliss at softens all our woes;
While thy Spirit's holy fire
Warms our hearts with pure desire.
Here we supplicate thy throne,
Here thou mak'st thy glories known,
Here we learn thy righteous ways,
Taste thy love, and sing thy praise.
Thus, with festive songs of joy,
We our happy lives employ;
Love, and long to love thee more,
'Till from earth to heav'n we soar.
117. S. M. Dr. Stennett.
The Pleasures of social Worship.
1 H Where my Redeemer God TOW charming is the place,
Unveils the beauties of his face,
And sheds his love abroad.
Not the fair palaces
To which the great resort,
Are once to be compar'd with this,
Where Jesus holds his court.
Here on the mercy seat,
With radiant glory crown'd,
Our joyful eyes behold him sit,
And smile on all around.
To him their prayers and cries
Each humble soul presents;
He listens to their broken sighs,
And grants them all their wants.
To them his sov'reign will
He graciously imparts,
And, in return, accepts with smiles
The tribute of their hearts.
6 Give me, O Lord, a place
Within thy blest abode,
Among the children of thy grace,
The servants of my God!
118. L. M. Dr. Watts.
The Pleasure of public Worship.
Psalin lxxxiv. First Part.
1HO Lord of hosts, thy dwellings are!
OW pleasant, how divinely fair,
With long desire, my spirit faints
To meet th' assemblies of thy saints.
2 My flesh would rest in thine abode,
My panting heart cries out for God;
My God! my King! why should I be
So far from all my joys and thee?
3 Blest are the saints who sit on high
Around thy throne of majesty;
Thy brightest glories shine above,
And all their work is praise and love.
4 Blest are the souls that find a place
Within the temple of thy grace;
There they behold thy gentler rays,
And seek thy face, and learn thy praise.
5 Blest are the men whose hearts are set
To find the way to Zion's gate:
God is their strength, and through the road,
They lean upon their helper, God.
6 Cheerful they walk with growing strength; fill all shall meet in heav'n at 'ength,
Till all before thy face appear,
And join in nobler worship there.
119. L. M. Dr. Watts.
Psalm lxxxiv. Second Part.
REAT God attend, while Zion sings The joy that from thy presence springs To spend one day with thee on earth, Exceeds a thousand days of mirth. 2 Might I enjoy the meanest place Within thy house, O God of grace; Not tents of ease, nor thrones of pow'r, Should tempt my feet to leave thy door.
3 God is our sun, he makes our day;
God is our shield, he guards our way
From all th' assaults of hell and sin,
From foes without, and foes within.
4 All needful grace will God bestow,
And crown that grace with glory too;
He gives us all things, and withholds
No real good from upright souls.
5 O God, our King, whose sov'reign sway
The glorious hosts of heav'n obey,
And devils at thy presence flee;
Blest is the man that trusts in thee!
120. C. M. Dr. Watts.
Delight in Ordinances of Worship. Ps. lxxxiv.
1MY To which thy God resorts!
Y soul, how lovely is the place
'Tis heav'n to see his smiling face,
Though in his earthly courts.
2 There the great Monarch of the skies
His saving pow'r displays,
And light breaks in upon our eyes
With kind and quick'ning rays.
3 With his rich gifts the heav'nly Dove
Descends and fills the place,
While Christ reveals his wondrous love,
And sheds abroad his grace.
4 There, mighty God, thy words declare
The secrets of thy will;
And still we seek thy mercy there,
And sing thy praises still.
5 Could I command the spacious land,
And the more boundless sea,
For one blest hour at thy right-hand,
I'd give them both away!
121. P. M. Dr. Watts.
Longing for the House of God. Ps. lxxxiv.
1 LORD of the worlds above
How pleasant and how fair
The dwellings of thy love,
Thy earthly temples are!
To thine abode
My heart aspires,
With warm desires,
To see my God.
2 O happy souls that pray
Where God appoints to hear!
O happy men that pay,
Their constant service there;
They praise thee still;
And happy they
That love the way
To Zion's hill.
3 They go from strength to strength,
Through this dark vale of tears,
Till each arrives at length,
Till each in heav'n appears;
O glorious seat,
When God our King
Shall thither bring
Our willing feet!
122. P. M. Dr. Watts. Psalm lxxxiv.
1T Where God and saints abide, spend one sacred day
Affords diviner joy
Than thousand days beside:
Where God resorts
I love it more
To keep the door
Than shine in courts.
2 God is our sun and shield,
Our light and our defence;
With gifts his hands are fill'd,
We draw our blessings thence;
He shall bestow
On Jacob's race
Peculiar grace
The Lord his people loves,
His hand no good withholds,
From those his heart approves,
From pure and pious souls.
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