“In The Beginning, God.”

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“In Him we live, and move, and have our being.”

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OUR FATHER.

ADORATION.

Sole Source of being, blessed God! Of love the Fountain and the Sea, Thy glorious name alone we laud,-- Our springs, O Lord, are all in thee.

In all our paths thy truth we trace,-- Thy goodness, infinite, unknown; Our everlasting dwelling place, In thee we live, in thee alone.

To children’s children still endure Thy ceaseless care, thy changeless love; Thy covenanted mercies, sure, Shall never, nevermore remove.

O happiness without alloy! We soon with all thy saints shall come, With songs and everlasting joy, To Zion, our eternal home.

O holy, holy, holy Lord! To thee be endless glory given; O be thy name by all adored, For evermore, in earth and heaven.

CONFIDING IN GOD.

From thy commandments, Lord, O let me never stray; According to thy word Do thou direct my way.

Be every moment near,-- Alone I dare not go,-- And with thy presence cheer My pilgrimage below.

Forever in thy sight, No harm can happen me; The darkness and the light Are both alike to thee.

E’en death shall serve thy will,-- Controlled by thy command; No change can work me ill,-- “My times are in thy hand.”

In this I sweetly rest,-- Instructed from above,-- Whatever is, is best; For thou, O Lord, art love.

PROVIDENCE.

O God, our shield! our strong defense, Sure staff of souls distress’d, Beneath thy watchful providence, Thy saints securely rest.

No want have they who seek thy face; No good wilt thou withhold From them that walk in righteousness, The flock of thine own fold.

From strength to strength thy servants go, Delighting in thy will; Triumphant over every foe, They stand on Zion’s hill.

Forever blessèd be thy name,-- And let the whole earth be The temple of thy glorious fame, And thy salvation see.

ANNIVERSARY PRAISE.

O sovereign Love, eternal Power! Whose grace hath brought us to this hour, Thy covenanted mercies, sure, To children’s children still endure.

Our fathers’ God! to thee we raise In cheerful song our grateful praise,-- And laud and magnify and bless Thy everlasting faithfulness.

For blessings on our infant days, For guidance through life’s later maze, For present good, for hope of heaven, To thee be endless glory given.

Our children, Lord, with pious care, We consecrate to thee in prayer; O, be thou tender to our tears,-- O, be thou better than our fears.

In all our pilgrimage below, O, may thy presence with us go; And grant us grace henceforth to be In sweetest fellowship with thee.

For service, or for suffering, Lord, In thee we seek our sole reward,-- Content, in life and death, to prove The comforts of redeeming love.

OUT OF THE DEPTHS.

Almighty Sovereign of the sea, Make known thy matchless majesty; Rebuke the raging of the deep, And bid its surging billows sleep.

Great God, regard thy servants’ prayer, And grant us, still, thy gracious care; Spare us, O Lord; our lives prolong, And turn our sorrow into song.

Out of the depths we cry to thee; O, let us thy salvation see! Thy tender pity may we prove,-- Thy changeless, everlasting love.

Through gloom and tempest guide our way; The sea is thine--it owns thy sway; The winds and waves obey thy will, Hushed when they hear thy “Peace, be still!”

On thee alone our hope is stayed; O, be thou our unfailing aid, Till, in the haven of thy breast, We share thy saints’ eternal rest.

THE SANCTUARY.

How amiable thy courts! Thy temple, Lord, how fair! How pleasant, still, to lowly hearts, Thy tabernacles are.

Thither the tribes go up,-- Thy chosen Israel,-- With voice of saintly jubilee Thy faithfulness to tell.

How excellent they stand, The gates of praise and prayer! Would God my weary, fainting soul Might dwell forever there.

Before the mercy seat We find our faith’s reward: A heart made holy to behold The beauty of the Lord.

Thy ceaseless love, O Christ, Our pilgrimage shall cheer, Till, crowned with everlasting joy, In glory we appear.