Before Thee, Lord, a people waits
To praise Thy Name in Zion’s gates,
To Thee shall vows be paid;
Thou Hearer of the suppliant’s prayer,
To Thee in need shall all repair
To seek Thy gracious aid.

How great my trespasses appear;
But Thou from guilt my soul will clear,
And my transgressions hide.
How blest Thy chosen, who by grace
Are brought within Thy dwelling place
That they may there abide.

The goodness of Thy house, O Lord,
The joys Thy holy courts afford,
Our souls shall satisfy;
By deeds of might, in justice wrought,
The Lord will grant us what we sought,
Our Savior, God Most High.

On Thy sustaining arm depend,
To earth and sea’s remotest end,
All men in every age;
Thy strength establishes the hills,
Thy word the roaring billows stills,
And calms the peoples’ rage.

The tribes of earth’s remotest lands
Behold the tokens of Thy hands
And bow in godly fear;
The east, where beams the morning light,
The west, in evening glories bright,
Rejoice, for Thou art near.

For Thee, O God, our constant praise
In Zion waits, Thy chosen seat;
Our promised altars we will raise,
And there our zealous vows complete.

O Thou, who to my humble prayer
Didst always bend Thy listening ear,
To Thee shall all mankind repair,
And at Thy gracious throne appear.

Our sins, though numberless, in vain,
To stop Thy flowing mercy try;
Whilst Thou o’erlook’st the guilty stain,
And washest out the crimson dye.

Blest is the man, who, near Thee placed,
Within Thy sacred dwelling lies!
While we, at humbler distance, taste
The vast delights Thy temple gives.

Praise for Thee, Lord, in Zion waits;
Prayer shall besiege Thy temple gates;
All flesh shall to Thy throne repair,
And find through Christ salvation there.

Our spirits faint; our sins prevail;
Leave not our trembling hearts to fail:
O Thou that hearest prayer, descend,
And still be found the sinner’s friend.

How blest Thy saints! how safely led!
How surely kept! how richly fed!
Savior of all in earth and sea,
How happy they who rest in Thee.

Thy hand sets fast the mighty hills,
Thy voice the troubled ocean stills;
Evening and morning hymn Thy praise,
And earthy Thou bounty wide displays.

The year is with Thy goodness crowned;
Thy clouds drop wealth the world around;
Through Thee the deserts laugh and sing,
And nature smiles and owns her King.

Lord, on our souls Thy Spirit pour;
The moral waste within restore;
O let Thy love our springtide be,
And make us all bear fruit to Thee.

Praise waits for Thee in Zion; all tribes shall worship there
And pay their vows before Thee, O God Who hearest prayer.
Our sins rise up against us, prevailing day by day,
But Thou wilt show us mercy and take their guilt away.

How blest the ones Thou callest and bringest near to Thee,
That in Thy courts forever their dwelling place may be;
They shall within Thy temple be satisfied with grace,
And filled with all the goodness of Thy most holy place.

O God of our salvation, since Thou dost love the right,
Thou wilt an answer send us in wondrous deeds of might.
In all earth’s habitations, on all the boundless sea,
We find no sure reliance, no peace, apart from Thee.

Thy might sets fast the mountains; strength girds Thee evermore
To calm the raging peoples and still the ocean’s roar.
Thy majesty and greatness are through all lands confessed,
And joy on earth Thou sendest afar from east to west.

God of love, that hearest prayer,
Kindly for Thy people care,
Who on Thee alone depend:
Love us, save us to the end.

Save us, in the prosperous hour,
From the flattering tempter’s power,
From his unsuspected wiles,
From the world’s pernicious smiles.

Cut off our dependence vain
On the help of feeble man,
Every arm of flesh remove;
Stay us on Thy only love!

Men of worldly, low design,
Let not these Thy people join,
Poison our simplicity,
Drag us from our trust in Thee.

Save us from the great and wise,
Till they sink in their own eyes,
Tamely to Thy yoke submit,
Lay their honors at Thy feet.

Never let the world break in;
Fix a mighty gulf between:
Keep us little and unknown,
Prized and loved by God alone.

Let us still to Thee look up,
Thee, Thy Israel’s strength and hope;
Nothing know, or seek, beside
Jesus, and Him crucified.

Far above all earthly things,
Look we down on earthly kings;
Taste our glorious liberty,
Find our happiness in Thee!

Great King of nations, hear our prayer,
While at Thy feet we fall,
And humbly with united cry
To Thee for mercy call;
The guilt is ours, but grace is Thine,
O turn us not away;
But hear us from Thy lofty throne,
And help us when we pray.

Our fathers’ sins were manifold,
And ours no less we own,
Yet wondrously from age to age
Thy goodness has been shown;
When dangers, like a stormy sea,
Beset our country round,
To Thee we looked, to Thee we cried,
And help in Thee was found.

With one consent we meekly bow
Beneath Thy chastening hand,
And, pouring forth confession meet,
Mourn with our mourning land;
With pitying eye behold our need,
As thus we lift our prayer;
Correct us with Thy judgments, Lord,
Then let Thy mercy spare.

Almighty Father, hear our cry,
As o’er the trackless deep we roam;
Be Thou our haven always nigh,
On homeless waters Thou our home.

O Jesu, Savior, at Whose voice
The tempest sank to perfect rest,
Bid Thou the fearful heart rejoice,
And cleanse and calm the troubled breast.

O Holy Ghost, beneath Whose power
The ocean woke to life and light,
Command Thy blessing in this hour,
Thy fostering warmth, Thy quickening might.

Great God of our salvation, Thee
We love, we worship, we adore;
Our Refuge on time’s changeful sea,
Our Joy on Heav’n’s eternal shore.

Father, who art alone
Our Helper and our Stay;
O hear us! as we plead
For loved ones far away;
And shield with Thine almighty hand
Our wanderers by sea and land.

O compass with Thy love
The daily path they tread!
And may Thy light and truth
Upon their hearts be shed;
That, one in all things with Thy will,
Heav’n’s peace and joy their souls may fill.

Guard them from every harm
When dangers shall assail,
And teach them that Thy power
Can never, never fail;
We cannot with our loved ones be,
But trust them, Father, unto Thee.

The God of our salvation hears
The groans of Zion mixed with tears;
Yet when He comes with kind designs,
Through all the way His terror shines.

On Him the race of man depends,
Far as the earth’s remotest ends,
Where the Creator’s Name is known
By nature’s feeble light alone.

Sailors, that travel o’er the flood,
Address their frighted souls to God,
When tempests rage and billows roar
At dreadful distance from the shore.

He bids the noisy tempests cease;
He calms the raging crowd to peace,
When a tumultuous nation raves
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves.

Whole kingdoms, shaken by the storm,
He settles in a peaceful form;
Mountains, established by His hand,
Firm on their old foundations stand.

Behold His ensigns sweep the sky,
New comets blaze, and lightnings fly;
The heathen lands, with swift surprise,
From the bright horrors turn their eyes.

At His command the morning ray
Smiles in the east, and leads the day;
He guides the sun’s declining wheels
Over the tops of western hills.

Seasons and times obey His voice;
The evening and the morn rejoice
To see the earth made soft with showers,
Laden with fruit, and dressed in flowers.

’Tis from His watery stores on high
He gives the thirsty ground supply;
He walks upon the clouds, and thence
Doth His enriching drops dispense.

The desert grows a fruitful field,
Abundant food the valleys yield;
The valleys shout with cheerful voice,
And neighboring hills repeat their joys.

The pastures smile in green array;
There lambs and larger cattle play;
The larger cattle and the lamb
Each in His language speaks Thy Name.

Thy works pronounce Thy power divine;
O’er every field Thy glories shine;
Through every month Thy gifts appear;
Great God, Thy goodness crowns the year!

Thy might sets fast the mountains; strength girds Thee evermore
To calm the raging peoples and still the ocean’s roar.
Thy majesty and greatness are through all lands confessed,
And joy on earth Thou sendest afar, from east to west.

To bless the earth Thou sendest from Thy abundant store
The waters of the springtime, enriching it once more.
The seed by Thee provided is sown over hill and plain,
And Thou with gentle showers dost bless the springing grain.

The year with good Thou crownest, the earth Thy mercy fills,
The wilderness is fruitful, and joyful are the hills;
With corn the vales are covered, the flocks in pastures graze;
All nature joins in singing a joyful song of praise.

The morning walks upon the earth,
And man awakes to toil and mirth;
All living things and lands are gay—
Dear God, walk with me through the day.

Sweet is the breathing of the world,
As in Thy love it lies unfurled;
And blue and clear th’immortal sky;
’Tis Thine, and Thine its purity.

Now noon sits throned, her golden urn
Pours forth the sunshine! Laugh and burn
Corn-land and meadow, lake and sea!
Lord of my life, pour love on me.

Slow comes the evening o’er the hill,
The labor of the world is still;
Homeward I go, and muse of Thee—
Father of home, abide with me.

Now crops the dark, but worlds of light,
Hidden by day, fulfill the night!
Infinite stillness, silent sea
Of truth and power flow over me.

Fountain of mercy, God of love,
Whose gifts all creatures share,
The rolling seasons as they move
Proclaim Thy constant care.

When in the bosom of the earth
The sower hid the grain,
Thy goodness marked its secret birth,
And sent the early rain.

The spring’s sweet influence, Lord, was Thine,
The seasons knew Thy call;
Thou mad’st the summer sun to shine,
The summer dews to fall.

The gifts of mercy from above
Matured the swelling grain;
And now the harvest crowns Thy love,
And plenty fills this plain.

O ne’er may our forgetful hearts
O’erlook Thy bounteous care,
But what our Father’s hand imparts
Still own in praise and prayer.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom we adore,
Be glory, as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Break, newborn year, on glad eyes break,
Melodious voices move;
On, rolling time; thou canst not make
The Father cease to love.

The parted year had wingèd feet;
The Savior still doth stay;
The new year comes; but Spirit sweet,
Thou goest not away.

Our hearts in tears may oft run o’er;
But Lord, Thy smile still beams;
Our sins are swelling evermore,
But pardoning grace still streams.

Lord, from this year more service win,
More glory, more delight:
O make its hours less sad with sin,
Its days with Thee more bright.

Then we may bless its precious things
If earthly cheer should come,
Or gladsome mount on angel wings
If Thou wouldst take us home.

O golden then the hours must be;
The year must needs be sweet;
Yes, Lord, with happy melody
Thine opening grace we greet.

Eternal source of every joy,
Well may Thy praise our lips employ,
While in Thy temple we appear,
Whose goodness crowns the circling year.

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.

The flowery spring, at Thy command,
Perfumes the air and paints the land;
The summer days with vigor shine,
To raise the corn and cheer the vine.

Thy hand in autumn richly pours
Through all our coasts redundant stores;
And winters, softened by Thy care,
No more a face of horror wear.

Seasons and months, and weeks, and days,
Demand successive songs of praise;
Still be the cheerful homage paid,
With opening light and evening shade.

Here in Thy house shall incense rise,
And circling Sabbaths bless our eyes,
Still we will make Thy mercies known
Around Thy board, around our own.

O may our more harmonious tongue
In worlds unknown pursue the song;
And in those brighter courts adore,
Where days and years revolve no more!

We welcome with delight
Another happy day,
Our hearts like merry bells
Ring out the silver lay;
We catch the rosy beams
Reflected from the eye
Of Him Whose wonders fill the earth,
Whose glory fills the sky.

Refrain

Another year has gone,
Another year begun;
To our Redeemer glory be
For all His love for me.
We thank His holy Name
For all His tender care,
We praise Him for the Sunday School,
And faithful teachers there.

Cold winter flies away,
The blushing, fairy spring
Comes tripping o’er the lees,
While birds are on the wing;
And now, a merry throng,
We come as glad as they;
Our banners waving in the air,
We hail our festive day.

Refrain

The straight and narrow path
O may we early find,
And try to serve the Lord
With heart, and soul, and mind;
O what a happy day,
And one that ne’er shall end,
In that bright world where angels sing,
We all with Him may spend!

Refrain

Hills of the North, rejoice;
River and mountain spring,
Hark to the advent voice;
Valley and lowland, sing;
Though absent long, your Lord is nigh;
He judgment brings and victory.

Isles of the southern seas,
Deep in your coral caves
Pent be each warring breeze,
Lulled be your restless waves:
He comes to reign with boundless sway,
And makes your wastes His great highway.

Lands of the East, awake,
Soon shall your sons be free;
The sleep of ages break,
And rise to liberty.
On your far hills, long cold and gray,
Has dawned the everlasting day.

Shores of the utmost West,
Ye that have waited long,
Unvisited, unblest,
Break forth to swelling song;
High raise the note, that Jesus died,
Yet lives and reigns, the Crucified.

Shout, while ye journey home;
Songs be in every mouth;
Lo, from the North we come,
From East, and West, and South.
City of God, the bond are free,
We come to live and reign in thee!