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!