3 Then welcome their proffers and meekly consent To walk in the path of the blest,
Which brighter and brighter will shine to the The day of perfection and rest.
4 O yes, we will go, loving angels, with you, Though frailty and sin indispose,
Tho' narrow the way, and its pilgrims be few, And strait be the gate ye disclose.
For a Quarterly Communion Meeting.
1 ALL hail! ye friends assembled,
The faithful gathered here,
Whose hearts have often trembled
Through loneliness and fear;
Lift up your heads rejoicing,
Redemption draweth nigh;
The God of Truth is causing
The dismal shades to fly.
2 Upon the strong foundation,
Which God himself hath laid,
The Rock of our salvation,
Mount Sion's summit grade;
We'll build the Christian temple
Of living polished stones,
With love and truth cemented,
Up to its turret domes.
3 And when its cap-stone resteth
Upon the top-most height,
And all the earth confesseth
The majesty of Right,
Creation's glad hosanna,
Shall burst the vaulted skies,
And God's unsullied Banner
The universe surprise.
XVIII. DISMISSIONS AND FAREWELLS.
1 LORD, dismiss us with thy blessing,
Fill our hearts with joy and peace;
Let us each thy love possessing,
Triumph in redeeming grace:
O, refresh us, O, refresh us,
Travelling through this wilderness.
2 So, whene'er the signal's given,
Us from earth to call away,
Borne on angels' wings to heaven,
Glad the summons to obey,
May we ever, may we ever
Reign with Christ in endless day.
1 LORD, now we part in thy blest name,
In which we here together came:
Grant us our few remaining days,
To work thy will and spread thy praise.
2 Teach us in life and death to bless
The Lord, our strength and righteousness;
And bring us all to meet above,—
Where we may better sing thy love.
1 FOR a season called to part,
Let us now ourselves commerd,
To the gracious eye and heart
Of our ever-present Friend.
2 Father, hear our humble prayer :
Tender Shepherd of thy sheep,
Let thy mercy and thy care
All our souls in safety keep.
1 ONCE more, O Lord, let grateful praise
In songs of joy to thee ascend;
Thou art the Guardian of our days,
Our first, and best, and changeless Friend.
2 Hear, then, our parting hymn of praise,
And bind our hearts in love divine;
O, may we walk in wisdom's ways,
And ever feel that we are thine.
1 HAIL, Sweetest, dearest tie that binds
Our glowing hearts in one;
Hail, sacred hope, that tunes our minds,
To sing what God hath done :
It is the hope, the blissful hope,
Which gospel grace hath given,-
The hope when days and years are past,
We all shall meet in heaven.
1 DEAR Lord! since we must part,
A parting blessing give;
With thy pure love fill every heart,
That we in love may live.
2 All glory to the Lamb,
May we forever sing,
And bid farewell, while we proclaim,
Hosannas to our King.
1 MAY the grace of Christ o'erflowing,
And the Father's boundless love,
And the Spirit, life bestowing,
Rest upon us from above.
2 Thus may we abide united,
With each other and the Lord,
And possess in him delighted,
Joys which earth cannot afford.
1 PEACE be to this congregation,
Peace to every soul therein;
Peace, the earnest of salvation;
Peace, the fruit of pardoned sin;'
Peace, that speaks its heavenly Giver;
Peace, to sordid minds unknown;
Peace Divine, that lasts forever,
Here erect thy glorious throne.
2 Prince of Peace, in love be near us,
Fix in all our hearts thy home;
With thy blessed presence cheer us,—
Let thy sacred kingdom come:
Raise to heaven our expectation;
Give our favored souls to prove
Glorious and complete salvation,
In the realms of bliss above.
1 PILGRIMS, with pleasure let us part,
Since we are of one mind and heart
No length of days, nor distant place,
Can ever break these bonds of grace.
2 Parting with joy we'll join and sing
The wonders of our Lord and King;
Our mortal bodies may remove,
But nothing shall divide our love.
1 LORD, behold us now retiring
From our feast of knowledge here,
Still with grateful hearts aspiring
To be guided by thy fear.
2 O dismiss us with thy blessing,
And protect us through the week;
Help us, each thy love expressing,
Heavenly truth and bliss to seek.
For the close of a General Meeting.
1 FAREWELL, dear friends, we soon must part;
This precious interview must close,
Whose sweet communion round the heart
Its bond of soft enchantment throws.
Chorus-God speed the blissful time,
The great prophetic day,
When violence and crime,
And woe shall pass away:
Farewell, beloved friends, farewell.
|