“IN THE BEGINNING, GOD.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

More rest we want, O God! More rest from self and sin, More silence for serener thought, The soul’s true goal to win. Without, the strife of tongues, Within, a wayward will;— O Jesus, Saviour! speak, and say, “Peace, troubled heart, be still.” In quiet confidence We then shall sweetly rest, And in thy gentleness, O Lord, For evermore be blest.

The seasons are thy servants, Lord! Obedient to thy will, Thy everlasting covenant They faithfully fulfill. The seasons are thy servants, Lord! Summer and winter bring Rich blessings from thy gracious hand,— The bounty of the King. The seasons are thy servants, Lord! Why should thy children fear? With loving-kindness manifold Thou crownest every year. The seasons are thy servants, Lord! The sunshine and the rain; The seedtime and the harvest blend In our eternal gain. The seasons are thy servants, Lord! Thy changeless love we laud, And magnify, with grateful joy, The goodness of our God.

O God, of love the Fountain and the Sea! My fainting soul pants ceaselessly for thee; Earth’s bitter streams no comfort can supply,— For thee, for thee, the living God, I sigh. No more below my wayward wishes roam,— My heart, at last, is conscious of its home; My portion thou, my refuge and my rest;— O gracious Saviour, take me to thy breast. But O, my brothers! comfortless as I,— Alike we languish, and alike we die; Be merciful, O God, and hear the prayer Of every fainting spirit everywhere. In the dear shelter of thy tranquil breast, O Love divine, a weary world would rest; The whole creation travaileth for thee, O God, of love the Fountain and the Sea!

My years are very few, O God! More rapidly they pass Than clouds whose transient tale is told In shadows on the grass. My years are very few, O God! But they are full of thee,— A drop of being in thy life’s Unfathomable sea. My years are very few, O God! O, let me clearly see How they grow strong and beautiful In thy immensity. My years are very few, O God! The sum of them is small; But each may serve thy blessed will, And thou shalt have them all. My years are very few, O God! But, safe on sea or land, I confidently journey on,— My times are in thy hand. My years are very few, O God! On earth, but not in heaven;— To thee, eternal Life and Love, Be endless praises given.