(For another form of this Tune, see Hymn 331.)
"Now are they many members, yet but one body."-1 Cor. xii. 20.
FI OUR Soul shall magnify the Lord,
In Him our spirit shall rejoice;
Assembled here with one accord,
We praise Him with one heart and voice.
2 God of our life! To Thee we bow;
Thou art our refuge in distress;
The husband of the widow Thou!
The Father of the fatherless!
3 May we the Christian law fulfil,
And bear each other's burdens here;
And thus unite to do Thy will
In perfect love and holy fear.
F4 Grant that our union, here begun,
May ever firm and lasting be;
Around Thy throne may we be one,
One with each other, one with Thee. Amen.
Also the following:
O LORD, how joyful 'tis to see (453).
OH, 'twas a joyful sound to hear (475).
(FOUNDATION OF A CHURCH.)
306 "I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.”—Isa. xxviii. 16.
Of the holier House on high;
P Weary hearts and troubled spirits
Here shall find a still retreat;
Sinful souls shall bring their burden
Here to the Absolver's feet.
Yet with truer nobler beauty,
Lord, we pray, this house adorn,
Where Thy Bride, Thy Church redeemed,
Robes her for her marriage morn;
Clothed in garments of salvation,
Rich with gems of heavenly grace,
Spouse of Christ, arrayed and waiting
Till she may behold His Face.
5 Here in due and solemn order
May her ceaseless prayer arise;
Here may strains of holy gladness
Lift her heart above the skies;
Here the word of life be spoken;
Here the child of God be sealed;
Here the Bread of heaven be broken,
"Till He come" Himself revealed.
F 6 Praise to Thee, O Master-Builder,
Maker of the earth and skies;
Praise to Thee, in whom Thy temple
Fitly framed together lies;
Praise to Thee, Eternal Spirit,
Binding all that lives in one:
Till our earthly praise be ended,
And the eternal song begun! Amen.
REV. T. R. MATTHEWS.
![[graphic]](https://books.google.be/books/content?id=906IFVlzPgYC&hl=nl&output=html_text&pg=PA255&img=1&zoom=3&q=grace&cds=1&sig=ACfU3U0ko2gwl_Il4VbCSU-p7QFmFReCqQ&edge=0&edge=stretch&ci=70,484,854,308)
"I have set my affection to the house of my God."-1 Chron. xxix. 3.
I CHRIST is the Foundation of the house we raise;
Be its walls salvation, and its gateways praise!
May its threshold lowly to the Lord be dear;
cres. May the hearts be holy that shall worship here!
2 On the Rock of Ages resting broad and deep,
When life's tempest rages, here let passion sleep;
Here may prayers and praises never cease to rise,
Till through Christ they raise us nearer to the
skies.
3 Here the vow be sealed by Thy Spirit, Lord;
Here the sick be healèd, and the lost restored;
Here the broken-hearted Thy forgiveness prove;
Here the friends-long-parted be restored to love.
Here may
faith ascending find fruition fair,
Here may spirits bending breathe the breath
of prayer;
Here may holy gladness fill the waiting heart,
Until sin and sadness evermore depart.
5 Here may every token of Thy presence be, cres. Here may chains be broken, prisoners here set free;
Here may light illumine every soul of Thine,
Lifting up the human into the Divine.
F 6 Here may God the Father, God the Saviour Son,
God the Holy Spirit, be adored as One;
Till the whole creation at Thy footstool fall,
And in adoration own Thee Lord of all! Amen.
"Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it."-1 Chron. xxviii, 10.
I LORD, whose Temple once did glisten
With a monarch's rich supplies,
To our humbler praises listen,
Bless our willing sacrifice!
Be our freewill offering, given
To the Father and the Son,
Sweeter in the sight of heaven
Than the scents of Lebanon!
2 Clouds and darkness veiled Thy dwelling In Thy chosen home of old, Though the hymn of praise was swelling 'Mid the pomp of Ophir's gold:
Here Thy love our hearts shall brighten :
Hence, ye earthborn clouds, away!
Here Thy Spirit shall enlighten,
cres. Shining to the perfect day.
309 "Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place: and when Thou hearest, forgive.”—1 Kings viii 30.
1 O GOD, who lovest to abide
In Sion's chosen gate,
More than the thousand tents beside,
Where Israel's faithful wait;
2 Accept our works, and hear our vows, Unworthy though we be;
And look in mercy on the house
We dedicate to Thee.
3 Here answer Thou, as Thou art wont,
Thy people when they pray;
Here in the waters of Thy font
Let sin be washed away.
4 Here set Thy Confirmation's seal
For ghostly strength and good;
Here give Thy people, as they kneel,
Their Saviour's Flesh and Blood.
5 If after sin they seek Thy face,
And by Thy precepts live,
Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place,
And when Thou hear'st, forgive!
6 If there be famine in the land,
Or pestilence, or foe,
Stretch out from heaven Thy strong right hand,
When here Thy flock fall low.
7 Bless those, O Lord, and hear their cry,
That raised Thy temple here,
That in Thy house beyond the sky
With joy they may appear.
F 8 Wisdom and power to God alone!
Praise to the Father be,
And to the precious Corner-stone,
And, Holy Ghost, to Thee! Amen.
![[merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic][subsumed]](https://books.google.be/books/content?id=906IFVlzPgYC&hl=nl&output=html_text&pg=PA258&img=1&zoom=3&q=grace&cds=1&sig=ACfU3U2TO2sHRozVl24QbQZ8DABWeOjvog&edge=0&edge=stretch&ci=72,129,860,366)
"The Lord is in His holy Temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him."-Hab. ii. 20.
FI WHEN the Architect Almighty had created heaven and earth,
Temple of the glorious Godhead, Angels shouted at their birth;
Morning stars in holy concert sang a joyful jubilee,
And the whole creation chanted, "Alleluia, Lord, to Thee!"
2 In a moving Tabernacle Thou of old didst deign to dwell,
In the darkness and the stillness of the holy oracle;
In the cloud Thy power was shrouded, in the fire Thy glory shone,
In the consecrated Temple of the princely Solomon.
3 In that holy place Isaiah did Thy throne of glory see,
And he heard the voice of Seraphs singing hymns of praise to Thee;
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts eternally,"
Sing they in the heavenly Temple to the Blessèd Trinity.
4 God in human flesh appearing, shrining Man in Deity,
In the Temple was presented; and the Temple's Lord was He:
In the Temple holy Jesus as a Child and Teacher sat;
And the Feast of Dedication "God-with-us" did celebrate.
M 5 O'er the font's baptismal waters may the Holy Spirit move,
Quick'ning through the holy laver with regenerating love;
Lord, be ever at the altar, feeding there with heavenly food,
Pardoning, refreshing, cleansing, with Thy Body and Thy Blood.
M 6 May Thy ministers be faithful, sowing here the seed divine,
Seed of Evangelic doctrine, Apostolic discipline;
May Thy people bear abundant fruits of faith and love to Thee,
And in heaven by Angel-reapers may they safely garnered be.
7 Here to-day an earthly temple to Thy Name we dedicate,
And we pray Thee, by Thy Spirit, us, O Lord, to consecrate;
Consecrate us to be temples of the Blessèd Three in One,
Founded on Apostles, Prophets, Jesus Christ the Corner-stone.
|