O that each in the day
Of his coming may say,
"I have fought my way through;
I have finish'd the work
Thou didst give me to do."
O that each from his LORD
May receive the glad word,
"Well and faithfully done;
Enter into my joy,
And sit down on my throne."
593 "The coming in of the year."
NCE more the constant sun,
Revolving round his sphere,
His steady course has run,
And brings another year;
He rises, sets, but goes not back,
Nor ever quits his destined track.
Hence let believers learn
To keep a forward pace;
Be this our main concern,
To finish well our race:
Backsliding shun, with patience press
Towards the Sun of Righteousness.
3 What now shall be our task?
Or rather what our prayer?
What good thing shall we ask,
To prosper this new year?
With one accord our hearts we'll lift,
And ask our LORD some new year's gift.
No trifling gift, or small,
Should friends of CHRIST desire:
Rich LORD, bestow on all
Pure gold, well tried by fire;
Faith that stands fast when devils roar,
And love that lasts for evermore.
594 "Praise waiteth for Thee, O God."
YREAT GOD! before Thy throne
We joyfully appear,
In songs to make Thy glories known
And thus begin the year.
What favours all divine!
What mercies shall we share!
What blessings all around us shine
To open this new year.
O GOD, Thy blessing give,
Our souls divinely cheer,
And help us more to Thee to live,
Dear LORD, in this new year.
4 Prepare us for Thy will,
Whatever may appear,
And let Thy loving-kindness still
Preserve us through the year.
5 Confirm our souls in Thee,
In faith and holy fear,
And let a precious JESUS be
Our song through all the year.
"Thou art the same," &c.
Ps. cii. 27.
TREAT GOD, we sing that mighty hand
By which supported still we stand;
The opening year Thy mercy shows,
Let mercy crown it till it close.
2 By day, by night, at home, abroad,
Still are we guarded by our GOD,
By His incessant bounty fed,
By His unerring counsel led.
3 With grateful hearts the past we own:
The future, all to us unknown,
We to Thy guardian care commit,
And peaceful leave before Thy feet.
4 In scenes exalted or depressed,
Be Thou our joy and Thou our rest;
Thy goodness all our hopes shall raise,
Ador'd through all our changing days
5 When death shall interrupt these songs,
And seal in silence mortal tongues,
Our helper, GOD, in whom we trust,
In better worlds our souls shall boast.
"Thy years shall have no end."
ET all who know and love the LORD,
With gladness in His courts appear;
Fill'd with His SPIRIT, and His word,
With prayer and praise begin the year.
2 Most glorious LORD of light and love!
Now bless us with Thy faith and fear;
While we Thy gracious mercy prove,
And live to see another year.
3 May we Thy brightest glories trace,
And praise Thee for Thy special care;
Preserv'd by free, abounding grace,
To serve Thee through another year.
4 Preserv'd from sin and Satan's pow'r,
Our Jesus is to us more dear;
Our strength in ev'ry trying hour,
And refuge through another year.
5 When in His blessed ways employ'd,
We've found Him in His SPIRIT near,
And often have our souls enjoy'd
His presence through another year.
6 LORD, let our minds on Thee be stay'd,
And keep us in Thy cause sincere!
While truth and kindness are display'd,
To bear us through the present year.
"Thou hast been my help."
MY helper, Gop! I bless His name;
The same His pow'r, His grace the
The tokens of His friendly care
Open, and crown, and close the year.
2 I 'midst ten thousand dangers stand,
Supported by His guardian hand,
And see, when I survey my ways,
Ten thousand monuments of praise.
3 Thus far His arm hath led me on,
Thus far I make His mercy known,
And while I tread this desert land,
New mercies shall new songs demand.
4 My grateful soul, on Jordan's shore,
Shall raise one sacred pillar more;
Then bear in His bright courts above
Inscriptions of immortal love.
"Thou crownest the year," &c.
Ps. lxv. 11.
This counsel and His care,
IS by JEHOVAH's sov'reign grace,
We've been preserved in ev'ry place
Throughout another year
2 Though oft cast down, but not destroyed,
GOD has been always near;
His glorious arm has been employed
For us all through the year.
3 His wondrous love and faithful word,
In all things are made clear;
And the great goodness of the LORD
Closes and crowns the year.
"The harvest is past.”
Jer. viii. 20.
ND is the harvest past?
And is the summer o'er?
Is God's long-suff'ring gone at last,
And will He strive no more?
2 The seasons have been giv'n,
The reapers now return;
The sheaves are on the way to heav'n,
The tares are left to burn.
8 And does your fallow ground
Unbroken still remain ?
Have GOD and men been lab'ring found,
And have they wrought in vain ?
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