One day in courts of praise, (The Lord and saints within ;) Is sweeter than ten thousand days Of pleasurable sin.
My soul would ever stay
Near such a Friend as this; Sit at his feet, and learn his ways, And bless him for his grace.
SAFELY through another week
God has brought us on our way; Let us all his blessings seek,
Waiting in his courts to-day;
Day of all the week the best,
Emblem of eternal rest.
Here we come thy name to praise;
Bless us with thy presence near;
Guilt, O pardon; comforts raise;
Fill with love, and banish fear:
Here afford us, Lord, a taste
Of our everlasting rest.
May the gospel's joyful sound
Conquer sinners, comfort saints,
Make the fruits of grace abound,
Bring relief to all complaints:
Let us all thy goodness prove,
Till we join thy courts above.
Glory be to God on high!
God, whose glory fills the sky;
Glory to the Lamb be given;
Glory in the highest heaven!
Wisdom, riches, praise, and power,
Be to God for evermore,
THE Saviour, risen to-day, we praise,
In concert with the blest;
For now we see his work complete,
And enter into rest.
On this first day, a brighter scene
Of glory was displayed
By the Creating Word, than when
The universe was made.
Behold him rise! who sinners bought,
With grief and pain extreme:
'Twas great to speak the world from nought; 'Twas greater to redeem.
How vain the stone, the watch, the seal!
None can forbid his rise;
'Tis he who shuts the gates of hell; Who opens paradise.
WE sing the triumphs of this day:
That Jesus bare our sins away;
That in his fall our foes were slain;
That in his rise he broke death's chain.
The barren graye, on that first morn,
Brought forth the Saviour, her first-born;
Soon shall she feel a second throe,
And bring forth all his brethren too.
Our risen Lord, all things obey;
Heaven, earth, death, hell, all own his sway:
Our souls are his, our bodies too,
And all our gratitude his due.
AGAIN the Lord of life and light,
Awakes the kindling ray;
Unseals the eyelids of the morn,
And pours increasing day.
O! what a night was that which wrapped
The heathen world in gloom:
O! what a Sun arose this day
Triumphant from the tomb.
This day be grateful homage paid,
And loud hosannas sung;
Let gladness dwell in every heart,
And praise on every tongue.
Still millions saved shall praises sing,
On this returning morn,
While gospel truth shall pardon bring
To nations yet unborn.
THIS is the day the first ripe sheaf
Before the Lord was waved;
And Christ, first-fruit of those who slept,
Was from the dead received.
This is the day the Spirit came
To meet our many wants;
T' instruct the world in things of Christ,
And comfort all his saints.
This day the Church of Christ began
To follow in his ways;
To teach, break bread, hold fellowship,
And join in prayer and praise.
This day reminds us of the rest
Prepared for saints above;
Where we shall bow among the blessed,
And hymn the Saviour's love.
FREQUENT the day of God returns
To shed the quickening beams;
And yet how each disciple mourns,
That love no brighter flames.
Lord, look on our desires to love;
For Christ's sake, O forgive:
And may thy word heaven's impulse prove
And teach us how to live.
Increase, O Lord, our faith and hope,
And fit us to ascend
Where thy assemblies ne'er break up,
And praises never end.
Where we shall join, and never tire,
In sweet celestial lays;
With saints and the seraphic choir,
To sound Immanuel's praise.
170.
HAIL! morning known among the blest;
Morning of hope, and joy, and love;
Of heavenly peace, and holy rest;
Pledge of the endless rest above.
Bless'd be the Father of our Lord,
Who from the dead has brought his Son;
Hope to the lost was then restored,
And everlasting glory won.
Scarce morning twilight had begun
To chase the shades of night away,
When Christ arose; unsetting Sun!
The dawn of joy's eternal day.
God's goodness let us bear in mind,
Who to his saints this day has given,
For rest and serious joy, designed
To fit us for the bliss of heaven.
SEE! what a living stone,
The builders did refuse!
Yet God has built his church thereon,
Of Gentiles, Greeks, and Jews.
The builders; (scribes and priests)
Rejected God's own Son;
But on the Rock his Zion rests;
The precious corner-stone.
The work, O Lord, is thine,
And wondrous in our eyes:
This day, to gladness we resign;
This day did Jesus rise.
We bless thy holy word,
Which all this grace displays;
And offer on thine altar Lord,
The sacrifice of praise.
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