1 FATHER! at this altar bending,
Set our hearts from world-thoughts free;
Prayer and praise their incense blending,
May our rites accepted be:
Father, hear us,
Gently draw our souls to thee.
2 Deign to smile upon this union
Of a pastor and a flock;
Sweet and blest be their communion :
May he sacred truths unlock-
Plant their feet on Christ the Rock.
3 Be his life a living sermon,
Be his thoughts one ceaseless prayer :
Like the dews that fell on Hermon,
Making green the foliage there,
May his teachings
Drop on souls beneath his care.
4 Here may Sin repent its straying,
Here may Grief forget to weep,
Here may Hope its light displaying,
And blest Faith, their vigils keep,
And the dying
Pass from hence in Christ to sleep.
5 When his heart shall cease its motion,
All its toils and conflicts o'er;
When they for an unseen ocean,
One by one, shall leave the shore;
Pastor, people, there-in heaven,
May they meet to part no more.
1 Nor for the prophet tongue of fire,
Nor voice of trumpet tone,
We lift our prayer, Immortal Sire,
For him before thy throne.
2 We ask for wisdom's gifts and grace,
The heart alive to love,
The earnest zeal to save our race,
All selfish aims above.
3 Lord, bless him now! By holy rite,
We consecrate to thee!
Make to his eye the chief delight
Christ's prospering work to see.
4 Bold let him be for truth and man,
For God and righteousness!
Free let him speak the gospel plan,
And the whole truth confess.
5 Be cloud and fire about his way,
Till Canaan's land is trod!
Then o'er his grave thy church shall say,
He led us to our God!
ASSOCIATIONS, CONVENTIONS, AND MISSION
For a Meeting of Ministers.
1 LET Zion's watchmen all awake,
And take the alarm they give:
Now let them, from the mouth of God,
Their solemn charge receive.
2 T is not a cause of small import
The pastor's care demands;
But what might fill an angel's heart,
And filled a Saviour's hands.
3 May they, that Jesus whom they preach,
Their own Redeemer see;
And watch thou daily o'er their souls,
That they may watch for thee.
Burden and Conflict of the Ministry.
1 ONWARD, Christian, though the region
Where thou art be drear and lone;
God hath set a guardian legion
Very near thee,-press thou on!
2 By the thorn-wood, and none other,
Is the mount of vision won;
Tread it without shrinking, brother!
Jesus trod it,-press thou on!
3 By thy trustful, calm endeavor,
Guiding, cheering, like the sun,
Earth-bound hearts thou shalt deliver;
O, for their sake, press thou on!
4 Be this world the wiser, stronger,
For thy life of pain and peace;
While it needs thee, O, no longer
Pray thou for thy quick release.
5 Pray thou, Christian, daily, rather,
That thou be a faithful son;
By the prayer of Jesus,- Father,
Not my will, but thine, be done!"
Ministers Charged and Encouraged.
1 Go, messengers of peace and love,
To people plunged in shades of night;
Like angels sent from fields above,
Be yours to shed celestial light.
2 Go to the hungry,-food impart ;
To paths of peace the wanderer guide;
And lead the thirsty panting heart
Where streams of living water glide.
3 0 faint not in the day of toil,
When harvest waits the reaper's hand;
Go, gather in the glorious spoil,
And joyous in his presence stand.
4 Thy love a rich reward shall find
From him who sits enthroned on high;
For they who turn the erring mind
Shall shine like stars above the sky.
Call to Labor in God's Vineyard.
1 THE vineyard of the Lord
Before his laborers lies;
And, lo! we see the vast reward
Which waits us in the skies.
O let us then proceed
In God's great work below,
And following our triumphant Head,
To further conquests go.
3 And let our heart and mind
Continually ascend,
That haven of repose to find,
Where all our labors end.
4 What honor to behold,
In that sublime abode,
The patriarchs and prophets old,
And all the men of God!
5 Then spend our days beneath,
Toiling in cheerful hope;
And fearless pass the vale of death,
And gain the mountain top.
For Laborers in God's Harvest.
1 O SPIRIT of the living God,
In all thy plenitude of grace,
Where'er the foot of man hath trod,
Descend on our degenerate race!
2 Give tongues of fire and hearts of love,
To preach the reconciling word;
Give power and unction from above,
Where'er the joyful sound is heard.
3 Be darkness, at thy coming, light;
Confusion, order, in thy path;
Souls without strength inspire with might;
Bid mercy triumph over wrath.
4 Convert the nations; far and nigh
The triumphs of the cross record;
The name of Jesus glorify,
Till every people call him Lord.
A Blessing invoked on Christian Teachers.
1 MIGHTY One, before whose face,
Wisdom had her glorious seat,
When the orbs that people space
Sprang to birth beneath thy feet;
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