1 FROM highest heaven, the Father's Son,
Descending like that mystic stone
Cut from a mountain without hands,
Came down below, and filled all lands;
Uniting, midway in the sky,
His house on earth, and house on high.
2 That house on high- it ever rings
With praises of the King of kings;
For ever there, on harps divine,
They hymn the eternal One and Trine;
We, here below, the strain prolong,
And faintly echo Zion's song.
3 O Lord of lords invisible;
With thy pure light this temple fill:
Hither, oft as invoked, descend;
Here to thy people's prayer attend:
Here, through all hearts for evermore,
The Spirit's quickening graces pour.
4 Here may the faithful, day by day,
In kneeling adoration pray;
And here receive from thy dear love
The blessings of that home above;
Till, loosened from this mortal chain,
Its everlasting joys they gain.
5 To God the Father, glory due,
And to his only Son most true,
With thee, O mighty Holy Ghost,
Be paid by all the heavenly host;
To whom praise, power, and blessing, be
Through ages of eternity.
1 THE perfect world, by Adam trod,
Was the first temple, built by God;
His fiat laid the corner-stone;
He spake, and, lo, the work was done.
2 He hung its starry roof on high,
The broad expanse of azure sky;
He spread its pavement, green and bright,
And curtained it with morning light.
3 The mountains in their places stood,
The sea, the sky; and all was good;
And when its first pure praises rung,
The morning stars together sung.
4 Lord, 'tis not ours to make the sea,
And earth, and sky, a house for thee;
But in thy sight our offering stands,
An humbler temple, built with hands.
261 "Will God, indeed, dwell on the Earth ?> 1 0 THOU, who did'st the temple fill
With thy resplendent, awful train,
The glory of thine Israel still,
Appear in those bright robes again.
2 In us, and round about us shine,
Here cause us to behold thy face:
O make this tabernacle thine,
O sanctify this holy place.
3 Now send the promised unction down,
And all our waiting hearts inspire:
Lord Jesus, make thy goings known,
Thy ministers a flame of fire.
4 Work with them, and confirm thy word
To all, who worship in this place:
O pour upon us, holy Lord,
Unceasing showers of saving grace.
5 So shall thy servants' hopes be crowned, And glory to thy name be given;
While this Bethesda shall be found
The house of God, the gate of heaven.
1 COME thou now, and be among us, Lord and Maker, while we pray:
Let thy presence fill the temple
Which we dedicate to-day;
And thyself its Consecrator,
Dwell within its walls alway.
2 Grant that all thy faithful people
May thy truer temple be;
Neither flesh, nor soul, nor spirit,
Know another Lord than thee:
But to thee once dedicated,
Serve thee everlastingly.
3 Bright be here the Monarch's altar,
With the presents that we bring:
Held in holy veneration,
Rich with many an offering;
Ever hallowed, ever quiet,
Ever dear to God its King.
4 Here our souls, as thy true altars,
Deign to hallow and to bless,
O thou future Judge of all men,
With thy grace and holiness;
That thy gifts, sent down from heaven,
We may evermore possess.
5 Laud and honour to the Father;
Laud and honour to the Son;
Laud and honour to the Spirit;
Ever Three and ever One:
Consubstantial, co-eternal,
While unending ages run.
"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion." L. M. 6 lines.
1 ENTHRONED in light, eternal God,
The highest heaven is thy abode;
Yet thou with us wilt deign to dwell;
Thou lov'st the gates of Zion well:
On Salem's peaceful hill we raise
A sacred temple to thy praise.
2 Here let the pilgrim find the road
That leads the wandering soul to God;
Here sorrow lift her tearful eye,
Allured to brighter scenes on high;
The weary spirit find repose,
And at the cross forget her woes.
3 Our God, our fathers' God, we raise
This sacred temple to thy praise;
Here, safe beneath thy sheltering wing,
Shall contrite souls their offerings bring,
Till called to soar and join the song
Which swells amid the heavenly throng.
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