O praise our God to-day, His constant mercy bless, Whose love hath helped us on our way, And granted us success.
2 O happiest work below, Earnest of joy above, To sweeten many a cup of woe, By deeds of holy love!
3 Lord! may it be our choice This blesséd rule to keep: Rejoice with them that do rejoice, And weep with them that weep.
967 S. M. In the morning sow thy seed. Eccl. 11:6.
Sow in the morn thy seed; At eve hold not thy hand; To doubt and fear, give thou no heed; Broadcast it o’er the land.
2 Thou knowest not which shall thrive— The late or early sown; Grace keeps the precious germ alive, When and wherever strown;
3 The good, the fruitful ground Expect not here nor there; On hillside and in dale ’tis found; Go forth, then, everywhere!
4 And duly shall appear, In verdure, beauty, strength, The tender blade, the stalk, the ear, And the full corn at length.
5 Thou canst not toil in vain; Cold, heat, the moist and dry, Shall foster and mature the grain For garners in the sky.
6 Thence, when the glorious end— The day of God—is come, The angel-reapers shall descend, And heaven cry, Harvest-home.
968 P. M. The orphan’s prayer.
What though earthly friends may frown, Why should I dejected be? Father, let thy will be known, Let me find my all in thee. Never let my soul despair, God will hear the orphan’s prayer; God will hear, God will hear the orphan’s prayer.
2 Sorrow’s child I long have been, Often for unkindness mourned; Friendless orphan, poor and mean, By the proud and wealthy scorned. Still to God will I repair, God will hear the orphan’s prayer; God will hear, God will hear the orphan’s prayer.
3 Earthly comforts fade and die, Sorrows oft our joys attend; But if we on God rely, He will prove a constant friend. On him I’ll cast every care, He regards the orphan’s prayer; He regards, He regards the orphan’s prayer.
969 8s & 7s. Psalm 126:6.
He that goeth forth with weeping, Bearing precious seed in love, Never tiring, never sleeping, Findeth mercy from above.
2 Soft descend the dews of heaven; Bright the rays celestial shine; Precious fruits will thus be given, Through the influence all divine.
3 Sow thy seed; be never weary; Let no fears thy soul annoy; Be the prospect ne’er so dreary, Thou shalt reap the fruits of joy.
4 Lo! the scene of verdure brightening, In the rising grain appear; Look again; the fields are whitening, For the harvest time is near.
970 8s & 7s. Life’s work.
All around us, fair with flowers, Fields of beauty sleeping lie; All around us clarion voices Call to duty stern and high.
2 Following every voice of mercy With a trusting, loving heart; Let us in life’s earnest labor Still be sure to do our part.
3 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow, Let us work with all our might, Lest the wretched faint and perish In the coming stormy night.
4 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow, Lest, before to-morrow’s sun, We, too, mournfully departing, Shall have left our work undone.
971 8s, 7s & 4s. Freely you have received, etc. Matt. 10:8.
With my substance I will honor My Redeemer and my Lord; Were ten thousand worlds my manor, All were nothing to his word: Hallelujah! Now we offer to the Lord.
2 While the heralds of salvation His abounding grace proclaim, Let his saints of every station Gladly join to spread his fame: Hallelujah! Gifts we offer to his name.
3 May his kingdom be promoted; May the world the Saviour know; Be to him these gifts devoted, For to him my all I owe: Hallelujah! Run, ye heralds to and fro.
4 Praise the Saviour, all ye nations; Praise him, all ye hosts above; Shout with joyful acclamations His divine, victorious love: Hallelujah! By this gift our love we’ll prove.
972 11s & 10s. That he who loveth God, etc. 1 John 4:21.
One whom Jesus loved has truly spoken! The holier worship which God deigns to bless, Restores the lost, and heals the spirit broken, And feeds the widow and the fatherless.
2 Then, brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother! For where love dwells, the peace of God is there; To worship rightly is to love each other; Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer.
3 Follow, with reverent steps, the great example Of him whose holy work was doing good; So shall the wide earth seem our Father’s temple, Each loving life a psalm of gratitude.
4 Thus shall all shackles fall; the stormy clangor Of wild war music o’er the earth shall cease; Love shall tread out the baleful fires of anger, And in its ashes plant the tree of peace.
973 11s & 10s. I the Lord will hasten it, etc. Isaiah 60:22.