Poems (Hale)/Sabbath Hymn
SABBATH HYMN.
This day let grateful praise ascendTo Thee, our Father and our Friend!Thee, Author of this holy light,Thee, throned in boundless power and might.
To Thee its morning light be given,The noontide blaze, the dew of even;And may its silent night-watch beDevoted, Mighty One! to Thee!
Let no vain words of homage rise,An empty, heartless sacrifice;Or clouds of breathing incense swell,The pomp of human pride to tell.
The silent prayer, the contrite sigh,The chastened heart, the filial eye,Shall rise, a holier gift to Thee,And at Thy throne accepted be.
O! let the sacred hours be givenTo truth, to duty, and to heavenWhile trusting faith and holy loveRise fervent to thy throne above.
Grant that our earthly Sabbaths beBut dawnings of eternity,To shadow forth that glorious rest,The heavenly quiet of the blest.