The Holy Trinity   
   
Reginald Heber (1783–1826)   
   
   
HOLY, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!      
  Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;      
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and Mighty!      
  God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!      
   
Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,           5   
  Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.      
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,      
  Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.      
   
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,      
  Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,           10   
Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee,      
  Perfect in power, in love, and purity.      
   
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!      
  All Thy works shall praise Thy Name in earth and sky and sea;      
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and Mighty!           15   
  God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

   
Epiphany   
   
Reginald Heber (1783–1826)   
   
   
BRIGHTEST and best of the sons of the morning,      
  Dawn on our darkness, and lend us Thine aid!      
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,      
  Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!      
   
Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining,           5   
  Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall;      
Angels adore Him, in slumber reclining,—      
  Maker, and Monarch, and Saviour of all.      
   
Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,      
  Odors of Edom, and offerings divine,           10   
Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,      
  Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?      
   
Vainly we offer each ample oblation,      
  Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;      
Richer by far is the heart’s adoration,           15   
  Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.      
   
Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,      
  Dawn on our darkness, and lend us Thine aid!      
Star of the East, the horizon adorning,      
  Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid!           20

Sun of My Soul, Thou Saviour Dear   
   
John Keble (1792–1866)   
   
   
SUN of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,      
  It is not night if Thou be near;      
Oh may no earth-born cloud arise      
  To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes!      
   
When the soft dews of kindly sleep           5   
  My weary eyelids gently steep,      
Be my last thought how sweet to rest      
  Forever on my Saviour’s breast!      
   
Abide with me from morn till eve,      
  For without Thee I cannot live;           10   
Abide with me when night is nigh,      
  For without Thee I dare not die.      
   
If some poor wandering child of Thine      
  Have spurned to-day the voice divine,      
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;           15   
  Let him no more lie down in sin.      
   
Watch by the sick; enrich the poor      
  With blessings from Thy boundless store;      
Be every mourner’s sleep to-night,      
  Like infant slumbers, pure and light.           20   
   
Come near and bless us when we wake,      
  Ere through the world our way we take,      
Till in the ocean of Thy love      
  We lose ourselves in heaven above.

Abide With Me   
   
Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847)   
   
   
ABIDE with me! fast falls the eventide,      
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!      
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,      
Help of the helpless, O, abide with me!      
   
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;           5   
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;      
Change and decay in all around I see:      
O thou who changest not, abide with me!      
   
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;      
But, as thou dwell’st with thy disciples, Lord,           10   
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,      
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with me!      
   
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings;      
But kind and good, with healing in thy wings;      
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea;           15   
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus ’bide with me!      
   
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;      
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,      
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left thee;      
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!           20   
   
I need thy presence every passing hour:      
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?      
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?      
Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me!      
   
I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;           25   
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness:      
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?      
I triumph still if thou abide with me.      
   
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,      
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.           30   
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee:      
In life and death, O Lord, abide with me!      

The Pillar of Cloud   
   
John Henry Newman (1801–1890)   
   
   
LEAD, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,      
    Lead thou me on!      
The night is dark, and I am far from home,—      
    Lead thou me on!      
Keep thou my feet! I do not ask to see           5   
The distant scene—one step enough for me.      
   
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou      
    Shouldst lead me on;      
I loved to choose and see my path; but now      
    Lead thou me on!           10   
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,      
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years!      
   
So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still      
    Will lead me on,      
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till           15   
    The night is gone,      
And with the morn those angel faces smile      
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile

Nearer, My God, to Thee   
   
Sarah Flower Adams (1805–1848)   
   
   
NEARER, my God, to thee,      
  Nearer to thee!      
E’en though it be a cross      
  That raiseth me,      
Still all my song would be,           5   
Nearer, my God, to thee,      
  Nearer to thee!      
   
Though like the wanderer,      
  The sun gone down,      
Darkness be over me,           10   
  My rest a stone,      
Yet in my dreams I’d be      
Nearer, my God, to thee,      
  Nearer to thee.      
   
There let the way appear           15   
  Steps unto heaven;      
All that thou send’st to me      
  In mercy given;      
Angels to beckon me      
Nearer, my God, to thee,           20   
  Nearer to thee.      
   
Then, with my waking thoughts      
  Bright with thy praise,      
Out of my stony griefs      
  Bethel I’ll raise;           25   
So by my woes to be      
Nearer, my God, to thee,      
  Nearer to thee.      
   
Or if on joyful wing      
  Cleaving the sky,           30   
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,      
  Upwards I fly,      
Still all my song shall be,      
Nearer, my God, to thee,      
  Nearer to thee!           35

My Faith Looks Up to Thee   
   
Ray Palmer (1808–1887)   
   
   
My faith looks up to thee,      
Thou Lamb of Calvary,      
  Saviour divine!      
Now hear me while I pray,      
Take all my guilt away,           5   
O let me from this day      
  Be wholly thine!      
   
May thy rich grace impart      
Strength to my fainting heart      
  My zeal inspire!           10   
As thou hast died for me,      
O may my love to thee      
Pure, warm, and changeless be,—      
  A living fire!      
   
While life’s dark maze I tread,           15   
And griefs around me spread,      
  Be thou my guide;      
Bid darkness turn to day,      
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,      
Nor let me ever stray           20   
  From thee aside.      
   
When ends life’s transient dream,      
When death’s cold, sullen stream      
  Shall o’er me roll,      
Blest Saviour, then, in love,           25   
Fear and distrust remove!      
O bear me safe above,—      
  A ransomed soul!

A Sun-Day Hymn   
   
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–1894)   
   
   
LORD of all being, throned afar,      
Thy glory flames from sun and star;      
Centre and soul of every sphere,      
Yet to each loving heart how near!      
   
Sun of our life, thy quickening ray           5   
Sheds on our path the glow of day:      
Star of our hope, thy softened light      
Cheers the long watches of the night.      
   
Our midnight is thy smile withdrawn;      
Our noontide is thy gracious dawn;           10   
Our rainbow arch, thy mercy’s sign:      
All, save the clouds of sin, are thine.      
   
Lord of all life, below, above,      
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love;      
Before thy ever-blazing throne           15   
We ask no lustre of our own.      
   
Grant us thy truth to make us free,      
And kindling hearts that burn for thee,      
Till all thy living altars claim      
One holy light, one heavenly flame.           20

The Pilgrims of the Night   
   
Frederick William Faber (1814–1863)   
   
   
HARK, hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling      
  O’er earth’s green fields and ocean’s wave-beat shore:      
How sweet the truth those blessèd strains are telling      
  Of that new life when sin shall be no more!      
      Angels of Jesus, angels of light,           5   
      Singing to welcome the pilgrims of the night!      
   
Darker than night life’s shadows fall around us,      
  And like benighted men we miss our mark:      
God hides himself, and grace hath scarcely found us,      
  E’er death finds out his victims in the dark.           10   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      
   
Far, far away, like bells at evening pealing,      
  The voice of Jesus sounds o’er land and sea,      
And laden souls by thousands meekly stealing,      
  Kind Shepherd, turn their weary steps to thee.           15   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      
   
Onward we go, for still we hear them singing,      
  “Come, weary souls, for Jesus bids you come;”      
And through the dark, its echoes sweetly ringing,      
  The music of the gospel leads us home.           20   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      
   
Rest comes at last; though life be long and dreary,      
  The day must dawn, and darksome night be past;      
All journeys end in welcomes to the weary,      
  And heaven, the heart’s true home, will come at last.           25   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      
   
Cheer up, my soul! faith’s moonbeams softly glisten      
  Upon the breast of life’s most troubled sea,      
And it will cheer thy drooping heart to listen      
  To those brave songs which angels mean for thee.           30   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      
   
Angels! sing on, your faithful watches keeping;      
  Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above,      
While we toil on, and soothe ourselves with weeping,      
  Till life’s long night shall break in endless love.           35   
      Angels of Jesus, etc.      

Let There Be Light   
   
John Marriott (1816)   
   
   
THOU, Whose Almighty word      
Chaos and darkness heard,      
  And took their flight;      
Hear us, we humbly pray;      
And, where the gospel’s day           5   
Sheds not its glorious ray,      
  Let there be light!      
   
Thou, Who didst come to bring      
On Thy redeeming wing      
  Healing and sight,           10   
Health to the sick in mind,      
Sight to the inly blind,      
Oh, now to all mankind      
  Let there be light!      
   
Spirit of truth, and love,           15   
Life-giving, holy Dove,      
  Speed forth Thy flight!      
Move on the waters’ face      
Bearing the lamp of grace,      
And in earth’s darkest place           20   
  Let there be light!      
   
Holy and blessed Three,      
Glorious Trinity,      
  Wisdom, Love, Might!      
Boundless as ocean’s tide           25   
Rolling in fullest pride,      
Through the earth, far and wide,      
  Let there be light!