Lord of the Sabbath, hear us pray,
In this thy house, on this thy day;
And own, as grateful sacrifice,
The songs which from thy temple rise.
Now met to pray and bless thy Name,
Whose mercies flow each day the same,
Whose kind compassions never cease,
We seek instruction, pardon, peace.
Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love,
But there's a nobler rest above;
To that our lab'ring souls aspire
With ardent hope and strong desire.
In thy blest kingdom we shall be
From ev'ry mortal trouble free;
No sighs shall mingle with the songs
Resounding from immortal tongues;
No rude alarms of raging foes;
No cares to break the long repose;
No midnight shade, no waning moon,
But sacred, high, eternal noon.
O long-expected day, begin,
Dawn on these realms of woe and sin!
Break, morn of God, upon our eyes;
And let the world's true Sun arise!