717. 8s.7s. & 4s. M. E. H. Chapin. The Same.

1 Father! at this altar bending,
Set our hearts from world-thoughts free;
Prayer and praise their incense blending,
May our rites accepted be:
Father, hear us,
Gently draw our souls to thee.

2 Deign to smile upon this union
Of a pastor and a flock;
Sweet and blest be their communion:
May he sacred truths unlock --
And this people
Plant their feet on Christ the Rock.

3 Be his life a living sermon,
Be his thoughts one ceaseless prayer:
Like the dews that fell on Hermon,
Making green the foliage there,
May his teachings
Drop on souls beneath his care.

4 Here may Sin repent its straying,
Here may Grief forget to weep,
Here may Hope its light displaying,
And blest Faith, their vigils keep,
And the dying
Pass from hence in Christ to sleep.

5 When his heart shall cease its motion,
All its toils and conflicts o'er;
When they for an unseen ocean,
One by one, shall leave the shore;
Pastor, people, there -- in heaven,
May they meet to part no more.