James Montgomery

For a Sunday School Anniversary.

The brightest morning of the year

Is that which brings the day,

When Sunday Schools assemble here,

Their joyful vows to pay.

The loveliest scene that eyes behold,

Is band succeeding band,

Till, fairly form'd with flags unroll'd,

The children's legions stand.

The sweetest harmony that floats,

Is, when, o'er hill and dale,

From yonder height, their mingling notes

With rapture swell the gale.

The purest bliss that life can know,

Devoid of fear and guile,

Is, when at once all bosoms glow,

All faces wear one smile.

Nor beautiful on earth alone

This spectacle of love,

Their angels round their Father's throne

Bend o'er it from above.

Great God! fulfill our hearts' desire!

Make every soul sincere,

That, in Thy sight, this youthful choir

May be what they appear.