Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Hymns. I. Psalm LXXXIV. (“How honoured, how dear”)Josiah Conder (1789–1855)
H
That sacred abode,
Where Christians draw near
Their Father and God!
’Mid worldly commotion,
My wearied soul faints
For the house of devotion,
The home of Thy saints.
They fix on their nest:
Wherever they roam,
They return to their rest:
From them fondly learning,
My soul would take wing;
To Thee so returning,
My God and my King.
Who praise Thee above!
What joy tunes their lyres;
Their worship is love.
Yet, safe in Thy keeping,
And happy they be,
In this world of weeping,
Whose strength is in Thee.
They drink, as they go,
Of springs that convey
New life as they flow:
The God they rely on,
Their strength shall renew,
Till each, brought to Zion,
His glory shall view.
Still grant me a place,
Where Christians repair
To the courts of Thy grace.
More blest beyond measure,
One day so employed,
Than years of vain pleasure,
By worldlings enjoyed.
Keeping post at Thy gate,
Than lying at ease
In chambers of state:
The meanest condition
Outshines, with Thy smiles,
The pomp of ambition,
The world with its wiles.
The Lord is a shield!
What grace has begun,
With glory is sealed.
He hears the distressèd,
He succours the just,
And they shall be blessèd,
Who make Him their trust.