The Sanctuary A Companion in Verse for the English Prayer Book. By Robert Montgomery |
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Collect for Grace.
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 | The Sanctuary |  |
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Collect for Grace.
“Grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger.”
—Prayer Book.
Grace is a gift Divine to man
When God Himself to us imparts:
Give more than this, not e'en th' Almighty can,
And less, would never feed our famish'd hearts!
When God Himself to us imparts:
Give more than this, not e'en th' Almighty can,
And less, would never feed our famish'd hearts!
Yet, little dream men, when they ask
For Grace to sanctify the Will,
How much in heaven their intercessions task
Whose answers perfectly that prayer fulfil!
For Grace to sanctify the Will,
How much in heaven their intercessions task
Whose answers perfectly that prayer fulfil!
What Angels neither have, nor need,—
Pardon by awful Blood procured,
Wrung from His heart Who came in flesh to bleed
And save a shipwreck'd world from God allured,—
Pardon by awful Blood procured,
Wrung from His heart Who came in flesh to bleed
And save a shipwreck'd world from God allured,—
The children of the Church inherit,
Born of free grace, baptised, and blest;
And, meekly looking to His glorious merit,
On His dread Sacrifice securely rest.
Born of free grace, baptised, and blest;
And, meekly looking to His glorious merit,
On His dread Sacrifice securely rest.
Such grace is dawning Christ within,
A type and prophecy of all
The wonders, which from boundless Love begin
To rescue earth from Adam's ruin-fall.
A type and prophecy of all
The wonders, which from boundless Love begin
To rescue earth from Adam's ruin-fall.
Without it, what is Man, at best,
But Godless culture, proud and vain,—
A self-made Idol, in false radiance dress'd,
Doom'd for destruction, when the Lord shall reign?
But Godless culture, proud and vain,—
A self-made Idol, in false radiance dress'd,
Doom'd for destruction, when the Lord shall reign?
Hence, pray we, God! for grace divine,
Whose inward reign is heaven begun:
And, prostrate at the angel-crowded Shrine,
Seek the vast mercies our Emanuel won.
Whose inward reign is heaven begun:
And, prostrate at the angel-crowded Shrine,
Seek the vast mercies our Emanuel won.
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For ever, round the deep Unknown
Life flutters like a fearful thing;
Nor can we dream, before the day is flown,
How the crush'd heart with guilt, or woe, may wring!
Life flutters like a fearful thing;
Nor can we dream, before the day is flown,
How the crush'd heart with guilt, or woe, may wring!
New are Thy mercies, each fresh morn,
To us, from perill'd slumber brought;
And none are left to roam the world forlorn
Who think on Thee, as Thou on them hast thought.
To us, from perill'd slumber brought;
And none are left to roam the world forlorn
Who think on Thee, as Thou on them hast thought.
Ah! who can say, in helpless sleep
What viewless Fiends around us stand?
Or, when Morn smiles, how men would weep
Had no night-angels camp'd on either hand?
What viewless Fiends around us stand?
Or, when Morn smiles, how men would weep
Had no night-angels camp'd on either hand?
But, Day brings danger more than Night!—
Without, within, a countless throng
Of tempting charms seduce us from the right,
And paint a paradise in doing wrong.
Without, within, a countless throng
Of tempting charms seduce us from the right,
And paint a paradise in doing wrong.
Father in Heaven! our Home above,
The soul defend with “mighty power;”
Brighten our darkness with Thy beams of love
And guard, and guide us, through each devious hour.
The soul defend with “mighty power;”
Brighten our darkness with Thy beams of love
And guard, and guide us, through each devious hour.
Thus, dreading nought which Man can be,
Pursue we, Lord, our destined way;
And, weak in self, grow strong by loving Thee,
Learning to live, the more we live, to pray.
Pursue we, Lord, our destined way;
And, weak in self, grow strong by loving Thee,
Learning to live, the more we live, to pray.
“That which is righteous in Thy sight,”—
Here is the type, the master-test!
A faultless standard of celestial Right,
Which nobly shields us from the World's unrest.
Here is the type, the master-test!
A faultless standard of celestial Right,
Which nobly shields us from the World's unrest.
Opinions are chameleon-hues
Cast from a creature's fickle heart,
But, when all standards we can dare refuse
Save that, which Thou by revelation art,
Cast from a creature's fickle heart,
But, when all standards we can dare refuse
Save that, which Thou by revelation art,
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O God! then life becomes a hallow'd Thing,
A Liturgy of praise, and prayer;
And Saints, in deepest martyrdom, can sing
“Christ is my heaven, and He reigns everywhere!”
A Liturgy of praise, and prayer;
And Saints, in deepest martyrdom, can sing
“Christ is my heaven, and He reigns everywhere!”
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