The Sanctuary A Companion in Verse for the English Prayer Book. By Robert Montgomery |
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3. Intercessions.
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 | The Sanctuary |  |
3. Intercessions.
“We sinners do beseech Thee to hear us, O Lord God.”
—Litany.
More genial than the glorious Sun,
And wider than the Sea,
Those Litanies our Church begun
In hoar antiquity!—
No accent of sectarian mind
Contaminates their tone;
But in them throbs for all Mankind
A heart, like Jesu's own.
And wider than the Sea,
Those Litanies our Church begun
In hoar antiquity!—
No accent of sectarian mind
Contaminates their tone;
But in them throbs for all Mankind
A heart, like Jesu's own.
So greet we now, with boundless love,
Earth's family below,
And supplicate our God above
Alike for friend, and foe;
But still, the sacramental ties
Which bind the Lord's elect,
Prompt from the soul those deeper cries
Worldlings alone reject.
Earth's family below,
And supplicate our God above
Alike for friend, and foe;
But still, the sacramental ties
Which bind the Lord's elect,
Prompt from the soul those deeper cries
Worldlings alone reject.
Lamb of Jehovah! Light of Light!
Saviour, and Son of God!
Still may Thy Church pursue the right,
The path Thy virtues trod:
Govern, and guard, and inly guide,
And teach her “how to pray,”
Who is the Body, and the Bride
Of Him, the Truth, and Way.
Saviour, and Son of God!
Still may Thy Church pursue the right,
The path Thy virtues trod:
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And teach her “how to pray,”
Who is the Body, and the Bride
Of Him, the Truth, and Way.
And may th' Anointed of the Lord,
Our Rulers, and our Kings,
Sanction their sceptres with Thy Word
And reign beneath Thy wings:
Thus will our Throne, and Altar stand
Co-ordinately blest;
And richly o'er a christian land
Heaven's radiant mercies rest.
Our Rulers, and our Kings,
Sanction their sceptres with Thy Word
And reign beneath Thy wings:
Thus will our Throne, and Altar stand
Co-ordinately blest;
And richly o'er a christian land
Heaven's radiant mercies rest.
And, next to Thee, but nearer Thine,
By supernat'ral law,
The Clergy, to that care divine
Cold prudence never saw,—
Commit we now; that all, and each,
In order and degree,
May practise what their sermons preach,
Like living Texts on Thee.
By supernat'ral law,
The Clergy, to that care divine
Cold prudence never saw,—
Commit we now; that all, and each,
In order and degree,
May practise what their sermons preach,
Like living Texts on Thee.
Give wisdom unto Power, and Place;
Ennoble all our Peers;
While Justice, panoplied by grace,
None but th' Almighty fears!—
Since Magistrates Thine impress bear
And are by Thee array'd,
A shadow of Thy Crown to wear
When Order is display'd.
Ennoble all our Peers;
While Justice, panoplied by grace,
None but th' Almighty fears!—
Since Magistrates Thine impress bear
And are by Thee array'd,
A shadow of Thy Crown to wear
When Order is display'd.
And, may the darken'd and deceived,
Self-exiled from the Fold,
Turn to That Spirit they have grieved,
And yet, their Home behold;—
True Home of faith, Thy Church, O God!
The structure of Thy Will,
When martyr'd saints in meekness trod
Their way to Zion-hill.
Self-exiled from the Fold,
Turn to That Spirit they have grieved,
And yet, their Home behold;—
True Home of faith, Thy Church, O God!
The structure of Thy Will,
When martyr'd saints in meekness trod
Their way to Zion-hill.
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Strengthen beleaguer'd Hearts which stand,
Shelter the wounded Dove,
And o'er Thy fainting Ones expand
Plumes of protecting Love:
Succour and soothe the desolate,
Allay the Widow's sigh;
Nor let lone Orphans meet their fate,
Without Compassion's eye.
Shelter the wounded Dove,
And o'er Thy fainting Ones expand
Plumes of protecting Love:
Succour and soothe the desolate,
Allay the Widow's sigh;
Nor let lone Orphans meet their fate,
Without Compassion's eye.
The helpless babe, the mother's throe,
The dungeon'd captive's groan,
Whate'er the hue of mortal woe
Sickness, or health, may own,—
Head of the Church! Incarnate Grace!
To Thee we all commend;
And in the features of Thy face
See Father, God, and Friend.
The dungeon'd captive's groan,
Whate'er the hue of mortal woe
Sickness, or health, may own,—
Head of the Church! Incarnate Grace!
To Thee we all commend;
And in the features of Thy face
See Father, God, and Friend.
Nor, be our deepest foes forgot;
Forgive each bitter wrong;
And teach the lore this world knows not,—
That love, not hate, is strong:
Lost in Thy cleansing Blood-fount lie
All feelings harsh, and stern,
And from the warning of Thy sigh
Let Speech true wisdom learn.
Forgive each bitter wrong;
And teach the lore this world knows not,—
That love, not hate, is strong:
Lost in Thy cleansing Blood-fount lie
All feelings harsh, and stern,
And from the warning of Thy sigh
Let Speech true wisdom learn.
But oh! of gifts the crowning all,
Thy Spirit, Lord! bestow;
Without it, Faith herself must fall
And weal become a woe:
While conscience slumbers o'er the sin
Veil'd in those depths unknown,
Where Satan, from the heart within,
In secret rears his throne!
Thy Spirit, Lord! bestow;
Without it, Faith herself must fall
And weal become a woe:
While conscience slumbers o'er the sin
Veil'd in those depths unknown,
Where Satan, from the heart within,
In secret rears his throne!
O, Lamb of God! O, Lord of lords!
Saviour, and Sun of souls,
This litany of erring words
Ere into heaven it rolls,—
Attuned by Thy perfecting love
Grant that each tone may rise,
And summon from The Heart above
What God to prayer replies.
Saviour, and Sun of souls,
This litany of erring words
Ere into heaven it rolls,—
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Grant that each tone may rise,
And summon from The Heart above
What God to prayer replies.
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