Above:  St. James Episcopal Church, Macon, Georgia, August 30, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1829) by Harriet Auber (1773-1862)

Hymn Source = Church Psalmody:  A Collection of Psalms and Hymns Adapted to Public Worship; Selected from Dr. Watts and Other Authors (1831)

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With joy we hail the sacred day

Which God has called his own;

With joy the summons we obey,

To worship at his throne.

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Thy chosen temple, Lord, how fair!

Where willing votaries throng

To breathe the humble fervent prayer–

And pour the choral song.

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Spirit of grace! Oh deign to dwell

Within thy church below;

Make her in holiness excel,

With pure devotion glow.

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Let grace within her walls be found–

Let all her sons unite,

To spread with grateful zeal around,

Her clear and shining light.

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Great God, we hail the sacred day

Which thou hast called thine own;

With joy the summons we obey,

To worship at thy throne.

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Above:  St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Newnan, Georgia, August 2, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1829) by Harriet Auber (1773-1862)

Hymn Source = A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (1830), American Unitarian Association

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Sweet is the task, O Lord,

Thy glorious acts to sing,

To praise thy name, and hear thy word,

And grateful offerings bring.

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Sweet at the dawning hour,

Thy boundless love to tell;

And when the night-wind shuts the flower,

Still on the theme to dwell.

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Sweet on this day of rest,

To join in heart and voice,

With those who love and serve thee best,

And in thy name rejoice.

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To songs of praise and joy,

Be every Sabbath given,

That such may be our best employ

Eternally in heaven.

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Above:  Episcopal Church of the Holy Family, Jasper, Georgia, June 21, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Original German Text (1700) by Caspar Neumann (1648-1715)

English Translation (1880) by Conrad Hermann Louis Schuette (1843-1926)

Hymn Source = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal (1908), Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States (1818-1930)

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God of ages, great and mighty!

Who upholdest heaven and earth;

By whose truth and tender mercy

I have been led on from birth,

Night and sleep now pass away–

Welcome be Thy holy day.

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For this day so fair and holy,

Be Thou by my spirit blest,

Through Thy word still nearer heaven

Guide my spirit toward its rest:

Than the work of praise and prayer

Let me know no higher care.

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O the beauty of Thy service!

O the sweetness of Thy Word!

Sweeter far than honey gathered

From the flower by bee or bird:

Blessed all, who day and night

Make Thy word their chief delight.

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O my God, speak Thou Amen!

For we are Thy chosen own;

Be Thy praise by all exalted,

And Thy glorious name made known,

Till for aye we may, through grace,

See and serve Thee face to face.

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