Vespers.
1 Father supreme! Thou high and holy One,
To Thee we bow;
Now, when the labor of the day is done,
Devoutly, now.
2 From age to age unchanging, still the same
All-good Thou art;
Hallowed forever be Thy reverend name
In every heart!
3 When the glad morn upon the hills was spread,
Thy smile was there;
Now, as the darkness gathers overhead,
We feel Thy care.
4 Night spreads her shade upon another day
Forever past;
So o'er our faults, Thy love, we humbly pray
A veil may cast.
5 Silence and sleep, o'er hearts by earth distrest,
Now sweetly steal;
So every fear that struggles in the breast
Shall faith conceal.
6 Thou through the dark will watch above our sleep
With eye of love;
And Thou wilt wake us, when the sunbeams leap
The hills above.
7 O, may each heart its gratitude express
As life expands,
And find the triumph of its happiness
In Thy commands!