When, as returns the solemn day,
Man comes to meet his maker, God,
What rites, what honors shall he pay?
How spread His sovereign name abroad?

From marble domes and gilded spires
Shall curling clouds of incense rise,
And gems and gold and garlands deck
The costly pomp of sacrifice?

Vain, sinful man! creation’s Lord
Thy golden offerings may well spare;
But give thy heart, and thou shalt find
Here dwells a God who heareth prayer.

O grant us, in this solemn hour,
From earth and sin’s allurements free,
To feel Thy love, to own Thy power,
And raise each raptured thought to Thee.