THE New Year, Lord, we welcome make With grateful heart and tongue; The newness of the year shall wake Our prayerfulness and song.
We look for things unseen before, For joys till now unknown; O come, and on this New Year pour A newness all Thine own.
Grant us new beams of light to see, New steps of Thine to trace, New visions of Thy majesty, New visits of Thy grace.
Help us new peaks of Truth to climb, To grasp new realms of lore, Each depth divine, each height sublime More amply to explore.
Augment our skill for things divine, Thy Word, profound, to read; And let this year in joy divine Each earlier year exceed.
May grace those sweet surprises lend That bring our God more near; And blessings all-divine commend The newness of the year.
Thomas Hornblower Gill, 1819-1906‡