Close the sabbath-day in joy,
Close the sabbath-day in praise;
O how lovely the employ,
Anthems in God's name to raise!
Whose sweet-echoed notes shall chime
O'er the distant march of time.
Hallowed shall the record be
Of devotion's early thought,
Like a smile of memory
From the hour of spring-time brought;
Fragrance-breathed and beauty-shed,
As from flowers of Eden's bed.