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    WELCOME, sweet day of rest,
   That saw the Lord arise;
Day of all days to us the best,
    Whose pleasure never dies.
 
2      Sweet is the task, O Lord,
    Thy glorious acts to sing;
To praise Thy name, and hear Thy Word,
    And grateful offerings bring.
 
3      The King Himself comes near,
    And feeds His saints today;
With joyful hearts we see Him here,
    And love, and praise, and pray.
 
4      One day amidst the place
    Where my dear God has been,
Is sweeter than ten thousand days
    Of vanity and sin.
 
5      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.
 
6      My willing soul would stay
    In such a frame as this,
Glory and sing unto the Day
    Of everlasting bliss.
 
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748,
Henry Francis Lyte, 1793-1847‡