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THE New Year, Lord, we welcome make
   With grateful heart and tongue;
The newness of the year shall wake
    Our prayerfulness and song.
 
2  We look for things unseen before,
    For joys till now unknown;
O come, and on this New Year pour
    A newness all Thine own.
 
3  Grant us new beams of light to see,
    New steps of Thine to trace,
New visions of Thy majesty,
    New visits of Thy grace.
 
4  Help us new peaks of Truth to climb,
    To grasp new realms of lore,
Each depth divine, each height sublime
    More amply to explore.
 
5  Augment our skill for things divine,
    Thy Word, profound, to read;
And let this year in joy divine
    Each earlier year exceed.
 
6  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‡