1 The summer’s heat, the winter’s cold,
The changes of the year,
Have quickly come, have quickly gone,
Our festal day is here
With songs our hearts to cheer.
Refrain:
Singing and praising
Thy blessed name,
Lead us, oh, lead us
Through all the way,
And now, oh Father! be
Thou ever our strength and stay!
2 From many homes by varied paths,
Thro’ joy, perhaps thro’ pain,
Our noble cause we come to aid,
Its precepts to sustain,
Increasing zeal to gain. [Refrain]
3 The past, the past, what doth it know?
What record doth it bear
Of evil shunn’d, of god performed,
Of tender, thoughtful care,
Each other’s toil to share? [Refrain]
4 And if the future shall reclaim
Some loved ones now astray,
Thro’ truths impress’d this hour, oh, then,
Our hearts shall gladly say:
All hail this festal day. [Refrain]
Source: The Helper in Sacred Song: for Sunday-schools, churches, and devotional services #60