WHEN returns this solemn day

1WHEN returns this solemn day,
Man comes to meet his God.
What flesh, what honors shall we pay?
How spread his praise abroad?

2From marble domes and gilded spires
Shall clouds of incense rise?
And gems, and gold, and garlands deck
The costly sacrifice?

3Vain, sinful man! creation's Lord
Thy offerings will not spare;
But give thy heart, and thou shalt find
Thy God will hear thy prayer.