2 He knew us, when we knew not him,

Was with us, though unseen;
His favours came to us unsought,

His love has wondrous been.
3 He keeps us now, securely keeps,

Whatever foe assails :
With vigilance that never sleeps,

With pow'r that never fails.
4 Then let us, while we dwell below,

Obey our Father's voice;
To all his dispensations bow,

And in his name rejoice.

5 How sweet to hear him say at last,

“Ye blessed children, come; The days of banishment are past,

And hear'n is now your home!”

1 WHEN languor and disease invade

This trembling house of clay, 'Tis sweet to look beyond the cage,

And long to soar away.
2 Sweet to look inward, and attend

The whispers of his love;
Sweet to look upward to the throne,

Where Jesus pleads above.

3 Sweet on thy faithfulness to rest,

Whose love can never end; Sweet on thy covenant of grace

For all things to depend.
4 Sweet in the confidence of faith,

To trust thy truth divine :
Sweet to lie passive in thy hands,

And have no will but thine.
5 If such the sweetness of the streams,

What will the fountain be, Where saints and angels draw their bliss,

Immediately from thee!

1 TO Jesus, the crown of my hope,
My soul is in haste to be gone :
O bear me, ye cherubim, up,

And waft me away to his throne.
2 O then shall the veil be remov'd,
And round me thy brightness be pour'd;
I shall meet him whom absent I lov'd,
I shall see whom unseen I ador'd.

3 And then, never more shall the fears,

The trials, temptations, and woes,
Which darken this valley of tears,
Intrude on my blissful repose.

4 Or, if yet remember'd above,

Remembrance no sadness shall raise ;
They'll be but new signs of thy love,

New themes for my wonder and praise. 5 Thus the strokes which from sin and from pain

Shall set me eternally free,
Will but strengthen and rivet the chain,
Which binds me, my Saviour, to thee !

36

Luke ii, 8—10. (L. M.)
1 WHEN Jordan hush'd his waters still,

And silence slept on Zion's hill;
When Bethlehem's shepherds, through the

night,
Watch'd o'er their flocks by starry light:
2 On wheels of light, on wings of flame,

The glorious hosts of Zion came :
High heav'n with songs of triumph rung,

While thus they struck their harps and sung : 3 O Zion, lift thy raptur'd eye,

The long expected hour is nigh ;
The joys of nature rise again,

The Prince of Salem comes to reign!
4 He comes, to cheer the trembling heart,

Bids Satan and his host depart;
Again the day-star gilds the gloom,
Again the bow'rs of Eden bloom!

5 O Zion, lift thy raptur'd eye,

The long expected hour is nigh :
The joys of nature rise again,
The Prince of Salem comes to reign!

Exodus xxxiii, 22. (7’s.)
1 ROCK of ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in thee :
Let the water and the blood,
From thy riven-side which flow'd,
Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and pow'r ! 2 Not the labour of my hands

Can fulfil thy law's demands :
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone ;

Thou must save, and thou alone!
3 Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to thy cross I cling :
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,

Wash me, Saviour, or I die!
4 While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of ages! cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee !

38

Galatians vi, 14. (L. m.)
1 WE sing the praise of him who died,

Of him who died upon the cross :
The sinner's hope let men deride,

For this we count the world but loss. 2 The cross ! it takes our guilt away,

It holds the fainting spirit up;
It cheers with hope the gloomy day,

And sweetens every bitter cup.
3 It makes the coward spirit brave,

And nerves the feeble arm for fight;
It takes the terrors from the grave,

And gilds the bed of death with light. 4 The balm of life, the cure of woe,

The measure and the pledge of love ;
'Tis all that sinners want below,
'Tis all that angels know above.

39

Psalm xxvi, 8. (L.M.)
1 DEAR is the sabbath morn to me,

When village bells awake the day,
And by their sacred minstrelsy,

Call me from earthly cares away.
2 And dear to me the winged hour,
Spent in thy hallow'd courts, O Lord ;
To feel devotion's soothing power,
And catch the manna of thy word.