3 "A little while," 'twill soon be past;
Why should we shun the shame and
O let us in his footsteps haste, [cross?
Counting for him all else but loss:
O how will recompense his smile,
For sufferings of this "little while."

4 "A little while;" come, Saviour, come;
For thee thy waiting people long;
Take us, with all thy ransomed, home,
To sing the new, eternal song;
To see thy glory, and to be

In everything conformed to thee.

James George Deck, b. 1807.

MY faith shall triumph o'er the grave,
And trample on the tombs;
My Jesus, my Redeemer lives,
My God, my Saviour comes:
Ere long I know he will appear
In power and glory great;
And death, the last of all his foes,
Lie vanquished at his feet.

2 Then his own hand shall wipe the tears From every weeping eye;

And pains and groans and griefs and
Shall cease eternally.
[fears

How long, dear Saviour, O how long,
Shall this bright hour delay?

O hasten thine appearance, Lord,
And bring the welcome day.

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748.

THE church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.

2 Saint after saint on earth
Has lived and loved and died;
And as they left us one by one,
We laid them side by side.

3 We laid them down to sleep,
But not in hope forlorn;
We laid them but to slumber there
Till the last glorious morn.

4 Should not the loving bride
The absent bridegroom mourn?
Should she not wear the weeds of grief
Until her Lord return?

5 We long to hear thy voice,
To see thee face to face,

To share thy crown and glory then,
As now we share thy grace.

6 The whole creation groans,
And waits to hear that voice,
That shall restore her comeliness,
And make her wastes rejoice.

7 Come, Lord, and wipe away The curse, the sin, the stain; And make this blighted world of ours Thine own fair world again.

HOW long, O Lord, our Saviour,
Wilt thou remain away?
Our hearts are growing weary
At thy so long delay;

O when shall come the moment,
When, brighter far than morn,
The sunshine of thy glory

Shall on thy people dawn?

2 How long, O gracious Master,
Wilt thou thy household leave?
So long hast thou now tarried,
Few thy return believe:
Immersed in sloth and folly,
Thy servants, Lord, we see;
And few of us stand ready
With joy to welcome thee,

How long, O heavenly Bridegroom, How long wilt thou delay? And yet how few are grieving, That thou dost absent stay! Thy very Bride her portion And calling hath forgot, And seeks for ease and glory

Where thou, her Lord, art not.

4 O wake thy slumbering virgins;
Send forth the solemn cry,
Let all thy saints repeat it-

"The Bridegroom draweth nigh!”
May all our lamps be burning,
Our loins well girded be,
Each longing heart preparing
With joy thy face to see.

The Bridegroom comes, awake,
Your lamps with gladness take,
Hallelujah!

And for the marriage-feast prepare,
For we must go to meet him there.

2 Zion hears the watchmen singing, And all her heart with joy is springing;

She wakes, she rises from her gloom;
For her Lord comes down all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious,
Her star is risen, her light is come;
Ah! come, thou blessed One,
God's own beloved Son,
Hallelujah!

We follow till the halls we see,
Where thou hast bid us sup with thee.

3 Now let all the heavens adore thee,
And men and angels sing before thee,

With harp and cymbals' clearest tone;
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where we are with the choir immortal
Of angels round thy dazzling throne;
Nor eye hath seen, nor ear
Hath vet attained to hear
What there is ours;

But we rejoice, and sing to thee
Our hymn of joy eternally.

1274.

Philip Nicolai, 1556-1608
(tr. Cath. Winkworth).
T. 14.

LIGHT of the lonely pilgrim's heart,
Star of the coming day,

Arise, and with thy morning beams
Chase all our griefs away.

2 Come, blessed Lord, bid every shore
And answering island sing
The praises of thy royal name,
And own thee as their King.

3 Bid the whole earth, responsive now
To the bright world above,

Break forth in rapturous strains of joy, In memory of thy love.

4 Lord, Lord, thy fair creation groans,
The air, the earth, the sea,

In unison with all our hearts,
And calls aloud for thee.

5 Come thou, with all thy quickening
With one awakening smile, [power,
And bid the serpent's trail no more
Thy beauteous realms defile.

6 Thine was the cross, with all its fruit

Of grace and peace divine;
Be thine the crown of glory now,
The palm of victory thine.

Sir Edward Denny, b. 1796.

1275.*

T. 151.

REJOICE, all ye believers,
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing
And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising,

And soon will he draw nigh:
Up, pray and watch and wrestle :
At midnight comes the cry.

2 See that your lamps are burning,
Replenish them with oil;
Look now for your salvation,
The end of earthly toil.
The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near:
Go meet him, as he cometh,
With Hallelujahs clear.
3 Ye wise and holy virgins,
Now raise your voices higher,
Until in songs of triumph

They meet the angel choir.
The marriage feast is waiting,
The gates wide open stand:
Up, up! ye heirs of glory;

The Bridegroom is at hand.
4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear:
Arise, thou Sun, so longed for,

O'er this benighted sphere:
With hearts and hands uplifted
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of our redemption,
That brings us unto thee.

Laurentius Laurenti, 1660-1722
(tr. Jane Borthwick).

HARK, the trump of God is heard, And the archangel's voice on high: Yea, the Lord himself descends

With a shout that rends the sky; Lo, the bars of death are burst, See, the dead in Christ rise first. 2 His blest people, still on earth, In a moment changed arise, And with them in clouds caught up, Meet their Saviour in the skies; Every fear and doubt removed, Him they see whom here they loved. 3 Now all tears are wiped away}

Free from guilt and fear and pain,
All his ransomed saints with him

Kings and priests for ever reign:
Henceforth his unbounded grace
Is their theme of endless praise.
4 In the hope of all this joy,

Brethren, let us still be found
Steadfast in the faith of Christ;

May we all in love abound, Till we shall, when time is o'er, Live with him for evermore.

R. Boswell and C. I. La Trobe.

BEHOLD the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise
On mountain-tops above the hills,
And draw the wondering eyes.

2 To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues shall flow;
Up to the hill of God, they'll say,
And to his house we'll go.

3 The beam that shines from Zion's hill Shall lighten every land;

The King who reigns in Salem's towers
Shall all the world command.

4 No strife shall vex Messiah's reign,
Or mar the peaceful years; [swords,
To ploughshares men shall beat their
To pruning-hooks their spears,

5 Come then, O come, from every land
To worship at his shrine;
And walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.

1280.*

Michael Bruce, 1746-67.

T. 205.

ARE you formed a creature new, Cleansed by Jesus' precious blood? Can you Christ in spirit view,

Reconciled by him to God? Rise, to meet the Bridegroom go, Mingle with the virgin-row; Have you oil, you need not fear, Though this moment he appear. 2 Rise, go forth to meet the Lamb, Siumber not 'midst worldly care; Let your lamps be all on flame,

For his coming now prepare: Then, whene'er you hear the cry, "Lo, the Bridegroom draweth nigh," You will not confounded be, But can meet him cheerfully.

1287.

XLVII.

T. 91.
DAY of judgment, day of wonders,
Hark, the trumpet's awful sound,
Louder than a thousand thunders,
Shakes the vast creation round:
How the summons, :||:

Will the sinner's heart confound.
2 Every island, sea and mountain,
Earth and heaven flee away,
All his enemies confounded

Hear the trump proclaim his day:
Come to judgment; ::

Stand before the Son of Man.
3 At his call the dead awaken,
Rise to life from earth and sea;
All the powers of nature shaken,
At his call prepare to flee;
Careless sinner, ::

What will then become of thee?
John Newton and John Cennick.

2 When all with awe shall stand around
To hear their doom allotted,
O may my worthless name be found
In the Lamb's book unblotted;
Grant me that firm, unshaken faith,
That thou, my Saviour, by thy death
Hast purchased my salvation.

3 Before thou shalt as Judge appear,
Plead as my Intercessor,
And on that awful day declare

That I am thy confessor;
Then bring me to that blessed place,
Where I shall see with open face

The glory of thy kingdom.

4 O Jesus, shorten the delay,
And hasten thy salvation,
That we may see that glorious day
Produce a new creation:

Lord Jesus, come, our Judge and King,
Come, change our mournful notes, to sing
Thy praise for ever: Amen.

Bartholomäus Ringwald, 1531-98.