;

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!

37

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 praises 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.

3 Oft when the world, with iron hands, Has bound me in its six-days' chain,

This bursts them, like the strong man's bands,
And lets my spirit loose again.

4 Go, man of pleasure, strike thy lyre,
Of broken sabbaths sing the charms,
Ours be the prophet's car of fire,
That bears us to a Father's arms!

40

Nehemiah viii, 10. (P. M.)

1 REJOICE evermore

With angels above,

In Jesus' power,
In Jesus' love;
With glad exultation

Your triumph proclaim,
Ascribing salvation

To God and the Lamb.

2 Thou, Lord, our relief
In trouble hast been,
Hast sav'd us from grief,
Hast sav'd us from sin:
The pow'r of thy Spirit
Can set our hearts free;
And we shall inherit

All fulness in thee.

F

41

3 All fulness of peace,
All fulness of joy,
And spiritual bliss
That never can cloy,
To us it is given,
In Jesus to know,
A kingdom of heaven,
A heaven below.

1 Peter i, 18. (C.M.)

1 MY blessed Saviour, is thy love
So great, so full, so free?
Behold, I give my love, my heart,
My life, my all, to thee.

2 I love thee for the glorious worth
Which in thyself I see;

I love thee for that shameful cross,
Thou hast endur'd for me.

3 Though in the very form of God,
With heav'nly glory crown'd,
Thou would'st partake of human flesh,
Beset with troubles round.

4 Thou would'st like wretched man be made In ev'ry thing but sin,

That we, as like thee might become,
As we unlike had been.