HYMN XIV. Is. Ix. 10-22.
STRANGERS, O Sion, build thy wall,
And sons of royal race;
And Lebanon's high cedars fall,
To beautify the place.
They that afflicted thee shall bow
To Israel's budding rod;
The Mighty One of Jacob know,
Thy Saviour, and thy God.
As once, in weak and low estate,
Forsaken and forlorn;
So be thine excellency great,
Through ages yet unborn!
No more shall violence and war
Thy sure foundations raze;
For, lo! thy walls salvation are,
Thy gates eternal praise!
Nor sun by day, nor moon by night,
Shall brightness give to thee;
The Lord thine everlasting light,
Thy God, thy glory be!
Thy sun shall never more descend,
Thy moon withdraw her ray;
Thy days of mourning have an end,
Thy sorrows flee away!
Thy branch, the planting of the Lord,
The work of his own hand,
Shall, water'd by his gracious word,
O'ershadow all the land.
The smallest seed, the lowliest tree,
May fruit eternal bear;
Its leaves the nations' healing be,
If made Jehovah's care!
HYMN XV. Is. lxii.
FOR Sion's sake I will not rest;
I will not hold my peace,
Until Jerusalem be blest,
And Judah dwell at ease:
Until her righteousness return,
As day-break after night;
The lamp of her salvation burn,
With everlasting light.
The Gentiles shall her glory see,
And kings declare her fame,
Appointed unto her shall be
A new and holy name.
The Lord upholds her with his hand,
And claims her for his own,
The diadem of Judah's land,
The glory of his crown.
The watchmen on her walls appear,
And day and night proclaim;
"Sion's deliverance is near,
Make mention of her name.'
Go through-go through-prepare the ways,
The gates wide open spread;
The standard of the people raise,
To glorious triumph led.
In every clime, through every land,
Proclaim the joyful word;
The holy people are at hand,
Redeemed of the Lord.
9 HYMN XVI. Jer. xxxi. 1—10.
HAST thou not said, Almighty Lord,
"The chosen tribes shall be restor❜d ?"
That promise when wilt thou perform,
And bring thine ancient people home!
In devious paths their feet have trod,
Far have they wander'd from their God!
O when wilt thou their souls restore,
And keep them that they stray no more?
Do we not see a glimm'ring ray?
This dawn portends meridian day;
Propitious sign! we hail thy glance,
And see, by faith, the day advance.
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Then Judah's harp shall wake again,
And echo back the joyous strain!
"Us that were lost Jehovah sought,
"And to his holy temple brought.'
Then joining with the Gentile throng,
I shall raise a grateful song,
To him whose sacred blood was spilt,
To cleanse their souls from sin and guilt.
HYMN XVII. Ps. cxxxvii.
LONG has the harp of Judah hung,
Neglected, broken, and unstrung,
Beneath the willow's shade;
Whilst Israel's solitary bands
By foreign streams, through foreign lands,
In saddest moods have stray'd.
New But since our God reveals his face
And smiles upon his chosen race,
We'll take our harp again;
Tun'd as in former happy days,
To notes of gratitude and praise,
We'll strike a joyful strain.
Our songs shall be of Jesu's love,
Who left th' ethereal courts above
To bear our guilt and shame;
Th' eternal uncreated Word,
Both David's Son and David's Lord,
Jehovah is his name.
So vast the theme, it might inspire
An angel's song, a seraph's lyre,
Such wond'rous grace to tell;
Wake, harp of Judah! bear the sound"
Far as creation's utmost bound;
All hail! Immanuel.
// HYMN XVIII. Is. xii. WELCOME! thou great prophetic day, Thrice welcome! thou first dawning ray, When Israel's tribes, with grateful tongue, Renew their pious fathers' song.
"Lord, we will praise thee," (they exclaim,) "We will adore thy gracious name; "For though thine anger long did last, "The day of wrath at length is past.
Joyful we view thy smiling face, "And draw from wells of gospel grace, "Waters that cleanse and cheer the heart, "Streams that the purest bliss impart.
"Our Saviour God! in thee we trust; "Nor will we fear the sons of dust: "Thou art our strength, our song, our joy, "Thy praises shall our lives employ. "Great are the wonders thou hast wrought, "Wonders that far exceed our thought; "Let all creation sound them forth, "To the remotest bounds of earth.
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