O ye priests of the Lord,

Bless ye the Lord :
Praise him, and magnify him, for ever.
O ye servants of the Lord,

Bless ye, &c.
O ye holy and humble men of heart,

Bless ye, &c.

O ye spirits and souls of the righteous,

Bless ye, &c.

Glory be to the Father,

And to the Son,
And to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now,

And ever shall be;
World without end, Amen.

GOD THE SON, CHRIST JESUS.

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST-CHRISTMAS.

53. The Nativity of Christ. Come, thou long expected Jesus !

Born to set thy people free; From our fears and sins release us,

Let us find our rest in thee!

Israel's strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth thou art; Dear desire of ev'ry nation,

Joy of ev'ry longing heart !

Born thy people to deliver,

Born a child, and yet a King; Born to reign in us for ever,

Now thy gracious kingdom bring! By thine own eternal Spirit,

Rule in all our hearts alone; By thine all-sufficient merit,

Raise us to thy glorious throne.

54. The Nativity:

HARK! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconcil'd.
Joyful all ye nations rise,

,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With th' angelic host proclaim,
• Christ is born in Bethlehem.'

Christ, by highest heav'n ador'd,
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin's womb:

Veil'd in flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail th' incarnate Deity!
Pleas'd as man, with men t'appear,
Jesus, our Immanuel here.

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris'n with healing in his wings;
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Come, desire of nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's conqu’ring seed,
Bruise in us the serpent's head:
Adam's likeness now efface,
Stamp thine image in its place;
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.

55. Christmas Day. Lift up your heads in joyful hope, Salute the happy morn;

Each heav'nly pow'r

Proclaims the glad bour,
Lo Jesus the Saviour is born;

All glory be to God on high,
To him all praise is due;

The promise is seald,

The Saviour's reveal'd,
And proves that the record is true.

Let joy around like rivers flow,
Flow on, and still increase ;

Spread o'er the glad earth,

At Jesus's birth,
For heaven and earth are at peace.
Now the good-will of Heaven is shewn
Tow'rds Adam's helpless race :

Messiah is come,

To ransom his own,
To save them by infinite

grace. Then let us join the hosts above Where hymning seraphs sing,

Join all the glad pow'rs,

For their Lord is ours,
Our Prophet, our Priest, and our King.

56. The Birth of Christ.

MORTALS awake, with angels join,

And chant the solemn lay;
Joy, love, and gratitude combine

To hail th' auspicious day.

In heaven the rapturous song began,

And sweet seraphic fire
Thro' all the shining legions ran,

And strung and tun'd the lyre.
Swift through the vast expanse it flew,

And loud the echo roll'd; The theme, the song, the joy, was new,

'Twas more than heaven could hold. Down thro' the portals of the sky

Th’impetuous torrent ran;
And angels flew with eager joy

To bear the news to man.
Hark! the cherubic armies shout,
And glory leads the

song : Good-will and peace are heard throughout

The harmonious heavenly throng. O for a glance of heavenly love

Our hearts and songs to raise; Sweetly to bear our souls above,

And mingle with their lays! With joy the chorus we'll repeat,

Glory to God on high; • Good-will and peace are now complete,

• Jesus was born to die.' Hail, Prince of life, for ever hail !

Redeemer, brother, friend! Tho' earth, and time, and life, should fail,

Thy praise shall never end.