Hymns for Christian Devotion Part 32

CHRIST; HIS CHARACTER AND OFFICES.

198. C. M. Christian Psalmist.

The Saviour Foretold.

1 Behold my servant; see him rise Exalted in my might!

Him have I chosen, and in him I place supreme delight.

2 On him in rich effusion poured, My spirit shall descend; My truth and judgment he shall show To earth's remotest end.

3 Gentle and still shall be his voice; No threats from him proceed; The smoking flax shall he not quench, Nor break the bruised reed.

4 The feeble spark to flames he'll raise; The weak will not despise; Judgment he shall bring forth to truth, And make the fallen rise.

5 The progress of his zeal and power Shall never know decline, Till foreign lands and distant isles Receive the law divine.

199. 11s. M. Drummond.

"Prepare ye the Way of the Lord."

1 A voice from the desert comes awful and shrill; The Lord is advancing! prepare ye the way!

The word of Jehovah he comes to fulfil, And o'er the dark world pour the splendor of day.

2 Bring down the proud mountain though towering to heaven, And be the low valley exalted on high; The rough path and crooked be made smooth and even, For, Zion! your King, your Redeemer is nigh.

3 The beams of salvation his progress illume; The lone, dreary wilderness sings of her Lord; The rose and the myrtle there suddenly bloom, And the olive of peace spreads its branches abroad.

200. 7s. M. Bowring.

Report of the Watchman.

1 Watchman! tell us of the night, What its signs of promise are.

Traveller! o'er yon mountain's height, See that glory-beaming star.

Watchman! does its beauteous ray Aught of joy or hope foretell?

Traveller! yes; it brings the day, Promised day of Israel.

2 Watchman! tell us of the night; Higher yet that star ascends.

Traveller! blessedness and light, Peace and truth its course portends.

Watchman! will its beams alone Gild the spot that gave them birth?

Traveller! ages are its own; See, it bursts o'er all the earth.

3 Watchman! tell us of the night, For the morning seems to dawn.

Traveller! darkness takes its flight; Doubt and terror are withdrawn.

4 Watchman! let thy wanderings cease; Hie thee to thy quiet home.

Traveller! lo! the Prince of Peace, Lo! the Son of G.o.d, is come.

201. 8s. & 7s. M. Cawood.

Song of the Angels of Bethlehem.

1 Hark! what mean those holy voices, Sweetly sounding through the skies?

Lo! th' angelic host rejoices; Heavenly hallelujahs rise.

2 Listen to the wondrous story Which they chant in hymns of joy: "Glory in the highest, glory!

Glory be to G.o.d most high!

3 "Peace on earth, good-will from heaven, Reaching far as man is found: Souls redeemed and sins forgiven:-- Loud our golden harps shall sound.

4 "Christ is born, the great Anointed; Heaven and earth his praises sing!

O, receive whom G.o.d appointed, For your Prophet, Priest and King."

5 Let us learn the wondrous story Of our great Redeemer's birth; Spread the brightness of his glory, Till it cover all the earth.

202. C. M. E. H. Sears.

Christmas Hymn.

1 Calm on the listening ear of night Come heaven's melodious strains, Where wild Judea stretches far Her silver-mantled plains!

2 The answering hills of Palestine Send back the glad reply; And greet, from all their holy heights, The dayspring from on high

3 O'er the blue depths of Galilee There comes a holier calm, And Sharon waves, in solemn praise, Her silent groves of palm.

4 "Glory to G.o.d!" the sounding skies Loud with their anthems ring,-- Peace to the earth,--good-will to men, From heaven's eternal King!"

5 Light on thy hills, Jerusalem!