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Covenant in thought in the worship, even as He who was coming was fulfilling the Old and establishing the New Covenant, that the two might be bound together in Him, the Center of time as well as of salvation.

THE BENEDICTUS

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for He hath visited and redeemed His people;

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us: in the house of His servant David;

As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets: which have been since the world began;

That we should be saved from our enemies: and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers: and to remember His holy covenant;

The oath which He sware to our father Abraham: that He would grant unto us;

That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies: might serve Him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before Him: all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto His people: by the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God: whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us;

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death: to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And now as the Messiah of God, Emmanuel, Christ is born, it is the song of the angels that we hear. The day is dawning and fittingly the angels of heaven greet the coming morning of the day of redemption. "Shepherds were in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory

of the Lord shone round about them. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

What a privilege to those humble shepherds to hear the angel band sing their ecstatic hymn on the plains of Bethlehem, announcing the grace of heaven to our sinsmitten earth! Well has it been called the "sweetest melody that ever echoed from the skies."

The Gloria in Excelsis, as we now have it and use it in our public worship, is built up as from a foundation on this angel song, which, when first sung, had as its hearers the adoring shepherds, who were keeping their flocks on the plains of Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born in the manger of the Nativity.

The anthem, which fully expressed the joy of the angels at the Nativity, was inadequate to express the feelings of the Church that worshiped the Crucified. For this reason there was a gradual evolution of the Gloria in Excelsis, which, by the end of the fifth century, had been developed into a hymn which, with but slight variation, is used alike by Greek, Roman and Protestant believers all over the world. Its use confirms the creed in which we express our belief in the "Communion of Saints."

The seed of the song is the chant of the angels; the fruit of its fuller expression, the communion of the saints who worship the Triune God who have boldness and joy in their approach through the Christ of Bethlehem, the Saviour of the world. Henceforth we will sing the "angels' anthem" with better understanding and find in it an unusual medium of true communion with the angels and the saints in heaven as well as the universal brotherhood of believers on earth.

THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer.

Thou that sittest at the

right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For, Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Closely associated with the birth of Christ is another most beautiful and tender hymn which comes to us out of the word of God, namely, Simeon's pathetic song, “The Nunc Dimittis." The circumstances of the origin of this canticle are most touching. Simeon was a devout man. He had waited and longed for the consolation of Israel. While in the temple it was his privilege to take the young Child in his arms. While he beheld the Christ-child, realizing that it was the long-hoped-for consolation of Israel, the pent-up emotions of his soul were poured forth in the words of that song which is found in our services and is particularly expressive of the feeling of the true Christian after receiving the body and the blood of Christ in the sacrament of the altar. Its origin and first use, the singer holding the Christ-child in his arms as he sang, should be kept in the view of the worshiper, who, as he joins with others in the singing of this New Testament canticle will have personal experience of the joy and benediction which were the lot of Simeon, its author, who sang his personal experience of salvation.

THE NUNC DIMITTIS

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace: according to Thy Word;

For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation: which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

A light to lighten the Gentiles: and the glory of Thy people Israel.

What wonderful hymns these are which, coming from the very scenes and times of the Nativity, have passed down through the ages! Their beauty and their sweetness have not been diminished, while their use has constantly been on the increase.

As at the first, giving expression to the emotions of the human heart, the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Nunc Dimittis, are sung today just as they came from the lips of the inspired singers. The song of the angels has been caught up by the saints of the Church, and with its lofty theme as the nucleus, there has been developed a noble song, a song which links angels with the common brotherhood of believers in proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men."

There is no doubt that these songs were sung in the apostolic and early Christian Church. They are sung today in all sections of the Church which would emphasize the scriptural and evangelical in Christian worship. It is an evidence of both the true apostolicity and catholicity of Christians for them to love and to use these New Testament songs, which are so closely associated with the birth of Jesus the Saviour.

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WELL KNOWN CHRISTMAS HYMNS

F the various elements of Christmas pleasure, none is more pure, real or uplifting than the privilege of singing the old, familiar Christmas hymns which old and young alike love and which make us, once again, all children. There are great volumes of the hymns of Christmas. Some of them are unworthy of their place, but many of them are singing the old story and the true faith into many joyful hearts as "the happy Christmas comes once more."

This singing for Christmas is an old custom which has heavenly example as its pattern and inspiration, for does not Montgomery tell us in a hymn which we delight to sing

"Angels from the realms of glory,

Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story,

Now proclaim Messiah's birth."

It was this fact which gave Nahum Tate his inspiration and moved him to write in 1703, the wonderful story of that night on Bethlehem's plains in a hymn which has sent thousands singing joyfully to the Manger Cradle. Who is not familiar with the words which helped to win for him from King William III the title of poet laureate? We refer to that splendid Christmas hymn

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