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Upon Thy pardoned people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.

5 Praise we the Lord with choral hymn, &c.

47

The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness. Isa. xl.

1 VOICE of mercy! voice of terror!
'Christ is near,' it seems to say:
'Burst the clouds of sin and error,
O ye children of the day.'
2 Startled by the solemn warning

Let the earth-bound soul arise:
Christ our Sun awakes the morning,
Radiant in the eastern skies.

3 Lo, the long-expected morrow

Brings the Lamb of God from heaven:
Let us haste with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiven.

4 So, when next He comes in splendour,
Thrilling all the earth with fear,
May we hail Him our Defender,

And His joyful sentence hear: 5'Come ye, of My Father blessed,

Come, and reap your rich reward:
Ye, whose faith My Name confessed,
Reign for ever with your Lord.'

48

In those days came John the Baptist.
Matt. iii.

1 Lo, from the desert homes,
Where he hath sojourned long,
The new Elias comes,

In sternest wisdom strong;
The voice that cries
Of Christ from high,
And judgment nigh
From opening skies.

2 Your God e'en now doth stand
At heaven's unfolding door;
His fan is in His hand,
And He will purge His floor;
The wheat He claims,

And with Him stows;
The chaff He throws
To deathless flames.

Ye haughty mountains, bow
Your sky-aspiring heads;
Ye valleys, hiding low,
Lift up your gentle meads;
The way make plain
Your King before;
For evermore

He comes to reign.

49

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare my way before Me. Mal. iii.

1 WHEN Christ the Lord would come on earth,

His messenger before Him went,
The greatest born of mortal birth,

And charged with words of deep intent.

2 The least of all that here attend
Hath honour greater far than he:
He was the Bridegroom's joyful friend,
His body and His spouse are we;
3 A higher race, the sons of light,
Of water and the Spirit born;
He the last star of parting night,

And we the children of the morn. 4 And as he boldly spake Thy Word,

And joyed to hear the Bridegroom's voice,

Thus may Thy pastors teach, O Lord,

And thus Thy listening Church rejoice. 5 One God unseen, the Father, Son, &c.

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2 Within Thy temple when they stand
To teach the truth as taught by Thee,
Saviour, like stars in Thy right hand
Let all Thy Church's pastors be.

3 Wisdom and zeal and love impart,
Firmness and meekness, from above,
To bear Thy people on their heart,

And love the souls whom Thou dost love. 4 To watch and pray, and never faint, By day and night their guard to keep, To warn the sinner, cheer the saint,

To feed Thy lambs, and tend Thy
sheep.

5 So, when their work is finished here,
May they in hope their charge resign:
So, when their Master shall appear,
May they with crowns of glory shine.

51 Who bring glad tidings. Rom.x.

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52

Be God the Father, Son, &c.

Return ye, and get ye unto your tents.
Josh. xxii.

10 ISRAEL, to thy tents repair,
Nor sleep on hostile ground;
Thy Lord commands thee to beware,
For foes thy camp surround.
Hark, 'tis the trumpet's martial strain:
Now gird thee for the fight;
Arise, the combat to maintain,
And guard thy perilled right.

3 Awake, arise, and grasp the spear
Be vigilant, be brave:

The coward and the sluggard wear
The fetters of the slave.

4 A crown of glory waits for thee,
A rest within the skies;

From such a hope shall Israel flee,
And yield the lofty prize?

5 No; let the careless world repose
Throughout life's fleeting day,
While Israel to the battle goes,
And bears the palm away.

6 Give glory to the Three in One, &c.

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4 Teach us so to watch, Lord Jesus; From the sleep of sin release us:

Swift to hear Thee let us be,
Meet to enter in with Thee.

5 God who with all good provides us,
God who made, who saved, who guides us,
Praise we with the heavenly host,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

54

Psalm lxxv. Unto Thee, O God, do we give thanks, &c.

1 WE praise Thee, yea, O God, we praise: Thy Name is ever near: Thy miracles of ancient days

We tell, that men may fear.

2 'A day of righteous doom is nigh,'

Saith God, when earth shall fade
With all that dwell therein; yet I—
Its pillars I have weighed.

3 Oft to the scornful have I cried,
Refrain your bitter scorn:
Oft to the sons of impious pride,
Uplift ye not your horn.'

4 God judgeth by His soverain Word,
And one He setteth up,

And one He casteth down: the Lord
Hath in His hand a cup:

5 With wine and mingled drink it foams; He pours it out on high:

The wicked of the earth He dooms
To drain it utterly.

6 Give glory to the Three in One, &c.

55

Psalm lxxxii. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, &c.

1 YE judges of the earth, be still, While God declares His righteous will: 'How long in your unequal scale Shall justice lose, and wrong prevail? 2 Let law the orphan's claim secure: List to the friendless and the poor: Protect the weak, assert their right, And save them from the oppressor's spite. 3 Alas, ye neither know nor mark; Reckless ye wander in the dark, While earth the dire confusion feels, And on its deep foundation reels.

4 Rise, high-throned God, to vengeance rise; Redeem the wronged, the proud chastise; Rule every realm by right divine:

For all the realms of earth are Thine.

5 Praise we the Lord with choral hymn, &c.

56

Psalm xcvi. O sing unto the Lord a new
song, &c.

1 SING a new song unto the Lord
Sing to the Lord, O earth;
His Name, alone to be adored,
Exalt with holy mirth.
His wonders publish day by day,
Of His salvation boast;
To heathen lands His fame display,
His might from coast to coast.
2 High is the Lord, all gods above
A glorious God declared:
Their idols vain let heathens love;
Our Lord the heavens prepared.
Bright majesty before His face
And stately beauty shine,

And power and splendour hold their place
Amidst His sacred shrine.

3 Great glory to the Lord ascribe,

His mighty Name revere,

And in His courts, each earthly tribe,
With sacrifice appear.

Give glory to the Three in One, &c.

PART II.

4 Adore the Lord with humble dread

Within His holy place:

Draw near,

and bow the trembling head
Before His awful face.
Say to the realms, 'Be not aghast;

The Lord is throned above:'
Say, 'He hath set the earth so fast

That it shall never move.'

5 He comes, our righteous Judge and King:
Let heaven and earth rejoice;
Let all the wealth of ocean sing
With full resounding voice:
Let every verdant meadow shout,
And all its flowery pride;
The giant forest-trees tell out
Their gladness far and wide.

6. For lo, He comes, the faithful Lord,
Earth's sorrows to redress,

And judge the nations with His Word
Of truth and righteousness.
Give glory to the Three in One, &c.

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The Lord reveals His saving might
Before the startled heathen's sight:
His faithfulness shines forth in cloudless
light.

2 To Israel's house His truth is shown;
His love remembered to His own;
Our God's salvation utmost lands have known.
Shout to the Lord, and utter forth

A glorious voice, ye realms of earth; Break out in song, rejoice with holy mirth. 3 Come with the merry harp, and sing;

Bring forth the trump, the clarion bring, And make glad music to the Lord the King. Roar, many-voiced mighty sea, This world, with all its tenantry: Let streams clap hands, and mountains blend their glee.

4 For lo, the Lord! He comes to bless The earth, its sorrows to redress,

And judge its realms with truth and right

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59

God shall bring every work into judgment. Eccl. xii.

THOU Judge of quick and dead,

Before whose bar severe,

With holy joy, or guilty dread,

We all must soon appear;
2 Our ransomed souls prepare
For that most awful day,
Incline our hearts to watchful care,

And teach us how to pray;

3 To pray, and wait the hour,

That dreadful hour unknown,
When, robed in majesty and power,

Thou shalt from heaven come down.

4 O may we all be found

Obedient to Thy word,

Still watching for the trumpet's sound,
And looking for our Lord.

5 Be God, the Father, Son, &c.

60 We must all appear before the judgment

seat of Christ. 2 Cor. v.

1 HE came in weakness, comes in power,
His glory yet hath its full hour,
When in the blue meridian

The sun shall fade, grow cold and wan;
When brighter, keener lightnings play,
And blaze into the Judgment-day,
O King of Glory, thus again

Art Thou to come, the Judge of men. 2 Work in us now to seek thy grace,

That then we shrink not from Thy face; Look on us now, that then we bless Thy voice of truth and holiness. From earthly passion, earthly aim, From every secret thing of shame, Cleanse us, till on this darksome road Our hearts give back the light of God. 3 Be ours on earth, that we may know Our refuge in that hour of woe, And cling to Thee, whose mercies quell The banded powers of death and hell. So may we stand upon Thy right Among the ransomed sons of light, And with the angel host adore Our God and Saviour evermore.

61

And five of them were wise, and five were
foolish. Matt. xxv.

1 ERE that solemn hour of doom,
When the Son of Man shall come,
Bidding quick and bidding dead
Rise to meet their risen Head,
Church of Jesus, hear the word
Of thine own eternal Lord.

2 Virgins ten, with joyous feet,
Forth the Bridegroom went to meet:
Wise with heavenly wisdom, five
Kept with oil their lamps alive;
Five, with earth-born folly dim,
Scorned with oil their lamps to trim.
3 While the Bridegroom yet delayed,
Slumber bowed each virgin head;
Sudden rose the midnight cry,
'Lo, the Bridegroom draweth nigh.'
Rose the startled virgin train,
Trimmed their dying lamps again.

4 Vainly now for oil ye cry,
Foolish virgins, hence, and buy.
Haste the five, but now the door
Closes on them evermore,
And a voice, that stuns each heart,
Cries, 'I know you not, depart.'
5 Church of Jesus, rise and pray;
Dark that hour, and nigh that day.
Woe, ye hypocrites, to you!
Trim, ye saints, your lamps anew;
For the Bridegroom watch and wait:
Jesus Christ is at the gate.

62

The Son of Man shall come in the glory of
His Father, with His angels. Matt. xvi.

1 PRAISE the Lord; praise our King,
Christ, who doth salvation bring.
All on earth and all in heaven

Shall His gracious Name confess:
All into His hands are given;

And our prayer and praise He waits to
bless.

Praise the Lord; praise our King.

2 Praise the Lord; praise our King;
Zion, thy Redeemer sing.
He the Word who formed creation,

Took our flesh for us to die;
Him let every tribe and nation

With united praises glorify.
Praise the Lord; praise our King.
3 Praise the Lord; praise our King:
To His sure protection cling.

C

Soon again our King descending

Men shall range before His throne, Doom his foes to death unending,

And to endless glory call His own. Praise the Lord; praise our King.

63

The glorious appearing of the great God,. and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Tit. ii.

1 THE Lord shall come; the earth shall quake,

The hills their ancient seat forsake,
And, withering from the vault of night,
The stars withdraw their feeble light.

2 The Lord shall come, but not the same
As once in lowly shape He came,
A silent lamb before his foes,
A weary man, and full of woes.

3 The Lord shall come, a dreadful form,
With wreath of flame and robe of storm,
On cherub plumes and wings of wind,
Appointed Judge of all mankind.

4 Can this be He, who wont to stray
A pilgrim on the world's highway,
By power opprest, and mocked by pride,
The Nazarene,-the Crucified?

5 While sinners in despair shall call,
'Rocks, hide us; mountains, on us fall,'
The righteous, rising from the tomb,
Shall sing with joy, 'The Lord is come.'

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old,

He took our nature poor and low;
He wore no form of angel mould,

But shared our weakness and our woe. 2 But when He cometh back once more, Then shall be set the great white throne;

And earth and heaven shall flee before
The face of Him who sits thereon.

3 O Son of God, in glory crowned,

The Judge ordained of quick and dead;

O Son of Man, so pitying found

For all the tears Thy people shed: 4 Be with us in that awful hour,

And by Thy crown, and by Thy grave,
By all Thy love, and all Thy power,
In that great day of Judgment save.

65 Behold, He cometh with clouds. Rev.i.

1 Lo, He comes in clouds descending,
Once for ransomed sinners slain :
All the angel hosts attending
Swell the triumph of His train.
Hallelujah!

Jesus comes on earth to reign.

2 Every eye shall now behold Him
In His dreadful majesty:

Those who set at nought and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree
Deeply wailing,

Shall the true Messiah see.

3 Lo, the Saviour long expected,

Robed in splendour, takes His seat:
All His saints, by man rejected,
Rise their risen Lord to meet,
And His Advent

With their loud hosannas greet.
4 Yea, amen! let all adore Thee
On Thine everlasting throne:
Saviour, take Thy power and glory,
Make Thy righteous judgments known:
Hallelujah!

66

Claim the kingdoms for thine own.

He shall sit upon the throne of His glory.
Matt. xxv.

1 ONCE He came, how meek and lowly,
Kind, and full of love for men;

Soon, our Judge, unerring, holy,
Will He come to earth again.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ, our eyes shall see Thee then.

2 Be the terrors and the blessing
Of that day before us now,
Every thankful heart impressing,
Moulding every thoughtful brow.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ, our hope in death art Thou.
3 Thankful that, in form and feeling
One of us, to earth He came;
Thoughtful, for He died revealing
All our danger, all our shame.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
Christ, our trust is in Thy Name.
4 If the Saviour here have known us
Faithful to His Word and Way,
He, the Almighty Judge, will own us
In the last and dreadful day.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,
Christ, our hope, our trust, our stay!

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