2 Equal with God most High, He laid His glory by;

He, the eternal God, was born,

Man with men He deigned to appear, Object of His creature's scorn,

Pleased a servant's form to wear. 3 Fruit of a Virgin's womb,

The promised Child is come; Christ, the patriarch's hope of old, Christ, the woman's conquering Seed, Christ, the Saviour, long foretold, Born to bruise the serpent's head. 4 Jesus, to Thee I bow;

The Almighty's Fellow Thou, Thou, the Father's only Son;

Pleased He ever is in Thee;

Just and holy Thou alone,
Full of grace and truth for me.

124

And many shall rejoice at His birth.
Luke i.

] WELCOME, Christmas, welcome here,
Happiest season of the year:
Fires are blazing thee to greet,
Families together meet:
Brothers, sisters, circle round,
Loud is gladness' festive sound;
For old England loves to see
All her children welcome thee.

2 Welcome, Christmas, for thy voice
Calls upon us to rejoice
Not with foolish, idle mirth,
Born and perishing on earth;
Far be such ungrateful thought:
Ours are blessings dearly bought,
Dearly bought, but freely given
By the Lord of earth and heaven.
3 Fix we then on Christ our eye;
May we feel the Saviour nigh:
May we meet around the board,
All rejoicing in the Lord:
Be the Babe of Bethlehem near;
May His love the season cheer,
And each gladdened heart and tongue
Join the angels' Christmas song.

Blessed is He that considereth the poor

125 and needy. Ps. xli.
1 BLEST the man whose pitying eye
Looks on want and misery:
In his hour of need the Lord
Shall his heart with aid reward:
Him will He with blessing tend;
Him will He from foes defend.

2 On his bed of languishing

God to him will comfort bring:
To the Lord I made my prayer,
Spare my soul; in mercy spare:
Heal my soul, and pardon me;
I confess my sin to Thee.

3 Praise we Him whose pity gave
His own Son our world to save:
Praise we Him who for us died,
Jesus Christ the crucified:
Praise we God the Holy Ghost,
Strength of heaven's angelic host.

126

Blessed are the merciful. Matt. v.

1 BLEST is the man whose tender heart
Can feel another's pain;

To whom the supplicating voice
Was never raised in vain.

2 He spreads his kind, supporting arm
To every child of grief;
His secret bounty largely flows,
And brings desired relief.

3 To gentle offices of love
His feet are never slow;

He views, with mercy's melting eye
A brother in a foe.

4 Peace, saith the Saviour, from his God, My peace to him I give;

And when he kneels before the throne,
His praying soul shall live.

5 To him protection shall be shown,
And mercy from above
Descend on all who thus fulfil

The perfect law of love.

6 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, &c.

Raise to heaven our expectation,

Give our favoured souls to prove Glorious and complete salvation In the realms of bliss above.

128

Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke vi.

1 WHEN, like a stranger on our sphere, The lowly Jesus wandered here, Where'er He went affliction fled,

And sickness reared its fainting head. 2 The eyeball closed in dreary night Beheld His face, for God is light; The opening ear, the loosened tongue, His precepts heard, His praises sung. 3 Through paths of loving-kindness led, Where Jesus triumphed, may we tread, And wide, with willing hands, dispense The gifts of our benevolence.

4 Hark, the sweet voice of pity calls Misfortune to yon hallowed walls, The eye with sickly languor dim,

The wasted frame, the wounded limb.

50 Thou dread Power, whose soverain breath

Is health or sickness, life or death,
That house of mercy deign to bless;
The cause is Thine: O grant success.

129 See ye love one another. 1 Pet. i.
1 FATHER of mercies, send Thy grace
All-powerful from above,

To form in our obedient souls

The image of Thy love.

20 may our sympathising hearts
The tender pleasure know,
Freely to share in others' joy,
And weep for others' woe.

3 Where'er the helpless sons of want
In deep distress are laid,

Soft be our hearts their pain to feel,
And swift our hands to aid.

4 As Jesus lived and died for us

With pity kind and true,

We, whom the Saviour thus hath loved,
Should love each other too.

5 To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, &c.

130 He hath given to the poor. Ps. cxii, 1 LORD, let us learn Thy yoke to wear, Delighting in Thy perfect will, Each other's burdens learn to bear, And thus Thy law of love fulfil.

He that hath pity on the poor

Lendeth his substance to the Lord;
And lo, his recompense is sure,

For more than this shall be restored.
2 Teach us, with glad ungrudging heart,
As Thou hast blest our various store,
From our abundance to impart

An ample portion to the poor.
To Thee our all devoted be,

In whom we breathe, and move, and live:
Freely we have received of Thee;
Freely may we rejoice to give.

131

How pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity. Ps. cxxxiii.

1 'Tis a pleasant thing to see
Brethren in the Lord agree,
Children of a God of love
Live as they shall live above,
Acting each a Christian part,
One in life and hope and heart.
2 As the precious ointment, shed
Upon Aaron's hallowed head,
Downward through his garments stole,
Spreading odour o'er the whole,
So from our High-priest above
To His Church flows heavenly love.
3 Gently as the dews distil
Down on Zion's holy hill,
Dropping gladness where they fall,
Brightening and refreshing all,
Such is Christian union, shed
Through the members from the Head.
4 Where divine affection lives,
There the Lord His blessing gives;
There His will on earth is done,
There His heaven is half begun;
Lord, our great example prove,
Teach us all like Thee to love.

3 We can, O Jesus, for Thy sake,
Devote each hour to Thee;
Speak but the word, our souls shall wake
To cheerful melody:

Thy praise shall our glad tongues employ, And every heart shall dance for joy. 4 Stand in the midst of us, O King,

And make our joys run o'er;
Let us exult, give thanks, and sing

Of Thee for evermore,
Incarnate, crucified, adored,
Our dying Lamb, our reigning Lord.

Psalm xxxix. 4. Lord, make me to

133 know mine end, &c.

1 LORD, let me know mine end,

Teach me the measure of my days:
The life on earth I spend,

How soon its little light decays.
A cipher are my times with Thee,
For man is nought but vanity.

2 Man is a shade, no more;

He is disquieted in vain;
He heaps his wealthy store,

And knows not whose shall be the gain. What trust I then?-Thy gracious Word. Release me from my sins, O Lord.

3 Lest fools deride, I stand

Silent and calm beneath Thy blow:
Yet hold Thy smiting hand:

For, when Thou chastenest sin with woe,
Our joyless life is worn away,
And men, as by the moth, decay.

4 Lord, hearken to my prayer,

Give ear unto my weeping cry;
Even as my fathers were,

A pilgrim in the world am I.
Then frown no more, but cheer and bless
My parting from this wilderness.

134 Psalm xlix. 5. Wherefore should I

fear, &c.

1 WHY should we fear the evil hour,

When ruthless foes in ambush lie, Who revel in their pride of power, And on their hoarded wealth rely? A brother's ransom who can pay,

Or alter God's eternal doom? [prey, What hand shall wrest from death his Its banquet from the rotting tomb? 2 So frail a hope, such fruitless cost, The rich must lay for ever by; And weak, he sees, is wisdom's boast; The learned with the simple die.

Dread not the rich man's growing sway

Will grandeur shun the stroke of doom? He dies, and takes no wealth away;

No ray of glory lights his tomb. 3 Weak man, thy vaunted store enjoy; Use, while they last, thy prosperous days;

Be pleasure's chase thy sole employ,

Thy chief delight the flatterer's praise:
The hour of darkness comes, when thou
Amidst thy sleeping sires shalt lie;
Man's foolish pride to fate must bow,
Man, like the brute, must droop and die.
Psalm cii. 28. He weakened my
strength in the way, &c.

135

1 I TROD the path of life, my strength
Still weakened by His stern command,
My days still shortened, till at length,
'My God,' I said, 'refrain Thy hand.'
I said: O take me not away

Ere half my fleeting days are o'er.'
But Thou-Thy years will not decay
For ever and for evermore.

2 By Thee of old arose the earth;

Its deep foundations Thou hast laid: From Thee the heavens derived their birth,

Thy skill their mighty fabric made.
They wane, they perish; Thou at rest
Abidest, ever, underanged:

They fade like raiment: as a vest

Thou changest them, and they are changed:

3 But Thou, the unchanging, Thou art He Whose years run on their endless race: Thy servants' sons shall dwell with Thee,

Their seed shall stand before Thy face. One God supreme, the Father, Son, &c.

136 Psalm ciii. Praise the Lord, O my

soul, &c.

1 My soul, repeat His praise,

Whose mercies are so great; Whose anger is so slow to rise, So ready to abate.

High as the heavens are raised Above the ground we tread, So far the riches of His grace Our highest thoughts exceed. 2 The pity of the Lord

To those that fear His name Is such as tender parents feel: He knows our feeble frame;

1 THE life of man is like the grass;

His blooming days, as field-flowers, pass:
The north wind blows; their pride is o'er;
The place that knew them knows no more.
But still the Lord from age to age
Sustains His holy heritage:

His happy saints behold His grace,
His truth their children's latest race,
Who keep His righteous judgments still,
And live obedient to His will.

2 The Lord in heaven hath set His throne;
He rules o'er all, supreme, alone.
O ye His angels, praise the Lord,
Ye warriors strong, who do His word:
All ye who listen to His voice,
And in His glorious works rejoice.
Praise ye the Lord, His hosts of light,
Who serve Him in the heavenly height:
Praise ye the Lord, where'er ye roll,
Bright wanderers. Praise the Lord, my

soul.

1 WHILE, with ceaseless course, the sun

Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here:
Fixed in an eternal state,

They have done with all below;

We a little longer wait,

But how little, none can know.

2 As the wingèd arrow flies

Speedily the mark to find,
As the lightning from the skies

Darts, and leaves no trace behind;
Thus our swiftly fleeting days

Bear us down life's rapid stream. Heavenward, Lord, our spirits raise; Earthly things are but a dream.

We laud and bless Thy holy Name. 3 We bless Thee for each happy soul, Throughout another fleeting year Or by Thy quickening grace made whole, Or parted in Thy faith and fear.

4 Still bear with us, and bless us still, And, while in this dark world we stay, O let us love Thy sacred will,

O let us keep Thy narrow way.

5 So, when the rolling stream of time Hath opened to a boundless sea, Loud will we raise that song sublime, 'All power and glory be to Thee.'

140

The time is at hand. Rev. i.

1 ANOTHER year is gone: renew,

Lord, with our days Thy love:
Our days are evil here and few:

We look to live above.

We will not grieve though year by year
Earth's fading pleasures disappear:

Our joy abides in Thee,
Our joy abides in Thee.

2 Yet when our sins we call to mind,
We cannot fail to grieve;
But Thou art pitiful and kind,
And wilt our prayer receive.
O Jesus, evermore the same,
Our trust is in Thy saving Name:
Our hope abides in Thee,
Our hope abides in Thee.
3 For all the future, Lord, prepare

Our souls with strength divine;
Help us to cast on Thee our care,
And make us wholly Thine.

Life without Thee is dark and drear;
Death is not death if Thou art near:
Our life abides in Thee,
Our life abides in Thee.

141

It is time to seek the Lord. Hos. x. 1 SING we, brethren, faithful-hearted, Lift the solemn voice again "O'er another year departed

Of our threescore years and ten. We have cause for deepest sadness

In ourselves with sin defiled: We have cause for holiest gladness In our Father reconciled.

2 In the dust we bend before Thee, Lord of sinless hosts above, Yet in lowly joy adore Thee,

God of mercy, grace, and love. Let Thy favour and Thy blessing Crown the year we now begin: Let us all, Thy strength possessing, Grow in grace, and vanquish sin. 3 And when danger shall betide us,

Be Thy warning whisper heard: Keep us at Thy feet, and guide us

By Thy Spirit and Thy Word. Storms are round us, hearts are quailing, Signs in heaven and earth and sea; But, when heaven and earth are failing, Saviour, we will trust in Thee.

142

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, His Name was called Jesus. Luke ii.

1 THE ancient Law departs,

And all its terrors cease;

For Jesus makes with faithful hearts

A covenant of peace.

2 The Light of light divine,

True brightness undefiled,

He bears for us the shame of sin,
A holy spotless Child.

3 His infant body now

Begins our pain to feel;

Those precious drops of blood that flow

For death the victim seal.

4 To-day the Name is Thine,
At which we bend the knee;
They call Thee Jesus, Child divine;
Our Jesus deign to be.

5 All praise, eternal Son,
For Thy redeeming love,
With Father, Spirit, ever one,

In glorious might above. Amen.

143

Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.
Heb. x.

10 SACRED day, when first was poured
The blood of our redeeming Lord,
O solemn day, when first began
His sufferings for sinful man!

2 Just entered on this world of woe,
His blood already learned to flow;
His future death was thus expressed,
Thus, too, His early love confessed.
3 From heaven descending, to fulfil
The mandates of His Father's will,
E'en now behold the Victim lie,
The Lamb of God prepared to die.

4 Beneath the knife behold the Child,
The innocent, the undefiled:
For captives He the ransom pays,
For lawless man the law obeys.

5 The Law is slain by that same sword
By which it claims to strike the Lord:
A holier law henceforth prevails,
The law of love, that never fails.

6 Lord, circumcise our hearts, we pray,
Our fleshly natures purge away;
Thy Name, Thy likeness, may we bear;
O stamp Thy holy image there.

144 Every man child shall be circumcised.

Gen. xvii.

1 ART thou a child of tears,

Cradled in care and woe?
And seems it hard thy vernal years
Few vernal joys can show?

2 And fall the sounds of mirth

Sad on thy lonely heart,

From all the hopes and charms of earth Untimely called to part?

3 Look here, and hold Thy peace:
The Giver of all good

E'en from the womb takes no release
From suffering, tears, and blood.
4 If thou wouldst reap in love,
First sow in holy fear:

So life a winter's morn may prove
To a bright endless year.

5 We, with the heavenly host,
Praise, honour, and adore
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God for evermore.