HAIL to the Lord's Anointed!
Great David's greater Son;
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.
2 He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth:
Before Him on the mountains
Shall peace the herald go;
And righteousness in fountains
From hill to valley flow.
3 Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing;
For He shall have dominion
O'er river, sea, and shore,
Far as the eagle's pinion,
Or dove's light wing can soar.
4 For Him shall prayer unceasing, And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.
The mountain-dews shall nourish
A seed in weakness shown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish,
And shake like Lebanon.
5 O'er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blest :
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand for ever;
That name to us is-Love.
Earth Renewed.
GOD of mercy, God of grace,
Show the brightness of Thy face;
Shine upon us, Saviour, shine,
Fill Thy church with light divine;
And Thy saving health extend
Unto earth's remotest end.
2 Let the people praise Thee, Lord,
Earth shall then her fruits afford;
God to man His blessing give,
Man to God devoted live;
All below and all above,
One in joy and light and love.
Strangers and Pilgrims."
1 "WE'VE no abiding city here,"
Sad truth, were this to be our home; But let the thought our spirits cheer, "We seek a city yet to come." 2 "We've no abiding city here,"
Then let us live as pilgrims do;
Let not the world our rest appear,
But let us haste from all below.
3 "We've no abiding city here,"
We seek a city out of sight,
Zion its name,-the Lord is there,
It shines with everlasting light.
4 0! sweet abode of peace and love,
Where pilgrims freed from toil are blest!
Had I the pinions of the dove,
I'd fly to thee, and be at rest.
5 But hush, my soul, nor dare repine! The time my God appoints is best: While here, to do His will be mine; And His to fix my time of rest. 269. The Issues of Life and Death.
WHERE shall rest be found,
Rest for the weary soul?
'Twere vain the ocean depths to sound, Or pierce to either pole:
2 The world can never give
The bliss for which we sigh;
'Tis not the whole of life, to live,-
Nor all of death, to die.
3 Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years;
And all that life is love.
4 There is a death, whose pangs
Outlast the fleeting breath;
O what a weight of horror hangs
Around the "second death!"
5 Lord God of truth and grace!
Teach us that death to shun,
Lest we be banished from Thy face,
And evermore undone.
6 Here would we end our quest:
Alone are found in Thee
The life of perfect love,-the rest
Of immortality.
270. The Christian's Evening.
BEHOLD the western evening light,
It melts in deeper gloom!
So calm the righteous sink away,
Descending to the tomb.
2 The winds breathe low, the yellow leaf
Scarce whispers from the tree!
So gently flows the parting breath,
When good men cease to be.
3 How beautiful on all the hills
The crimson light is shed!
'Tis like the peace the dying gives
To mourners round his bed.
4 How mildly on the wandering cloud
The sunset beam is cast!
So sweet the memory left behind,
When loved ones breathe their last.
5 And lo! above the dews of night
The vesper star appears!
So faith lights up the mourner's heart,
Whose eyes are dim with tears.
6 Night falls, but soon the morning light
Its glories shall restore;
And thus the eyes that sleep in death Shall wake, to close no more. 271. The Departure of Friends.
FRIEND after friend departs;
Who hath not lost a friend?
There is no union here of hearts,
That finds not here an end:
Were this frail world our only rest,
Living or dying, none were blest.
2 Beyond the flight of time,
Beyond this vale of death,
There surely is some blessed clime
Where life is not a breath,
Nor life's affections transient fire,
Whose sparks fly upwards to expire.
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