Hymns for Christian Devotion

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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Doubt and terror are withdrawn.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 God, 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 God 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 God 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 God!" 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!
The Saviour now is born!
And bright on Bethlehem's joyous plains
Breaks the first Christmas morn.

203. S. M. E. H. Chapin.

The Same.

1 Hark! hark! with harps of gold,
What anthem do they sing?--
The radiant clouds have backward rolled,
And angels smite the string.
"Glory to God!"--bright wings
Spread glist'ning and afar,
And on the hallowed rapture rings
From circling star to star.

2 "Glory to God!" repeat
The glad earth and the sea;
And every wind and billow fleet,
Bears on the jubilee.
Where Hebrew bard hath sung,
Or Hebrew seer hath trod,
Each holy spot has found a tongue;
"Let glory be to God."

3 Soft swells the music now
Along that shining choir,
And every seraph bends his brow
And breathes above his lyre.
What words of heavenly birth
Thrill deep our hearts again,
And fall like dew-drops to the earth?
"Peace and good-will to men!"

4 Soft!--yet the soul is bound
With rapture, like a chain:
Earth, vocal, whispers them around,
And heav'n repeats the strain.
Sound, harps, and hail the morn
With ev'ry golden string;--
For unto us this day is born
A Saviour and a King!

204. S. H. M. T. H. Bayley.

The Same.

1 No loud avenging voice
Proclaimed Messiah's birth;
The Son of God came down to teach
Humility on earth,
And by his sufferings to efface
The errors of a sinful race.

2 Not on a purple throne,
With gold and jewels crowned,
But in the meanest dwelling place
The precious babe was found:
Yet star-directed sages came,
And kneeling, glorified his name.

3 To shepherds first was shown
The promised boon of heaven,
Who cried, "To us a child is born--
To us a Son is given!"
Death from his mighty throne was hurled,
Faith hailed Salvation to the world.

4 Lord! may thy holy cross
Bear peace from clime to clime,
Till all mankind at length are freed
From sorrow, shame and crime:
Dispel the unbeliever's gloom,
And end the terrors of the tomb!

205. L. M. Campbell.

The Same.

1 When Jordan hushed his waters still,
And silence slept on Zion's hill;
When Bethlehem's shepherds through the night
Watched o'er their flocks by starry light:

2 Hark! from the midnight hills around,
A voice of more than mortal sound,
In distant hallelujahs stole,
Wild murm'ring o'er the raptured soul.

3 "O Zion! lift thy raptured eye,
The long expected hour is nigh;
The joys of nature rise again,
The Prince of Salem comes to reign.

4 "He comes, to cheer the trembling heart,
Bids Satan and his host depart;
Again the day-star gilds the gloom,
Again the bowers of Eden bloom."

206. S. M. Watts.

The Same.

1 Behold, the grace appears,
The blessing promised long;
Angels announce the Saviour near,
In this triumphant song:--

2 "Glory to God on high
And heavenly peace on earth;
Good-will to men, to angels joy,
At the Redeemer's birth."

3 In worship so divine
Let men employ their tongues;
With the celestial host we join,
And loud repeat their songs:--

4 "Glory to God on high,
And heavenly peace on earth;
Good-will to men, to angels joy,
At our Redeemer's birth."

207. H. M. Salisbury Coll.

The Same.

1 Hark! what celestial notes,
What melody, we hear!
Soft on the morn it floats,
And fills the ravished ear.
The tuneful shell,
The golden lyre,
And vocal choir,
The concert swell.

2 Angelic hosts descend,
With harmony divine;
See, how from heaven they bend,
And in full chorus join!
"Fear not," say they;
Jesus, your King,
"Great joy we bring:
Is born to day."

3 "Glory to God on high!
Ye mortals, spread the sound,
And let your raptures fly
To earth's remotest bound!
For peace on earth,
From God in heaven,
To man is given,
At Jesus' birth."

208. 7s. M. Anonymous.

The Same.

1 Hail, all hail the joyful morn:
Tell it forth from earth to heaven,
That to us a child is born,
That to us a Son is given.

2 Angels, bending from the sky,
Chanted, at the wondrous birth,
"Glory be to God on high,
Peace--good-will to man on earth."

3 Join we then our feeble lays
To the chorus of the sky;
And, in songs of grateful praise,
Glory give to God on high.

209. 11s. & 10s. M. Heber.

Star of the East.

1 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East,--the horizon adorning,--
Guide where the infant Redeemer is laid.

2 Cold on his cradle the dew-drops are shining;
Low lies his head with the beasts of the stall;
Angels bend o'er him, in slumber reclining,--
Monarch, Redeemer, Restorer of all.

3 Say, shall we yield him in costly devotion,
Odors of Edom, and offerings divine?
Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean,
Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

4 Vainly we offer each ample oblation,
Vainly with gold would his favor secure;
Richer by far is the heart's adoration,
Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

5 Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid;
Star of the East,--the horizon adorning,--
Guide where the infant Redeemer is laid.

210. L. M. 6l. Moore.

Christ's Birth.

1 Arrayed in clouds of golden light,
More bright than heaven's effulgent bow,
Jehovah's angel came by night,
To bless the sleeping world below.
How soft the music of his tongue!
How sweet the hallowed strains he sung!

2 Good-will henceforth to man be given,
The light of glory beams on earth:
Let angels tune the harps of heaven,
And saints rejoice in Shiloh's birth;
In him all nations shall be blest,
And his shall be a glorious rest.

211. C. P. M. Miss Roscoe.

Christmas Hymn.

1 O, let your mingling voices rise,
In grateful rapture, to the skies,
And hail a Saviour's birth:
Let songs of joy the day proclaim,
When Jesus all-triumphant came
To bless the sons of earth.

2 He came to bid the weary rest,
To heal the sinner's wounded breast,
To bind the broken heart,
To spread the light of truth around,
And to the world's remotest bound
The heavenly gift impart.

3 He came our trembling souls to save
From sin, from sorrow, and the grave,
And chase our fears away;
Victorious over death and time,
To lead us to a happier clime,
Where reigns eternal day.

212. C. M. Doddridge.

The Mission of Christ.

1 Hark, the glad sound! the Saviour comes!
The Saviour promised long!
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song.

2 On him the Spirit largely poured,
Exerts its sacred fire;
Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,
His holy breast inspire.

3 He comes, from thickest films of vice
To clear the mental ray;
And on the eye-balls of the blind
To pour celestial day.

4 He comes, the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure;
And with the treasure of his grace
Enrich the humble poor.

5 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace!
Thy welcome shall proclaim;
And heaven's eternal arches ring
With thy beloved name.

213. C. M. Watts.

The Kingdom of Christ.

1 Joy to the world! the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing!

2 Joy to the earth! the Saviour reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

3 No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
As far as sin is found.

4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.

214. C. M. Watts.

John the Herald of Christ.

1 John was the prophet of the Lord
To go before his face;
The herald which the Prince of Peace
Sent to prepare his ways.

2 "Behold the Lamb of God," he cries,
"That takes our guilt away;
I saw the Spirit o'er his head,
On his baptizing day.

3 "Be every vale exalted high,
Sink every mountain low;
The proud must stoop, and humble souls
Shall his salvation know.

4 "Behold the Morning Star arise,
Ye that in darkness sit;
He marks the path that leads to peace,
And guides our doubtful feet."

215. C. M. Exeter Coll.

The Baptism of Jesus.

1 See, from on high, a light divine
On Jesus' head descend!
And hear the sacred voice from heaven
That bids us all attend.

2 "This is my well-beloved Son,"
Proclaimed the voice divine;
"Hear him," his heavenly Father said,
"For all his words are mine."

3 His mission thus confirmed from heaven,
The great Messiah came,
And heavenly wisdom showed to man
In God his Father's name.

4 The path of heavenly peace he showed
That leads to bliss on high;
Where all his faithful followers here
Shall live, no more to die.

216. S. M. Needham.

Christ the Light of the World.

1 Behold! the Prince of Peace,
The chosen of the Lord,
God's well-beloved Son, fulfils
The sure prophetic word.

2 No royal pomp adorns
This King of righteousness:
Meekness and patience, truth and love,
Compose his princely dress.

3 The spirit of the Lord,
In rich abundance shed,
On this great Prophet gently lights,
And rests upon his head.

4 Jesus, the light of men,
His doctrine life imparts;
O, may we feel its quickening power
To warm and glad our hearts.

5 Cheered by its beams, our souls
Shall run the heavenly way;
The path which Christ has marked and trod,
Will lead to endless day.

217. L. M. Bowring.

Jesus Preaching the Gospel.

1 How sweetly flowed the gospel's sound
From lips of gentleness and grace,
When listening thousands gathered round,
And joy and reverence filled the place!

2 From heaven he came--of heaven he spoke
To heaven he led his followers' way;
Dark clouds of gloomy night he broke,
Unveiling an immortal day.

3 "Come, wanderers, to my Father's home,
Come, all ye weary ones, and rest!"
Yes! sacred teacher,--we will come--
Obey thee, love thee, and be blest!

4 Decay, then, tenements of dust!
Pillars of earthly pride, decay!
A nobler mansion waits the just,
And Jesus has prepared the way.

218. L. M. Butcher.

Miracles of Christ.

1 On eyes that never saw the day
Christ pours the bright celestial ray;
And deafened ears, by him unbound,
Catch all the harmony of sound.

2 Lameness takes up its bed, and goes
Rejoicing in the strength that flows
Through every nerve; and, free from pain,
Pours forth to God the grateful strain.

3 The shattered mind his word restores,
And tunes afresh the mental powers;
The dead revive, to life return,
And bid affection cease to mourn.

4 Canst thou, my soul, these wonders trace,
And not admire Jehovah's grace?
Canst thou behold thy Prophet's power,
And not the God he served adore?

219. L. M. Russell.

"That ye through his poverty might be rich."

1 O'er the dark wave of Galilee
The gloom of twilight gathers fast,
And on the waters drearily
Descends the fitful evening blast.

2 The weary bird hath left the air,
And sunk into his sheltered nest;
The wandering beast has sought his lair,
And laid him down to welcome rest.

3 Still, near the lake, with weary tread,
Lingers a form of human kind;
And on his lone, unsheltered head,
Flows the chill night-damp of the wind.

4 Why seeks he not a home of rest?
Why seeks he not a pillowed bed?
Beasts have their dens, the bird its nest;
He hath not where to lay his head.

5 Such was the lot he freely chose,
To bless, to save the human race;
And through his poverty there flows
A rich, full stream of heavenly grace.

220. C. M. Mrs. Hemans.

"Peace! be still!"

1 Fear, was within the tossing bark,
When stormy winds grew loud,
And waves came rolling high and dark,
And the tall mast was bowed.

2 And men stood breathless in their dread,
And baffled in their skill--
But One was there, who rose and said
To the wild sea, "Be still!"

3 And the wind ceased; it ceased! that word
Passed through the gloomy sky,
The troubled billows knew their Lord,
And sank beneath his eye.

4 Thou that didst rule the angry hour,
And tame the tempest's mood--
Oh! send, thy Spirit forth in power
O'er our dark souls to brood!

5 Thou that didst bow the billows' pride,
Thy mandates to fulfil--
Speak, speak to passion's raging tide,
Speak and say--"Peace, be still!"

221. L. M. 6l. Barton.

The Pool of Bethesda.

1 Around Bethesda's healing wave
Waiting to hear the rustling wing,
Which spoke the angel nigh, who gave
Its virtue to that holy spring,
With patience, and with hope endued
Were seen the gathered multitude.

2 Had they who watched and waited there
Been conscious who was passing by,
With what unceasing anxious care
Would they have sought his pitying eye;
And craved with fervency of soul,
His Power Divine to make them whole!

3 Bethesda's pool has lost its power!
No angel, by his glad descent,
Dispenses that diviner dower
Which with its healing waters went.
But he, whose word surpassed its wave,
Is still omnipotent to save.

222. L. M. Heber.

The Holy Guest.

1 Messiah Lord! who, wont to dwell
In lowly shape and cottage cell,
Didst not refuse a guest to be
At Cana's poor festivity.

2 O when our soul from care is free,
Then, Saviour, would we think on thee;
And, seated at the festal board,
In fancy's eye behold the Lord.

3 Then may we seem, in fancy's ear,
Thy manna-dropping tongue to hear,
And think,--"if now his searching view
Each secret of our spirit knew!"

4 So may such joy, chastised and pure,
Beyond the bounds of earth endure;
Nor pleasure in the wounded mind
Shall leave a rankling sting behind.

223. C. M. Cowper.

"He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem."

1 The Saviour, what a noble flame,
Was kindled in his breast,
When hasting to Jerusalem,
He marched before the rest!

2 Good-will to men, and zeal for God,
His every thought engross;
He goes to be baptized with blood;
He goes to meet the cross.

3 With all his sufferings full in view,
And woes to us unknown,
Forth to the task his spirit flew;
'Twas love that urged him on.

4 And while his holy sorrows here
Engage our wondering eyes,
We learn our lighter cross to bear,
And hasten to the skies.

224. L. M. Milman.

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem.

1 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry!
Thy humble beast pursues his road,
With palms and scattered garments strowed.

2 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die!
O Christ, thy triumphs now begin,
O'er captive death and conquered sin.

3 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The winged squadrons of the sky
Look down with sad and wondering eyes,
To see the approaching sacrifice.

4 Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;
The Father on his glorious throne
Expects his own anointed Son!

225. C. M. Mrs. Barbauld.

Christ's New Command to his Disciples.

1 Behold where, breathing love divine,
Our dying Master stands!
His weeping followers, gathering round,
Receive his last commands.

2 "Blest is the man whose softening heart
Feels all another's pain;
To whom the supplicating eye
Was never raised in vain;

3 "Peace from the bosom of his God,
My peace to him I give;
And when he kneels before his throne,
His trembling soul shall live.

4 "To him protection shall be shown;
And mercy from above
Descend on those who thus fulfil
The perfect law of love."

226. C. H. M. Hemans.

The Agony in Gethsemane.

1 He knelt; the Saviour knelt and prayed,
When but his Father's eye
Looked, through the lonely garden's shade,
On that dread agony:
The Lord of high and heavenly birth
Was bowed with sorrow unto death.

2 He knew them all,--the doubt, the strife,
The faint perplexing dread;
The mists that hang o'er parting life
All darkened round his head;
And the Deliverer knelt to pray;
Yet passed it not, that cup, away.

3 It passed not, though the stormy wave
Had sunk beneath his tread;
It passed not, though to him the grave
Had yielded up its dead;
But there was sent him, from on high,
A gift of strength, for man to die.

4 And was his mortal hour beset
With anguish and dismay?
How may we meet our conflict yet
In the dark, narrow way?
How, but through him that path who trod?
"Save, or we perish, Son of God."

227. L. M. Montgomery.

Christ's Passion.

1 The morning dawns upon the place,
Where Jesus spent the night in prayer;
Through brightening glooms behold his face,
No form or comeliness is there.

2 Last eve by those he called his own,
Betrayed, forsaken or denied,
He met his enemies alone,
In all their malice, rage, and pride.

3 But hark! he prays;--'tis for his foes;
He speaks;--'tis comfort to his friends;
Answers;--and Paradise bestows;
"'Tis finished!"--here the conflict ends.

4 "Truly, this was the Son of God!"
--Though in a servant's mean disguise,
And bruised beneath the Father's rod,
Not for himself,--for man he dies.

228. L. M. W. B. Tappan.

Christ in Gethsemane.

1 'T is midnight; and on Olive's brow
The star is dimmed that lately shone;
'T is midnight; in the garden, now,
The suffering Saviour prays alone.

2 'T is midnight; and from all removed,
The Saviour wrestles lone, with fears;
E'en that disciple whom he loved
Heeds not his Master's grief and tears.

3 'T is midnight; and for others' guilt
The man of sorrows weeps in blood;
Yet he that hath in anguish knelt
Is not forsaken by his God.

4 'T is midnight; from celestial plains
Is borne the song that angels know;
Unheard by mortals are the strains
That sweetly soothe the Saviour's woe.

229. C. M. Haweis.

Agony in the Garden.

1 Dark was the night and cold the ground
On which the Lord was laid;
His sweat like drops of blood ran down;
In agony he prayed,--

2 "Father, remove this bitter cup,
If such thy sacred will;
If not, content to drink it up,
Thy pleasure I fulfil."

3 Go to the garden, sinner; see
Those precious drops that flow;
The heavy load he bore for thee;
For thee he lies so low.

4 Then learn of him the cross to bear;
Thy Father's will obey;
And, when temptations press thee near,
Awake to watch and pray.

230. 7s. M. 6l. Montgomery.

Christ our Example in Sufferings.

1 Go to dark Gethsemane,
Ye that feel temptation's power,
Your Redeemer's conflict see,
Watch with him one bitter hour.
Turn not from his griefs away,
Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

2 Follow to the judgment-hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned:
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame or loss;
Learn of him to bear the cross.

3 Calvary's mournful mountain climb;
There, admiring at his feet,
Mark that miracle of time,
God's own sacrifice complete:
"It is finished," hear him cry;
Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

4 Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid his breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom;
--Who has taken him away?
Christ is risen; he meets our eyes--
Saviour, teach us so to rise.

231. C. M. Christian Psalmist.

The Crucifixion of Christ.

1 Behold the Saviour on the cross,
A spectacle of woe!
See from his agonizing wounds
The blood incessant flow;

2 Till death's pale ensigns o'er his cheek
And trembling lips were spread;
Till light forsook his closing eyes,
And life his drooping head.

3 'Tis finished--the Messiah dies
For sins, but not his own;
The great redemption is complete,
And death is overthrown.

4 'Tis finished--ritual worship ends,
And Gospel ages run;
All old things now are past away,
A new world is begun.

232. L. M. Steele.

A Dying Saviour.

1 Stretched on the cross, the Saviour dies,
Hark! his expiring groans arise;
See, from his hands, his feet, his side,
Descends the sacred, crimson tide.

2 And didst thou bleed?--for sinners bleed?
And could the sun behold the deed?
No; he withdrew his cheering ray,
And darkness veiled the mourning day.

3 Can I survey this scene of woe,
Where mingling grief and mercy flow,
And yet my heart so hard remain,--
Unmoved by either love or pain!

4 Come, dearest Lord, thy grace impart,
To warm this cold, this stupid heart,
Till all its powers and passions move,
In melting grief and ardent love.

233. L. M. Stennett.

Christ Suffering on the Cross.

1 "'T is finished!"--so the Saviour cried,
And meekly bowed his head and died:
"'T is finished!"--yes, the race is run,
The battle fought, the victory won.

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