Come, rich and poor; come, all mankind,
And bathe those feet in tears.

Come, fall before his cross,

Who shed for us his blood;

Who died the victim of pure love,

To make us sons of God.

Jesu, all praise to Thee,

Our joy and endless rest:

Be thou our guide while pilgrims here,

Our crown amid the blest.

Quinquagesima.

E. Caswall.

HOLY CROWN OF THORNS OF OUR LORD.

Exite, Sion filiæ.

Go forth, ye Sion's daughters, now,
A monarch's bashful train,

To see the crown on Jesus' brow-
Your mother wrought that pain.
His hair is plucked; the piercing thorns
Red with his blood appear;

The deathly pallor of his face

Shows that the end is near.

What barren tract produced those thorns
Bristling with bush and brier?
What ruthless hand hath gathered in
So stern a crop and dire?

Each thorn now steeped in Jesus' blood,

Becomes a blooming rose,

Bears sweeter fruit than any palm,

His triumph better shows.

O Christ, the thorns which wound thy brow
Were sown in our great sin ;

Pluck from our hearts our guilty thorns,
And plant thine own thorns in.

Strength, honour, praise and glory be
To Father and to Son
And to the Spirit Paraclete,
While endless ages run.

Rebus creatis nil egens.

W. Wallace.

Thou didst not need creation's aid,
All blest thyself within,

When coming from thy secret shade
Creation to begin.

The morning stars together sing,

The sons of God rejoice,

For earth and skies to being spring
At thy creating voice.

But while so fair to outward view
Arose the earth and skies,

A fairer world thy will foreknew
Hereafter to arise.

Its maker, Christ our Lord and God;
Its frame, his truth and grace;
And far as foot of man hath trod,
It finds a resting place.
But soon, its earthly travail o'er,
'Twill hear his loving call,
And rise to dwell for evermore
With him, the Lord of all.
Thy new creation, Lord, direct,
Till raised above secure;
O Father, from its foes protect;
Oh, cleanse it, Spirit pure.

Legis figuris pingitur.

R. Campbell.

Christ's peerless crown is pictured in

The figures of the law

The ram entangled in the thorns;

The bush which Moses saw;

The rainbow girding round the ark;
The table's crown of gold;

The incense that in waving wreaths
Around the altar rolled.

Hail, circlet dear, that didst the pangs
Of dying Jesus feel;

Thou dost the brightest gems outshine,
And all the stars excel.

Praise, honour, to the Father be,
And sole-begotten Son;

Praise to the Spirit Paraclete,

While endless ages run.

E. Caswall.

E

Lent.

PART I.-SUNDAYS IN LENT.

First Sunday in Lent.

Audi, benigne Conditor.

O GRACIOUS Lord, Creator dear,
In mercy lend a pitying ear
Unto the mournful prayer we pour
In this our solemn Lenten hour.

Thou who our secret thoughts canst trace
And knowst the frailty of our race—
Like wandering sheep we went astray-
Oh, take us back, we meekly pray.

Black is our guilt and great our shame;
But for the glory of thy name,
Forgive the wickedness we own,

And heal the wounds for which we groan.

Grant us by holy abstinence

To mortify each carnal sense;

That so our souls, from sin set free,
May rise all-holy unto thee.

Blest Three in One, with grief sincere,

Before thy footstool we appear;
Oh, bless our fast, that it may prove

The source of pardon, peace and love.

Ex more docti mystico.

R. Campbell.

Now with the slow-revolving year,
Again the fast we greet,

Which in its mystic circle moves
Of forty days complete ;

That fast, by law and prophets taught,
By Jesus Christ restored-
Jesus, of seasons and of times

The maker and the Lord.
Henceforth, more sparing let us be
Of food, of words, of sleep;
Henceforth, beneath a stricter guard
The roving senses keep.

And let us shun whatever things
Distract the careless heart;
And let us shut our souls against
The tyrant tempter's art;

And weep before the judge, and strive

His vengeance to appease ; Saying to him with contrite voice,

Upon our bended knees:

'Much have we sinned, O Lord, and still

We sin each day we live ; Yet look in pity from on high, And of thy grace forgive.

Remember that we still are thine,

Though of a fallen frame;
And take not from us in thy wrath
The glory of thy name.

Undo past evil; grant us, Lord,

More grace to do aright ; So may we now and ever find Acceptance in thy sight.'

Blest Trinity in Unity,

Vouchsafe us, in thy love,

To gather from these fasts below

Immortal fruit above.

E. Caswall.