2 On him, in rich effusion poured,
My Spirit shall descend;

My truths and judgments he shall show
To earth's remotest end.

3 Gentle and still shall be his voice;
No threats from him proceed;
The smoking flax he shall not quench,
Nor break the bruised reed.

4 The feeble spark to flames he'll raise;
The weak will not despise;

Judgment he shall bring forth to truth,
And make the fallen rise.

5 The progress of his zeal and power
Shall never know decline;

Till foreign lands and distant isles
Receive the law divine.

191

L. M.

The Messiah predicted.

WATTS.

1 THE lands that long in darkness lay
Now have beheld a heavenly light;
Nations that sat in death's cold shade
Are blessed with beams divinely bright.

2 The virgin's promised Son is born:

Behold the expected Child appear! What shall his names or titles be? "The Wonderful, the Counsellor." 3 The government of earth and seas Upon his shoulders shall be laid; His wide dominions shall increase, And honors to his name be paid.

4 Jesus, the holy Child, shall sit

High on his father David's throne, Shall crush his foes beneath his feet, And reign to ages yet unknown.

192

C. M.

SCOTCH PARAPHRASES.

The Sufferings of Christ foreshown. Is. liii.

1 THE Savior comes! no outward pomp
Bespeaks his presence nigh;

No earthly beauty shines in him,
To draw the carnal eye.

2 Fair as a beauteous, tender flower
Amidst the desert grows,

So, slighted and despised by man,
The heavenly Savior rose.

3 Rejected and despised of men,
Behold a man of woe!

Grief was his close companion still
Through all his life below.

4 Wronged and oppressed, how meekly he
In patient silence stood!

Mute as the peaceful, harmless lamb,
When brought to shed its blood.

5 'Midst sinners low in dust he lay;
The rich a grave supplied;
Unspotted was his blameless life;
Unstained by sin he died.

6 He with the great shall share the spoil,
And baffle all his foes;

Though, ranked with sinners, here he fell,
A conqueror he rose.

193

L. M.

DODDRIDGE.

The Riches of pardoning Grace. Is. xliv. 22, 23.
1 LET heaven burst forth into a song;
Let earth reflect the joyful sound;
Ye mountains, with the echo ring,
And shout, ye forests, all around.
2 The Lord his Israel hath redeemed,
Hath made his mourning people glad,
And the rich glories of his name

In their salvation hath displayed.

3 Unnumbered sins, like sable clouds,
Veiled every cheerful ray of joy,
And thunders murmured through the gloom,
While lightnings pointed to destroy.

4 He spoke, and all the clouds dispersed,
And heaven unveiled its shining face;
The whole creation smiled anew,
Decked in the golden beams of grace.

194

11s M.

DRUMMOND.

Prepare ye the Way of the Lord.

1 A VOICE from the desert comes awful and shrill, The Lord is advancing! prepare ye the way! The word of Jehovah he comes to fulfil,

And o'er the dark world pour the splendor of day

2 Bring down the proud mountain, though towering to heaven,

And be the low valley exalted on high;

The rough path and crooked be made smooth and

even,

For, Zion! your King, your Redeemer is nigh.

3 The beams of salvation his progress illume;

The lone, dreary wilderness sings of her Lord; The rose and the myrtle there suddenly bloom, And the olive of peace spreads its branches abroad.

195

7s M.

BOWRING

For Advent or Christmas.

First Voice.

1 WATCHMAN! tell us of the night, What its signs of promise are.

Second Voice.

Traveller! o'er yon mountain's height
See that glory-beaming star!

First Voice.

Watchman! does its beauteous ray
Aught of hope or joy foretell?

Second Voice.

Traveller! yes; it brings the day,
Promised day of Israel!

First Voice.

Watchman!

Second Voice. Yes, it brings, &c.
Traveller!

First Voice.

2 Watchman! tell us of the night; Higher yet that star ascends.

Second Voice.

Traveller! blessedness and light,
Peace and truth, its course portends.

First Voice.

Watchman! will its beams alone
Gild the spot that gave them birth?

Second Voice.

Traveller! ages are its own:

See! it bursts o'er all the earth.

First Voice.

Watchman!

Second Voice.
Traveller!

Ages are its own, &c.

159

First Voice.

3 Watchman! tell us of the night, For the morning seems to dawn.

Second Voice.

Traveller darkness takes its flight;
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.

First Voice.

Watchman! let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.

Second Voice.

Traveller! lo, the Prince of Peace,
Lo, the Son of God, is come!

First Voice.

Watchman!

Second Voice. Lo, the Prince of Peace, &c.

Traveller!

196

C. M.

Christ's Message.

DODDRIDGE.

1 HARK! the glad sound! the Savior comes ! The Savior 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, the prisoners to release,
In Satan's bondage held;

The gates of brass before him burst,
The iron fetters yield.

4 He comes, from thickest films of vice
To clear the mental ray,

And on the eyeballs of the blind
To pour celestial day.