That ever mortals knew,
Or angels ever bore:
All are too mean to speak his worth,
Too mean to set the Saviour forth.
2 Great Prophet of our God,
Our tongues shall bless thy name;
By thee the joyful news
Of our salvation came,-
The joyful news of sins forgiven,
Of hell subdued and peace with heaven.
3 Jesus, our great High Priest,
Has shed his blood and died:-
Our guilty conscience needs
No sacrifice beside:
His precious blood did once atone,
And now it pleads before the throne.
4 O thou almighty Lord,
Our Conqueror, and our King;
Thy sceptre and thy sword,
Thy reigning grace we sing:
Thine is the power-oh make us sit
In willing bonds beneath thy feet.
Peace and Hope through Christ's Intercession.
HE lives-the great Redeemer lives!—
What joy the blest assurance gives!
And now, before his Father God,
He pleads the merit of his blood."
2 Repeated crimes awake our fears,
And justice armed with frowns appears;
But in the Saviour's lovely face,
Sweet mercy smiles-and all is peace!
3 Great Advocate, almighty Friend!
On thee our humble hopes depend;
Our cause can never, never fail,
For thou dost plead, and must prevail.
Christ's Exaltation and Intercession.
JESUS, hail! enthroned in glory,
There forever to abide;
All the heavenly host adore thee,
Seated at thy Father's side.
2 There for sinners thou art pleadingThere thou dost our place prepare; Thou for us art interceding,
Till in glory we appear.
3 Worship, honor, power, and blessing,
Thou art worthy to receive:
Loudest praises, without ceasing,
Meet it is for us to give.
4 Help, ye bright, angelic spirits!
Bring your loudest, noblest lays;
Help to sing our Saviour's merits,
Help to chant Immanuel's praise.
JESUS, and didst thou condescend,
When vailed in human clay,
To heal the sick, the lame, the blind,
And drive disease away?
2 Didst thou regard the beggar's cry,
And give the blind to see?-
Jesus, thou Son of David, hear-
Have mercy, too, on me!
3 And didst thou pity mortal wo,
And sight and health restore ?-
Oh pity, Lord, and save my soul,
Which needs thy mercy more!
4 Didst thou thy trembling servant raise,
When sinking in the wave?-
I perish, Lord!-oh, save my soul!
For thou alone canst save.
"HAVE mercy, Lord-have mercy, Lord,"
The eager blind man cried:
The Saviour spoke the healing word-
The prayer was not denied.
2 The weary one in strength arose ;
The deaf was made to hear:
The Saviour bade the winds repose,
And wiped the widow's tear.
3 He wept in silence by the grave,
Then called the dead by name;
His arm had strength enough to save-
The dead arose and came.
4 Beyond these scenes of mortal wo
The Saviour rose to dwell:
But still he sees the tears that flow,
The hearts with grief that swell.
5 Dear Saviour, still thy changeless love
The contrite soul can heal;
Then shine upon us from above,
And all thy love reveal.
Christ a Pattern for his Followers.
JESUS! thou, in the form of God,
Didst equal honor claim;
Yet, to redeem our guilty souls,
Didst stoop to death and shame!
2 Oh! may that mind in us be formed,
Which shone so bright in thee;
An humble, meek, and lowly mind,
From pride and envy free!
3 To others we would stoop, and learn
To emulate thy love;
So shall we bear thine image here,
And share thy throne above.
MAKE us, by thy transforming grace, Dear Saviour, daily more like thee! Thy fair example may we trace,
To teach us what we ought to be!
2 Oh, how benevolent, and kind!
How mild!-how ready to forgive! Be this the temper of our mind, And these the rules by which we live. 3 To do his heavenly Father's will Was his employment and delight; Humility and holy zeal
Shone through his life divinely bright.
4 But ah! how blind!-how weak we are!
How frail!-how apt to turn aside!
Lord, we depend upon thy care,
And ask thy Spirit for our guide.
Death of Christ on the Cross.
BEHOLD the Saviour of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that him inclined
To bleed-and die--for me!
2 "My God," he cries-all nature shakes,
And earth's strong pillars bend!
The temple's vail in sunder breaks-
The solid marbles rend!
3 ""Tis finished-now the ransom's paidReceive my soul," he cries;
Behold he bows his sacred head-
He bows his head-and dies!
4 But soon he'll break death's envious chain, And in full glory shine:
O Lamb of God—was ever pain,
Was ever love like thine!
HARK! the voice of love and mercy
Sounds aloud from Calvary!
See! it rends the rocks asunder-
Shakes the earth-and vails the sky!
"It is finished!"-
Hear the dying Saviour cry!
2 "It is finished!"-oh, what pleasure
Do these charming words afford!
Heavenly blessings, without measure,
Flow to us through Christ the Lord!
"It is finished!"
Saints, the dying words record!
8 Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs; Join to sing the pleasing theme:
|