6 Light on thy hills, Jerusalem!
The Saviour now is born;

And bright on Bethlehem's joyous plains
Breaks the first Christmas morn.

C. M.

228.

PATRICK.

Nativity of Christ.

1 WHILE shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground,

The angel of the Lord came down,

And glory shone around.

2 "Fear not," said he,

for mighty dread

Had seized their troubled mind, "Glad tidings of great joy I bring To you and all mankind.

3"To you, in David's town, this day
Is born, of David's line,

The Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:

4 "The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,

All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid."

5 Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song:

6 "All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace!

Good-will henceforth, from Heaven to men,
Begin and never cease!"

H. M.

229.

The Song of Angels.

SALISBURY COL.

1 HARK! what celestial sounds,
What music fills the air!
Soft warbling to the morn,
It strikes the ravished ear:

Now all is still;

Now wild it floats,

In tuneful notes,

Loud, sweet, and shrill.

2 The angelic hosts descend,
With harmony divine:

See how from heaven they bend,
And in full chorus join:

"Fear not," say they;

“Great joy we bring:

Jesus, your King,
Is born to-day."

3 He comes your souls to save
From death's eternal gloom;
To realms of bliss and light
He lifts you from the tomb :

Your voices raise,
With sons of light;

Your songs unite
Of endless praise.

4 Glory to God on high!

Ye mortals, spread the sound,
And let your raptures fly

To earth's remotest bound;

For peace on earth, To man is given,
From God in heaven, At Jesus' birth.

7s. M.

230.

Christmas.

M. W. HALE.

1 WHEN in silence, o'er the deep,
Darkness kept its deathlike sleep,
Soon as God his mandate spoke,
Light in wondrous beauty broke.

2 But a beam of holier light
Gilded Bethlehem's lonely night,
When the glory of the Lord,
Mercy's sunlight, shone abroad.

3" Peace on earth, good-will to men,"
Burst the glorious anthem then;
Angels, bending from above,
Joined that strain of holy love.

4 Floating o'er the waves of time
Comes to us that song sublime,
Bearing to the pilgrim's ear
Words to soothe, sustain, and cheer.

5 For creation's blessed light,
Praise to thee, thou God of night!
Seraph-strains thy name should bless
For the Sun of Righteousness.

11 & 10s. M.

231.

HEBER.

The Infant Jesus.

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?

1 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.

C. M.

232.

SPIRIT OF THE PSALMS.

The Guiding Star.

1 BRIGHT was the guiding star, that led,
With mild, benignant ray,
The Gentiles to the lowly bed
Where our Redeemer lay.

2 But, lo! a brighter, clearer light
Now points to his abode;

It shines through sin and sorrow's night,
To guide us to our Lord.

3 O haste to follow where it leads;
The gracious call obey,

Be rugged wilds, or flowery meads,
The Christian's destined way.

4 O gladly tread the narrow path,
While light and grace are given;
Who meekly follow Christ on earth
Shall reign with him in heaven.

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 eyeballs of the blind
To pour celestial day.

4 He comes, the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of his grace
To 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.

C. M.

234.

CHRISTIAN PSALMIST.

A Light to lighten the Gentiles.

1 THE race that long in darkness pined
Have seen a glorious light;

The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death's surrounding night.

2 To hail thy rise, thou better Sun,
The gathering nations come,
Joyous, as when the reapers bear
The harvest treasures home.

3 To us a child of hope is born,
To us a Son is given ;

Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him, all the hosts of heaven.