What though in Bethlehem's quiet vale
The Saviour child is born;
We will not turn away in pride,

We will not look with scorn

Upon his birth-place and his guise so lowly,
For here is laid the Wonderful, the Holy.

To yonder simple shepherds came
The sweet angelic lay;

Favoured of heaven, they heard with joy,

And now thay haste away

To see this wondrous sight-the world's Creator
A humble babe arrayed in human nature?

And join we, too, with heavenward soul,
The blessed angel throng;

'Tis ours with one accord to sing

Their glad, triumphal song

'Glory to God!—the barrier hath been riven; Peace and good-will on earth to men are given!"

REV. J. S. BROAD.

THE NATIVITY.

OR Thou wert born of woman!

come,

Thou didst

O Holiest ! to this world of sin and gloom,

Not in thy dread omnipotent array;

And not by thunders strewed

Was thy tempestuous road;

Nor indignation burnt before thee on thy way;

But thee, a soft and naked child,

Thy mother undefiled,

In the rude manger laid to rest

From off her virgin breast.

The heavens were not commanded to prepare

A gorgeous canopy of golden air;

Nor stooped their lamps th' enthronéd fire on high:
A single silent star

Came wandering from afar,

Gliding uncheck'd and calm along the liquid sky;

The Eastern Sages leading on,

As at a kingly throne,

To lay their gold and odours sweet
Before thy infant feet.

The Earth and Ocean were not hushed to hear
Bright harmony from every starry sphere;
Nor at thy presence brake the voice of song
From all the cherub choirs

And seraphs' burning lyres,

Poured through the host of heaven the charmed clouds

And when thou didst depart, no car of flame
To bear thee hence in lambent radiance came;

Nor visible angels mourned with drooping plumes:
Nor didst thou mount on high

From fatal Calvary,

With all thine own redeemed out-bursting from their tombs.

For thou didst bear away from earth

But one of human birth,

The dying felon by thy side, to be

In Paradise with thee.

Nor o'er thy cross did clouds of vengeance break;
A little while the conscious earth did shake
At that foul deed by her fierce children done;
A few dim hours of day

The world in darkness lay;

Then bask'd in bright repose beneath the cloudless sun;

While thou didst sleep within the tomb,
Consenting to thy doom,

Ere yet the white-robed angel shone
Upon the sealed stone.

And when thou didst arise, thou didst not stand
With Devastation in thy red right hand,
Plaguing the guilty city's murderous crew;
But thou didst haste to meet

Thy mother's coming feet,

And bear the words of peace unto the faithful few; Then calmly, slowly didst thou rise

Into thy native skies,

Thy human form dissolved on high

In its own radiancy.

OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR.

XAIL to the Lord's Anointed,

Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,

His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes with succour speedy

To those that suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,

And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light;
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in his sight.

MILMAN.

By such He shall be feared,
While sun and moon endure,
Beloved, obeyed, revered;
For He shall judge the poor,
Through changing generations,
With justice, mercy, truth,
While stars maintain their stations,
Or moons renew their youth.

He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth,

And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in his path to birth,
Before Him on the mountains
Shall Peace the herald go,
And righteousness in fountains
From hill to valley flow.

Arabia's desert ranger

To Him shall bow the knee;

The Ethiopian stranger

His glory come to see.

With offerings of devotion

Ships from the isles shall meet,

To pour the wealth of ocean

In tribute at His feet.

Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all nations sing:
For He shall have dominion

O'er river, sea, and shore;
Far as the eagle's pinion,

Or dove's light wing can soar.

For Him shall prayers unceasing,
And daily vows ascend;

His kingdom still increasing,

A kingdom without end:
The heavenly dews shall nourish
A seed in weakness sown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish,
And shake like Lebanon.

O'er every foe victorious,

He on his throne shall rest; From age to age more glorious, All-blessing and all-blest. The tide of time shall never

His covenant remove;

His name shall stand for ever;

That name to us is-Love.

MONTGOMERY,

OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR.

HE mourner, speechless and amazed, On that mysterious stranger gazed: If young he were, 'twas only seen From lines that told what once had been ;As if the withering hand of Time Had smote him ere he reached his prime. The bright rose on his cheek was faded, His pale fair brow with sadness shaded; Yet through the settled sorrow there A conscious grandeur flashed—which told, Unswayed by man, and uncontrolled, Himself had deigned their lot to share, And borne-because he willed to bear. Whate'er his being or his birth, His soul had never stooped to earth; Nor mingled with the meaner race, Who shared or swayed his dwelling-place; * The widow of Nain,-Luke vii. 11.