A commemoration of the success of David, or of a Christian King; applicable also to the Church as celebrating the triumphs of our ascended Prince and Saviour.---2 Sam. vii.--Luke i. 32, 33.---Acts v. 31.
1 THE king, O Lord, with songs of praise,
Shall in thy strength delight;
With thy salvation crown'd, shall raise
Thanks for thy saving might.
2 For thou, whate'er his lips request,
Dost graciously impart,
And hast with thy acceptance blest
The wishes of his heart.
3 Thou hast his temples circled round
With diadem secure;
And made his lengthen'd days abound,
Yea, ever to endure.
4 For ever, then, on God alone
Let him for aid rely;
The Highest shall support his throne,
And every want supply.
5 Thus, Lord, thy wonted strength declare,
Thy matchless power proclaim;
Then shall we songs of praise prepare
For thy almighty name.
1 HOW great is the Messiah's joy
In the salvation of thy hand!
Lord, thou hast rais'd his kingdom high,
And given the world to his command.
2 Thy goodness grants whate'er he will,
Nor doth the least request withhold;
Blessings of love prevent him still,
And crowns of glory, not of gold.
3 Honour and majesty divine
Around his sacred temples shine,
Blest with the favour of thy face,
And length of everlasting days.
The sufferings of Christ.---Matt. xxvii. 42-46.---xxvi. 39.---
Heb. v. 7.
1 "MY God, my God, why me forsake?
Why deaf when I complain?"
Thus did our Lord with anguish cry,
Yet seem'd to cry in vain.
2 Behold him treated like a worm,
Like none of human birth;
Scorn'd as an outcast, and revil'd
With words of spiteful mirth.
3 The fathers on thy strength rely'd,
And thy deliv'rance found;
And when they put their trust in thee
Thou didst them not confound.
4 Messiah was thy early care
Throughout his infant days;
Thou ever wast his God and guide
In life's bewilder'd ways.
5 Thou didst support him in the hour
When trouble was so nigh;
O never from his saints withdraw,
For they on thee rely.
The death of Christ, and the extension of his Gospel---Matt. xxvii. 35, 36.---John xix. 23-37.
6 OUR Saviour's blood like water flow'd;
For us he suffer'd scorn;
For us his sacred hands and feet
With cruel nails were torn.
7 As spoil his garments they divide,
Lots for his vesture cast;
But God, his God, his strength and ours,
Did to his succour haste.
8 Now to his brethren he declares
God's ever glorious name;
O let us fear and praise the Lord,
And all his grace proclaim.
9 The meek companions of his grief
Shall find his table spread;
And all that seek the Lord shall be
With joys immortal fed.
10 Earth's utmost race shall turn to God,
Shall worship and obey;
A chosen seed, a spotless race
Shall joyful homage pay.
The Lord our shepherd, and guide for evermore.---John x. 1.
1 MY shepherd is the living Lord-
Then nothing shall I need;
In pastures fair, near pleasant streams,
He leads me forth to feed.
2 He shall convert and glad my soul,
And bring my mind in frame,
To walk in paths of righteousness,
For his most holy name.
3 Yea, though I tread the vale of death,
Yet will I fear no ill;
Thy rod and staff they comfort me,
For thou art with me still.
4 Goodness and mercy all my days
Will be displayed to me,
And in thy house for evermore
My dwelling-place shall be.
1 THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care.
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye.
My noonday walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.
2 When on the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant;
To fertile vales and dewy meads
My weary wandering steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.
3 Though in the paths of death I tread
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My stedfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.
The Levites, bringing the ark of God to Mount Sion, (1 Chron. xv.) describe the sovereignty of Jehovah, and the character of his people, in terms applicable to the christian church.
1 LORD of the world Jehovah reigns,
Of earth, and all that it contains;
For he its deep foundations cast,
And on the billows fix'd it fast.
2 Who may his holy hill ascend?
Who in Jehovah's courts attend?.
Whose hands are clean, whose heart is pure, Whose purpose just, whose promise sure. 3 This man the blessing shall receive, The blessing which the Lord shall give: Salvation from his God shall flow, And righteousness his hand bestow..
4 Such is the race, who seek to dwell With thee, O God of Israel.
In thine abode they seek thy face,
They wait and find the promis'd grace.
The song of the Levites, on the admission of the ark within the tabernacle, applicable to our Lord's ascension.
5 YE gates and everlasting doors
Lift up your heads on high;
Then shall the King of glorious state
Come in triumphantly.
6 Who is the King of glorious state?
The great and mighty Lord-
The mighty Lord in battle strong
And trial of the sword.
7 Ye gates and everlasting doors
Lift up your heads on high;
Then shall the King of glorious state
Come in triumphantly.
8 Who is the King of glorious state?
The Lord of Hosts it is;—
The kingdom and the royalty
Of glorious state are his.
1 REJOICE, ye shining worlds on high,
Behold the King of glory nigh!
Who can this King of glory be?
The mighty Lord, the Saviour, HE.
2 Ye heavenly gates, your leaves display,
To make the Lord, the Saviour, way:
Laden with spoils from earth and hell,
The Conqueror comes with God to dwell.
3 Rais'd from the dead, he goes before,
He opens heaven's eternal door,
To give his saints a blest abode,
Near their Redeemer and their God.
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