Make bare thy potent arm,
And wing th' unerring dart,
With salutary pangs,
To each rebellious heart:
Then dying souls for life shall sue, Numerous as drops of morning dew.
BEHOLD the morning sun
Begins his glorious way;
His beams through all the nations run,
And life and light convey.
But where the gospel comes
It spreads diviner light,
It calls dead sinners from their tombs,
And gives the blind their sight.
How perfect is thy word!
And all thy judgments just!
For ever sure thy promise, Lord,
And men securely trust.
My gracious God, how plain
Are thy directions giv'n!
I never read in vain,
But find the path to heav'n.
Warn me of ev'ry sin;
Forgive my secret faults:
And cleanse this guilty soul of mine, Whose crimes exceed my thoughts.
While with my heart and tongue
I spread thy praise abroad;
Accept the worship and the song,
My Saviour and my God!
BLESS'D morning, whose young dawning rays
Beheld our rising God;
That saw him triumph o'er the dust,
And leave his last abode !
In the cold prison of a tomb
The dear Redeemer lay,
'Till the revolving skies had brought
The third, th' appointed day.
Hell and the grave unite their force
To hold our God in vain;
The sleeping conqueror arose,
And burst their feeble chain.
To thy great name, Almighty Lord,
These sacred hours we pay,
And loud hosannas shall proclaim
The triumph of the day.
Salvation and immortal praise
To our victorious King;
Let heav'n, and earth, and rocks, and seas,
With glad hosannas ring.
CHRIST the Lord is ris'n to-day,
Sons of men and angels say!
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Sing, ye heav'ns, and earth reply.
Love's redeeming work is done,
Fought the fight, the battle won;
Lo! our sun's eclipse is o'er;
Lo! he sets in blood no more.
Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Christ hath burst the gates of hell: Death in vain forbids his rise, Christ hath open'd Paradise.
Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Once he dy'd, our souls to save:
Where thy victory, O grave?
Soar we now where Christ hath led,
Following our exalted Head;
Made like him, like him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies.
Hail the Lord of earth and heav'n!
Praise to thee by both be giv'n!
Thee we greet triumphant now,
Hail the resurrection, thou!
King of glory! Soul of bliss!
Everlasting life is this:
Thee to know, thy pow'r to prove,
Thee to sing, and thee to love.
82. The Resurrection of Christ.
HE dies! the friend of sinners dies!
Lo! Salem's daughters weep around;
A solemn darkness veils the skies;
A sudden trembling shakes the ground.
Come, saints, and drop a tear or two
For him who groan'd beneath your load;
He shed a thousand drops for you,
A thousand drops of richer blood.
Here's love and grief beyond degree;
The Lord of Glory dies for men!
But lo! what sudden joys I see!
Jesus the dead revives again.
The rising God forsakes the tomb,
Up to his Father's court he flies;
Cherubic legions guard him home,
And shout him welcome to the skies.
Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell How high your great Deliv'rer reigns; Sing how he spoil'd the hosts of hell,
And led the monster death in chains.
Say, Live for ever, wondrous King!
Born to redeem, and strong to save!'
Then ask the monster, Where's his sting?
And where's thy vict'ry, boasting grave?"
83. The Ascension of Christ.
HOSANNA to the Prince of Light,
That cloth'd himself in clay,
Enter'd the iron gates of death,
And tore the bars away.
Death is no more the king of dread,
Since our Immanuel rose;
He took the tyrant's sting away,
And spoil'd our hellish foes.
See how the Conqu❜ror mounts aloft,
And to his Father flies,
With scars of honour in his flesh,
And triumph in his eyes.
There our exalted Saviour reigns,
And scatters blessings down;
Our Jesus fills the blissful seat
Of the celestial throne.
Raise your devotion, mortal tongues,
To reach his bless'd abode;
Sweet be the accents of your songs
To our incarnate God.
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