With banners wide-display'd, all arm'd,
All ardent for the foe!

5 This is the church by heaven array'd,
With strength and grace divine;
Thus shall she strike her foes with dread,
And thus her glories shine.

404. L. M. Steele.

The Presence of Christ the Joy of his People, 1 THE wondering nations have beheld The sacred prophecy fulfill'd,

And angels hail'd the glorious morn, That shew'd the great Messiah born; 2 The Prince! the Saviour! long desir'd, Whom men foretold, by heaven inspir'd And raptur'd saw the blissful day Rise o'er the world with healing ray. 3 Oft, in the temples of his grace, His saints behold his smiling face; And oft have seen his glory shine, With power and majesty divine. 4 But soon, alas! his absence mourn, And pray and wish his kind return: Without his life-inspiring light, 'Tis all a scene of gloomy night. 5 Come, dearest Lord, thy children cry, Our graces droop, our comforts die; Return, and let thy glories rise

Again to our admiring eyes;

6 Till till'd with light, and joy, and love,
Thy courts below, like those above,
Triumphan hallelujahs raise,

And heaven and earth resound thy praise.
405. C. M. Dr. Doddridge.

Asking the Way to Sion, Jer. 1. 5.

1 ENQUIRE, ye pilgrims, for the way,
That leads to Sion's hill,-

૨૧૩

And thither set your steady face,
With a determin'd will.
Invite the strangers all around
Your pious march to join;
And spread the sentiments you feel
Of faith and love divine.
3 O come, and to his temple haste,
And seek his favor there;
Before his footstool humbly bow
And pour your fervent prayer!

4 O come, and join your souls to God
In everlasting bands

Accept the blessings he bestows,
With thankful hearts and hands.

Isa. lvi.

406. 148th. Dr. Doddridge.

At the forming a Church,

7. Matt. xxi. 13. & Eph. ii. 13. 19.

1 GREAT Father of mankind,
We bless that wondrous grace,
Which could for Gentiles find
Within thy courts a place:
How kind the care

Our God displays,
For us to raise

A house of prayer!

2 Tho' once estranged far,
We now approach the throne;
For Jesus brings us near,
And makes our cause his own,
Strangers no more,

To thee we come,

And find our home,

And rest secure.

3 To thee our souls we join, And love thy sacred name; No more our own, but thine, e triumph in thy claim

Our Father King,
Thy covenant grace
Our souls embrace,
Thy titles sing.

Here in thy house we feast.
On dainties all divine;

And, while such sweets we taste,
With joy our faces shine:

Incense shall rise
From flames of love,
And God approve
The sacrifice.

5 May all the nations throng
To worship in thy house;
And thou attend the song,
And smile upon their vows;
Indulgent still,

Till earth conspire
To join the choir
On Zion's hill.

The Institution of a Gospel Ministry from
Christ, Eph. iv. 8, 11, 12.

1 FATHER of mercies, in thy house
Smile on our homage, and our vows;
While with a grateful heart we share
These pledges of our Saviour's care. ·
2 The Saviour, when to heaven he rose
In splendid triumph o'er his foes,
Scatter'd his gifts on men below,
And wide his royal bounties flow.
Hence sprung the apostles honor'd name,
Sacred beyond heroic fame;

In lowlier forms to bless our eyes,
Pastors from hence, and teachers rise.
From Christ their varied gifts derive,
And fed by Christ their graces live:

While, guarded by his potent hand, 'Mast all the rage of hell they stand. 6 So shall the bright succession run Thro' the last courses of the sun;

While unborn churches by their care Shall rise and flourish large and fair. 6 Jesus our Lord, their hearts shall know, The spring whence all these blessings flow Pastors and people shout his praise Thro' the long round of endless days.

408. L. M.

On sending a Member into the Work of the Min stry*-Isaiah's Obedience to the heavenly Vision, Isaiah vi. 8.

1 OUR God ascends his lofty throne,
Array 'd in majesty unknown;
His lustre all the temple fills,
And spreads o'er all th' ethereal hills.
2 The holy, holy, holy, Lord,
By all the seraphim ador'd,

And, while they stand beneath his seat,
They veil their faces, and their feet.
3 Lord, how can sinful lips proclaim
The honours of so great a name?
O for thine altar's glowing coal
To touch his lips, to fire his soul!
Then, if a messenger thou ask
A labourer for the hardest task,
Thro' all his weakness and his fear

Love shall reply, "Thy servant's here." 5 Nor let his willing soul complain, Tho' every effort seem in vain; It ample recompence shall be,

But to have wrought, O God, for thee.

* If sung on any other occasion, “ his," it the three last verses, may be exchanged for

my,"

409.

L.M. Dr. Doddridge.

Seeking Direction in the Choice of a Pastor,
SHEPHERD of Israel, bend thine ear,
Thy servants' groans indulgent hear;
Perplex'd, distress'd, to thee we cry,
And seek the guidance of thine eye
Send forth, O Lord, thy truth and light,
To guide our doubtful footsteps right:
Our drooping hearts, O God, sustain,
Nor let us seek thy face in vain.
3 Return, in ways of peace, return,
Nor let thy flock neglected mourn;
May our blest eyes a shepherd see,
Dear to our souls, and dear to thee!
410. C. M. Dr. Doddridge.
Watching for Souls. An Ordination Hŷma,
Heb. xiii. 17.

1 LET Sion's watchmen all awake
And take the alarm they give;
Now let them, from the mouth of God,
Their awful charge receive.

2 'Tis not a cause of small import,
The pastor's care demands;

But what might fill an angel's heart,
And fill'd a Saviour's hands.
3-They watch for souls, for which the Lord
Did heavenly bliss forego;

For souls, which must forever live,
In raptures, or in woe.

4 All to the great tribunal haste,

Th' account to render there;

And shouldst thou strictly mark our faults,
Lord, where should we appear!

5 May they, that Jesus whom they preach, Their own Redeemer see,

And watch thou daily o'er their souls
That they may watch for thee