The Ascension.

Oh, voice of mercy, voice of love!
In conflict, grief, and agony,
Support me, cheer me from above,
And gently whisper-Come to me!

323

The Ascension.

REV. DEAN A. P. STANLEY, D.D.

H'

E is gone-beyond the skies,

A cloud receives Him from our eyes;

Gone beyond the highest height
Of mortal gaze or angel's flight;
Through the veils of time and space,
Pass'd into the holiest place;
All the toil, the sorrow done,
All the battle fought and won.

He is gone-and we return,
And our hearts within us burn;
Olivet no more shall greet,

With welcome shout, His coming feet;

Never shall we thank Him more

On Gennessareth's glist'ning shore,

Never in that look or voice

Shall Zion's walls again rejoice.

He is gone-and we remain
In this world of sin and pain,
In the void which He has left;
On this earth, of Him bereft ;
We have still His work to do,
We can still His path pursue,

Seek Him both in friend or foe,
In ourselves His image show.

He is gone-but we once more
Shall behold Him as before,

In the Heaven of Heavens, the same
As on earth He went and came ;
In the many mansions there,
Peace for us He will prepare;
In that world unseen, unknown,
He and we may yet be one.

He is gone-but not in vain;
Wait, until He comes again;
He is risen, He is not here,
Far above this earthly sphere;
Evermore in heart and mind
There our peace in Him we find,
To our own Eternal Friend,
Thitherward let us ascend.

Whitsunday.

JAMES MONTGOMERY.

LORD God, the Holy Ghost,

In this accepted hour,

As on the day of Pentecost,
Descend in all Thy power!
We meet with one accord
In our appointed place,
And wait the promise of our Lord,
The Spirit of all grace.

Whitsunday Hymn.

325

Like mighty rushing wind

Upon the waves beneath,

Move with one impulse every mind,
One soul, one feeling breathe:
The young, the old, inspire
With wisdom from above,

And give us hearts and tongues of fire
To pray, and praise, and love.

Spirit of Light, explore

And chase our gloom away,
With lustre shining more and more
Unto the perfect day!

Spirit of Truth, be Thou

In life and death our Guide!

Oh, Spirit of adoption, now
May we be sanctified!

WI

Whitsuntide Hymn.

REV. JOHN KEBLE.

HEN God of old came down from heaven,

In power and wrath He came ;

Before His feet the clouds were riven,
Half darkness and half flame:

Around the trembling mountain's base

The prostrate people lay;

A day of wrath, and not of grace;

A dim and dreadful day.

But when He came the second time,
He came in power and love;
Softer than gale at morning prime
Hover'd His holy dove.

The fires, that rush'd on Sinai down
In sudden torrents dread,

Now gently light, a glorious crown,
On every sainted head.

Like arrows went those lightnings forth,
Wing'd with the sinner's doom:
But these, like tongues, o'er all the earth,
Proclaiming life to come.

And as on Israel's awe-struck ear
The voice exceeding loud,

The trump, that angels quake to hear,
Thrill'd from the deep, dark cloud;

So, when the Spirit of our God

Came down His flock to find,

A voice from heaven was heard abroad, A rushing mighty wind.

Nor doth the outward ear alone

At that high warning start; Conscience gives back th' appalling tone; 'Tis echoed in the heart.

It fills the Church of God; it fills

The sinful world around;
Only in stubborn hearts and wills
No place for it is found.

The Holy Trinity.

To other strains our souls are set;
A giddy whirl of sin

Fills ear and brain, and will not let

Heaven's harmonies come in.

Come Lord, come Wisdom, Love, and Power,

Open our ears to hear;

Let us not miss th' accepted hour;

Save, Lord, by love or fear.

327

The Holy Trinity.

BISHOP HEBER.

HOLY, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee:

Holy, Holy, Holy! merciful and mighty,

God in Three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, Holy, Holy! all the saints adore Thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and Seraphim falling down before Thee, Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art Holy: there is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!

All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea:

Holy, Holy, Holy! merciful and mighty;

God in Three Persons, blessèd Trinity!