Come, for the corn is ripe, Reap the great harvest of the earth- Come, and make all things new, Build up this ruin'd earth, Restore our faded Paradise, Creation's second birth. Come, and begin Thy reign Of everlasting peace, Come, take the kingdom to Thyself, Great King of Righteousness. Horatius Bonar. 59. ADVENT, THE SECOND. Prayer for THE Church has waited long Her absent Lord to see; Sun after sun has set, And still in weeds of widowhood Saint after saint on earth Has lived, and loved, and died And as they left us one by one, We laid them side by side; We laid them down to sleep, But not in hope forlorn; We laid them but to ripen there, Till the last glorious morn. Come then, Lord Jesus, come! The serpent's brood increase, Holy and true and good, Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering church, Her sighs and tears and blood? We long to hear Thy voice, To see Thee face to face, To share Thy crown and glory then, Should not the loving Bride The absent Bridegroom mourn? Should she not wear the weeds of grief Come then, Lord Jesus, come! The whole creation groans, And waits to hear that voice That shall restore her comeliness, And make her wastes rejoice. Come, Lord, and wipe away The curse, the sin, the stain, And make this blighted world of ours H. Bonar. 60. ADVENT, THE SECOND. Prayer for How long, O Lord our Saviour, Oh! when shall come the moment, When, brighter far than morn, How long, O gracious Master, Wilt Thou Thy household leave? So long hast Thou now tarried, Few Thy return believe : Immersed in sloth and folly, Thy servants, Lord, we see ; And few of them stand ready With joy to welcome Thee. How long, O Heavenly Bridegroom, And calling hath forgot, Oh! wake Thy slumbering virgins; 'The Bridegroom draweth nigh!' 61. ADVENT, THE SECOND. Waiting for THE Advent morn shines cold and clear, Watchman, what of the night? we cry, Heartsick with hope deferr'd: No speaking signs are in the sky, Is still the watchman's word. The porter watches at the gate, The servants watch within; No day-break tops the utmost hill, One to another, hear them speak, All night we watch and rise; The coming days are dim; One with another, soul with soul, They kindle fire from fire; Friends watch us who have touch'd the goal; They urge us, Come up higher! With them shall rest our way-sore feet, With Christ,-they sweet, but He most sweet, There no more parting, no more pain; The distant ones brought near; The lost so long are found again,— Long lost, but longer dear: Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, We weep, because the night is long; For us; we hold Him fast, He bless us first or last. Weeping, we hold Him fast to-night; Till day-break smite our wearied sight, Then figs shall bud, and dove with dove My fair one, come away! Christina G. Rossetti. 62. ADVENT, THE SECOND. Waiting for WHAT of the night, watchman, what of the night? The wintry gale sweeps by, The thick shadows fall, and the night-bird's call Sounds mournfully through the sky. The night is dark, it is long and drear, But who, while others sleep, Is that little band, who together stand, All awake is the strained eye, And awake the listening ear: For their Lord they wait, and watch at the gate Long have they waited-that little band, And ever and anon To fancy's eye the dawn seem'd nigh,— And often, through the midnight gale, They thought they heard at last The sound of His train, and they listen'd again,— And the sound died away on the blast. Ages have roll'd, and one by one Those watchers have pass'd away; And in their place their children stand, They watch and pray for the dawn of day, For this is no time for sleep. What of the night, watchman, what of the night? When the darkest hour begins to lower Courage, ye servants of the Lord, The night is almost o'er ; Your Master will come and call you home, To weep and to watch no more. 63. ADVENT, THE SECOND. Waiting for 'IT may be in the evening, When the work of the day is done, While the long, bright day dies slowly And the hour grows quiet and holy, Passing along the street, May come the sound of My feet. Therefore I tell you, watch By the light of the evening star, Let the door be on the latch For it may be through the gloaming 'It may be when the midnight Is heavy upon the land, And the black waves lying dumbly Along the sand; When the moonless night draws close, And the lights are out in the house, When the fires burn low and red, And the watch is ticking loudly Beside the bed : Though you sleep, tired out, on your couch, For it may be that at midnight 'It may be at the cock-crow, When the night is dying slowly In the sky, And the sea looks calm and holy,' Waiting for the dawn Of the golden sun, Which draweth nigh; When the mists are on the valleys, shading The rivers chill, And my morning star is fading, fading Over the hill: Behold, I say unto you, watch! Let the door be on the latch In your home; In the chill before the dawning, 'It may be in the morning, When the sun is bright and strong, And the dew is glittering sharply Over the sweet, green lawn; When the waves are laughing loudly Along the shore, And gay birds are singing sweetly With the long day's work before you, You rise up with the sun, And your dear ones come to talk a little Of all that must be done, But remember, I may be the next To come in at the door, To call you from all your busy work For evermore! As you work, your heart must watch, For the door is on the latch In your room, And it may be in the morning I will come !' So I am watching, quietly, Whenever the sun shines brightly, Surely it is the shining of His face! And look unto the gates of His high place Beyond the sea; For I know He is coming shortly To summon me. And when a shadow falls across the window Of my room, Where I am working my appointed task, I lift my head to watch the door, and ask, And an angel answers sweetly 'Only a few more shadows, And He will come!' 64. ADVERSITY. Aggravation of Of all the horrid, hideous notes of woe, Utter'd by friends, those prophets of the past, Who, 'stead of saying what you now should do, Own they foresaw that you would fall at last, And solace your slight lapse 'gainst 'bonos mores,' With a long memorandum of old stories.-Byron. 65. ADVERSITY. Application of I ASK What He would have this evil do for me? 66. ADVERSITY: awakens Pity. WHEN a great mind falls, The nobler nature of man's gen'rous heart Doth bear him up against the shame of ruin, 67. ADVERSITY. Benefit of Yet scarcely thank the One who sends. How soon we quail beneath the rod ! With shatter'd pride, and prostrate heart, We seek the long-forgotten God. NOT one care-wanting hour my life had tasted; So do the billows of affliction beat me, My God once mix'd a harsh cup, for me to drink from it, And it was full of acrid bitterness intensest; The black and nauseating draught did make me shrink from it, The gods in bounty work up storms about us, Mallett and Thomson. 74. ADVERSITY. Resignation in NAY then farewell! I have touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; And cry, O Thou who every draught alike dis- I haste now to my setting; I shall fall |