HAIL TO THE LORD’S ANOINTED,
Great David’s greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes, with succour speedy,
To those who suffer wrong.
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong.
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.

He shall come down like showers,
Upon the fruitful earth.
Love, joy and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him, on the mountains,
Shall peace, the herald, go,
And righteousness, in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

Kings shall fall down before Him,
And gold and incense bring.
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing.
To Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend,
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.

O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blessed.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove.
His name shall stand forever,
His changeless name of Love.
       James Montgomery.
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I CANNOT TELL why He, whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know that He was born of Mary,
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and laboured,
And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three-and-thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy-laden,
For yet the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations,
Of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendour,
When He the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at his bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation,
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer:
‘At last the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is King!’
          William Y. Fullerton.
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THOU DIDST LEAVE THY THRONE and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me.
But in Bethlehem’s home there was found no room
For Thy holy nativity:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree.
But of lowly birth cam’st Thou, Lord, on earth,
And in great humility,
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.

The foxes found rest, and the birds had their nest,
In the shade of the cedar tree.
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set Thy children free.
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!
Thy cross is my only plea.

When heaven’s arches shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying, ‘Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.’
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.
        Emily E. Steele Elliott.
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IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
‘Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heaven’s all gracious King!’
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.

Yet with woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long,
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong.
And man, at war with man, hears not,
The love-song which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold.
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendours fling,
And all the world send back the song,
Which now the angels sing.
        E. H. Sears.

Contributors:   Revd, Graham Summers, Linnea Thorp, Deborah Yeates, Jean Stables, Sally Clements, Alison Bright, Alison Peters.

Production:   David Carter