2 Thanks we give, and adoration,

For thy gospel's joyful sound;
May the fruits of thy salvation
In our hearts and lives abound :

May thy presence
With us evermore be found.
3 So, whene'er the signal's given,

Us from earth to call away,
Borne on angels' wings to heaven,
Glad the summons to obey,

May we ever
Reign with Christ in endless day.°

216
Go in peace.—Luke vii. 50.

[89. 78. 1 May the grace of Christ our Saviour,

And the Father's boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit's favour,

Rest upon us from above.
2 Thus may we abide in union

With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,

Joys which earth can not afford."

m

The Ascension: Heaven. « THOU SITTEST AT

THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD IN THE GLORY OF THE FATHER." « MAY WE ALSO IN HEART AND MIND THITHER ASCEND."

217 Thou hast ascended on high.-Ps. lxviii. 18. [78. 1 Hail the day that sees him rise, Hallelujah!

Ravish'd from our wishful eyes ; Hallelujah!
Christ, awhile to mortals given, Hallelujah!
Re-ascends his native beaven. Hallelujah!

2 There the glorious triumph waits; Hallelujah!

Lift your heads, eternal gates; Hallelujah! Wide unfold the radiant scene, Hallelujah!

Take the King of Glory in. Hallelujah! 3 Him though highest heaven receives,

Hallelujah! Still he loves the earth he leaves; Hallelujah! Though returning to his throne, Hallelujah!

Still he calls mankind his own. Hallelujah! 4 See, he lifts his hands above; Hallelujah!

See, he shows the prints of love; Hallelujah! Hark, his gracious lips bestow Hallelujah!

.Blessings on his church below. Hallelujah! 5 Still for us his death he pleads; Hallelujah! Prevalent, he intercedes;

Hallelujah! Near himself prepares our place, Hallelujah!

Harbinger of human race. Hallelujah! 6 Lord, though parted from our sight, Hallelujah!

High above yon azure height, Hallelujah! Grant our hearts may thither rise, Hallelujah! Following thee beyond the skies. Hallelujah!

Amen.

218 He was taken up, and a cloud received him [D. 78.

out of their sight.-Acts i. 9.
1 He is gone. A cloud of light

HE
Has received him from our sight;
High in heaven, where eye of men
Follows not, nor angel's ken;
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.

And we remain
In this world of sin and pain :
In the void which he has left
On this earth, of him bereft,

2 He is gone.

We have still his work to do,
We can still his path pursue;
Seek him both in friend and foo,

In ourselves his image show.
3 He is gone. We heard him say,

“Good that I should go away."
Gono is that dear form and face,
But not gone his present grace ;
Though himself no more we see,
Comfortless we cannot be:
No, his Spirit still is ours,

Quickening, freshening all our powers. 4 He is gone. Towards the goal

World and church must onward roll:
Far behind we leave the past;
Forward are our glances cast:
Still his words before us range
Through the ages, as they change :
Wheresoe'er the truth shall lead,

He will give whate'er we need. 5 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
Place for us he will prepare:
In that world unseen, unknown,

He and we may yet be one.
6 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
Where our peace in him we find,
To our own eternal Friend,
Thitherward let us ascend.

219 We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour. [C.M.

Heb. ii. 9. 1 THE Head, that once was crown'd with thorns,

Is crown'd with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns

The mighty Victor's brow.
2 The highest place that heaven affords

Is his, is his by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,

And heaven's eternal light.
3 The joy of all who dwell above;

The joy of all below,
To whom he manifests his love

And grants his name to know.
4 To them the cross with all its shame,

With all its grace is given;
Their name an everlasting name,

Their joy the joy of heaven.
5 They suffer with their Lord below,

They reign with him above,
Their profit and their joy to know

The mystery of his love.
6 The cross he bore is life and health,

Though shame and death to him :
His people's hope, his people's wealth,

Their everlasting theme.

220

[7s. 6s.

Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the
Son of Man standing on the right hand

of God - Acts vii. 56.
1 O CHRIST, thou hast ascended

Triumphantly on high,
By cherub guards attended

And armies of the sky:
Let earth tell forth the story,

Our very flesh and bone,
Emmanuel, in glory,

Ascends his Father's throne.

2 Heaven's gates unfold above thee :

But canst thou, Lord, forget
The little band who love thee

And gaze from Olivet?
Nay, on thy breast engraven

Thou bearest every name,
Our Priest in earth and heaven

Eternally the same.
3 There, there thou standest pleading

The virtue of thy blood,
For sinners interceding,

Our Advocate with God;
And every changeful fashion

Of our brief joys and cares
Finds thought in thy compassion

And echo in thy prayers.
4 Oh, for the priceless merit

Of thy redeeming cross
Vouchsafe thy sevenfold Spirit

And turn to gain our loss ;
Till we by strong endeavour

In heart and mind ascend
And dwell with thee for ever

In raptures without end. 221 The King of glory shall come in.-Ps. xsiv. 9. (L.M. 1 Our Lord is risen from the dead;

Our Jesus is gone up on high;
The powers of hell are captive led,

Dragg'd to the portals of the sky.
2 There his triumphal chariot waits,

And angels cħant the solemn lay;
Lift up your heads, ye heavenly gates;

Ye everlasting doors, give way.
3 Loose all your bars of massy light,

And wide unfold the ethereal scene;
He claims these mansions as his right;

Receive the King of Glory in.