Classic Poem

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE SERMON FOREGOING ,

With grateful hearts come let us sing,
The gifts of our ascended King;
Though long since gone from earth below,
Through every age his bounties flow.

The Saviour when to heav'n he rose
In splendid triumph o'er his foes,
His gifts on rebel men bestow'd,
And wide his royal bounties flow'd.

Hence sprung th' apostles' honour'd name,
More glorious than the hero's fame ;
Evangelists and prophets hence
Derive the blessings they dispense.

In humbler forms, to bless our eyes ,
Pastors from hence and teachers rise;
Who, though with feebler rays they shine,
Still gild a long-extended line.

From Christ their various gifts derive ,
And fed by Christ their graces live:
While, guarded by his mighty hand ,
'Midst all the rage of hell they stand.

Thus teachers, teachers shall succeed
When we lie silent with the dead!
And unborn churches, by their care ,
Shall rise and flourish large and fair.

Pastors and people , join and sing,
This constant, inexhausted spring ,
Whence through all ages richly flow
The streams that cheer the church below.