--_James Montgomery._ ADVENT. The Church has waited long Her absent Lord to see; And still in loneliness she waits, A friendless stranger she. Age after age has gone, Sun after sun has set, And still in weeds of widowhood She weeps a mourner yet. Come, then, Lord Jesus, come! 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, The powers of hell grow bold, The conflict thickens, faith is low, And love is waxing cold. How long, O Lord our God, Holy and true, and good, Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering Church, Her sighs and tears and blood? Come, then, Lord Jesus, come! We long to hear Thy voice, To see Thee face to face, To share Thy crown and glory then, As now we share Thy grace. Should not the loving bride The absent bridegroom mourn? Should she not wear the weeds of grief Until her Lord return? 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 Thine own fair world again. Come, then, Lord Jesus, come! --_Horatius Bonar._ A BETHLEHEM HYMN. "Mundum implens, in præsepio jacens."--AUGUSTINE. He has come! the Christ of God;-- Left for us his glad abode Stooping from his throne of bliss, To this darksome wilderness. He has come! the Prince of Peace;-- Come to bid our sorrows cease; Come to scatter, with his light, All the shadows of our night. He the mighty King has come! Making this poor earth his home; Come to bear sin's sad load;-- Son of David, Son of God! He has come, whose name of grace Speaks deliverance to our race; Left for us his glad abode; Son of Mary, Son of God! Unto us a child is born! Ne'er has earth beheld a morn Among all the morns of time, Half so glorious in its prime. Unto us a Son is given! He has come from God's own heaven; Bringing with Him from above, Holy peace and holy love. --_Horatius Bonar._ [Illustration: CHRISTMAS CHIMES.] A DESIRE. O, to have dwelt in Bethlehem When the star of the Lord shone bright! To have sheltered the holy wanderers On that blessèd Christmas night; To have kissed the tender wayworn feet Of the mother undefiled, And, with reverent wonder and deep delight, To have tended the Holy Child!