CHRIST THE BRIDEGROOM

JOSEPH JOHN GURNEY

My thoughts a glorious theme indite,
And ready is my pen to write,
  Thou fairest of the fair;
And swifter still my tongue to raise,
To thee an orison of praise,
  For grace beyond compare.

Then gird thee round with belt and sword,
Ride on, ride on, thou mighty Lord,
  Thy majesty display;
Well shall thy red right-hand express
Thy zeal for truth and righteousness--
  Then prosper on thy. way!

Winged by thy power, conviction's dart
Shall strike through many a rebel heart,
  Nor pierce all hearts in vain;
While every foeman prostrate lies,
A favoured few shall fall to rise,
  And die to live again.

O God, above the starry spheres,
Thy throne is set for endless years;
  Pure justice bears thy sword;
Virtue and truth engage thy love;
Sin draws thy vengeance from above,
  Rejected and abhorr'd.

Therefore hath God upon thy head
Thy God the oil of gladness shed,
  Without compare or measure;
From ivory halls with spices stored,
Perfumes o'er all thy garments poured,
  Are redolent of pleasure.

The Tyrian maids with gifts attend,
Before Thee royal virgins bend
  In jeweled drapery sheen;
And graceful on thine arm reclines,
In purest gold from Ophir's mines,
  Thy partner and thy queen.

O Lady, bow the listening ear,
My counsel condescend to hear--
  The people once thy own,
Thy father's house, forget to love,
So shall the king thy charms approve,
  Ah ! worship him alone !

Daughter of kings upon her vest
See nature's fairest forms expressed
  With golden tissue wove;
All glorious is the Bride within,
By God's free grace redeemed from sin,
  And heavenly is her love.

Fair princess, in thy father's place
Shall spring to life a godly race,
  And rule from shore to shore
Victorious in their Saviour's name,
With thee they share a deathless fame,
 And live forevermore!