Part 2 — PEOPLE’S CHRISTMAS VESPER AND PRAISE SERVICE.
Reading edition
PREPARED FOR “THE CHAUTAUQUAN,” FOR CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 25, 1884.
This Christmas Service may be obtained of us at the following rates, postage paid by us: 100 copies, $1.00; 200 copies, $1.50; 300 copies, $2.00; 400 copies $2.50; 500 copies, $3.00.
Address, The Chautauquan, Meadville, Pa.
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
HYMN 8.—Old Hundred.
From all that dwell below the skies, Let the Creator’s praise arise; Let the Redeemer’s name be sung, Through every land, by every tongue. Eternal are thy mercies, Lord; Eternal truth attends thy word; Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, Till suns shall rise and set no more. Your lofty themes, ye mortals, bring; In songs of praise divinely sing; The great salvation loud proclaim, And shout for joy the Savior’s name.
PRAYER.
HYMN 332.—Tune, Lenox.
Let earth and heaven agree, Angels and men be joined, To celebrate with me The Savior of mankind; To adore the all-atoning Lamb, And bless the sound of Jesus’ name. Jesus! transporting sound! The joy of earth and heaven; No other help is found, No other name is given, By which we can salvation have; But Jesus came the world to save. Jesus! harmonious name! It charms the hosts above; They evermore proclaim And wonder at his love; ’Tis all their happiness to gaze— ’Tis heaven to see our Jesus’ face.
PROMISE OF CHRIST’S COMING.
Pastor.—O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all.
Congregation.—In Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said.
Pas.—Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.
Con.—And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Pas.—When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.
Con.—And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Pas.—He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.
Con.—And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Pas.—And thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins.
ANTHEM BY THE CHOIR.
THE ANGELS TELL OF HIS COMING.
Pas.—And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Con.—And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
Pas.—And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Con.—For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Pas.—And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Con.—Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Pas.—And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even into Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
Con.—And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Pas.—And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
TUNE—St. Martin.
How great the wisdom, power and grace, Which in redemption shine; The heavenly host with joy confess The work is all divine. Before his feet they cast their crowns, Those crowns which Jesus gave, And, with ten thousand thousand tongues, Proclaim his power to save. With them let us our voices raise, And still the song renew; Salvation well deserves the praise Of men and angels too.
THE SAVIOR HAS COME.
Pas.—And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
Con.—I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth.
Pas.—Unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.
Con.—A voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Pas.—The devils cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God.
Con.—He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest.
Pas.—The Jews sought the more to kill him, because he said that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Con.—Jesus said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? It is he that talketh with thee.
Pas.—Say ye, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?
Con.—The Jews said, By our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Pas.—I ascend to my Father and your Father; to my God and your God.
Con.—These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
TUNE—Antioch.
Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; And heaven and nature sing. Let every heart prepare him room. Joy to the world! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love.
CHRIST BRINGS PEACE AND BLESSING.
Pas.—Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
Con.—He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
Pas.—A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
Con.—He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
Pas.—Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Con.—Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing; let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Pas.—Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
Con.—And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight; these things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
HYMN 66.—Tune, Duke Street.
Come, let us tune our loftiest song, And raise to Christ our joyful strain; Worship and thanks to him belong, Who reigns, and shall forever reign. His sovereign power our bodies made; Our souls are his immortal breath; And when his creatures sinned, he bled, To save us from eternal death. Burn every breast with Jesus’ love; Bound every heart with rapturous joy; And saints on earth, with saints above, Your voices in his praise employ.
SERMON BY THE PASTOR.
PRAYER. GLORIA PATRI.
Glory be to the Father, And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.