Classic Poem

SCENE III

O Lord above the starry height,
Enthroned in splendour and in might,
Look downward through the veil of night,
And guard our sheep.
Let not the wolf nor cunning fox
Disturb the slumber of our flocks,
And from rude rain and thunder shocks
Them safely keep.

The night is cold,
But warm the fold,
And on the hill,
Beside its dam,
Each little lamb,
With sleep-sealed eyes,
So closely lies
All warm and still
'Neath starry skies.
Great God be near,
Keep them from fear,
Guard them from murrain, hurt and pain,
And give them, all the fruitful year,
Rich pasture in the watered plain.


FIRST SHEPHERD

The storm is o'er, but black night reigns
On sea and mountain, hills and plains,
Now toilers on the treacherous deep
Watch the long billows without sleep.
Now lions in the desert prowl,
And in the dark wood hoots the owl.
Alas, my heart was once so glad,
But sorrow makes it worn and sad
A wife, I had, whose love and care
Filled life with music everywhere.
But now she lies within the tomb,
And life is nought but toil and gloom.


SECOND SHEPHERD

Ah Brother, sad thy grief and wild;
But I have lost my only child.
No gloomy sepulchre shuts him in,
But Satan chains him by his sin.
His heart to me is dead and cold,
He has no pity for the old.
His feet go down Gehenna's way,
No power from doom his steps can stay.


THIRD SHEPHERD

I, not by private grief distressed,
Mourn that our nation is oppressed,
That foreign tyrants with us dwell
As rulers of God's Israel.

I mourn, because our foes are strong,
That right is worsted by the wrong,
That rapine, ruin, greed and lust
Have trampled Israel in the dust.


FIRST SHEPHERD

Brothers, meseems our various woe
Doth from one source of evil flow.
Let us together kneel this night,
And ask high God to send us light.

O Father of the land and sea,
Give us the light that is to be.

O Builder of the mountains wild,
Bring home again the erring child.

O Lord, who gave the wind his breath,
Fill with new life the house of death.

O King of Kings above the sky,
Give us some hope before we die.

Give us some Key amid our strife
That will unlock the gates of life.
" Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
" Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men."


FIRST SHEPHERD

Verily, a glorious sight
Hath burst upon our eyes this night.
My heart is full of hopes and fears,
That wring from it unwonted tears.

Come, let us haste and find out them
That guard this Babe in Bethlehem;
And at His feet our homage pay,
Who comes to usher in the day.