A Christmas Rejoicing

Ring out a joy­ful chor­us

In num­bers sweet

oh

earth!

Chant forth in loud ho­san­nas

Our roy­al Sav­ior’s birth.

Now ov­er mount and val­ley

O’er for­est

hill and plain

Awake the old

old sto­ry

In lof­ti­est notes again.

Down through the van­ished ag­es

Along the shores of time

Like streams of sil­ve­ry beau­ty

We hear its ech­oed chime.

Unnumbered si­lent voic­es

Have joined the glo­ri­ous hymn;

Glad eyes have caught its rap­ture

Whose light in death is dim.

Today we stand with shep­herds

Beneath Ju­de­an skies;

We hear from Heav’n’s high por­tals

Triumphant strains arise;

We watch the star whose bright­ness

Doth guide them safe­ly—where

With deep­est awe and won­der

They find Mes­si­ah there.

Within a low­ly man­ger

Straw cra­dles His dear head;

In po­ver­ty and suf­fer­ing

His in­fant tears were sh­ed.

Oh

earth! is this thy wel­come

To Christ

the King of Heav’n?

Is this the roy­al greet­ing

To your Re­deem­er giv’n?

’Tis said that since that mo­ment

A beau­ty hath been giv’n

To ba­by brows—a pure­ness

Touched with a trace of Heav’n.

That in sweet dreams the an­gels

Are o’er them night and day

With whis­pers of rare glo­ry

That will not pass away.

That mo­ther­hood makes lov­ing

And ten­der mo­ther hearts;

To ev­en life’s rough plac­es

Deep gen­tle­ness im­parts.

Since

Ma­ry

on thy bo­som

The in­fant Sav­ior slept

And thou

with love and bless­ing

Thy first sweet watch­es kept.

With lov­ing

pa­tient spir­it

Earth’s paths the Sav­ior trod;

With will­ing hands and toiling—

A man and yet a God.

In ev­ery call­ing faith­ful

With miss­ion high and grand

He passed away in tri­umph

To reign at God’s right hand.

Dear Sav­ior! Ev­er ble­ssèd!

Upon this day of days

We come with loud ho­san­nas

To swell the roy­al praise.

We look from earth­ly plac­es

Where Thy pure feet have trod

Up to Thy throne of pow­er

Ascended Lord and God.

High wave Thy roy­al ban­ner

Across the wide

wide

world

Today its folds of bright­ness

By loy­al hands un­furled.

It shel­ters well the house­hold;

It lights the far off shore

And sounds the sil­very key-note

That sum­mons to adore.

Float high

Ju­dea’s ban­ner!

O’er hosts of earth and Heav’n;

Display in clouds of beau­ty

The fade­less re­cord giv’n.

Wear well thy ho­li­est lus­ter

That all the world may see

Redeemer! Me­di­at­or!

The names that make us free.