A Song and a Carol for Christmastide

A song and a car­ol

For Christ­mas­tide

Of the Prince of the Gold­en Shore

Whom ar­mies of light

In their ves­ture bright

Love

serve

and ad­ore ev­er­more.

Far

far be­low

Where the sun­beams glow

On a realm of His wide do­main

Sad ru­in and woe

Hath come through His foe

With trou­ble and sor­row and pain.

And sad is the sigh­ing

When death’s dark wings

Over para­dise dark­ly loom;

And dark the des­pair

Of the lost ones there

Awaiting their last fa­tal doom.

When thus spake the Prince

To His Fa­ther dear—

Now life with a life I will buy

Bring help from ab­ove

For the sons of My love

For them I will suf­fer and die!

Away and away

To the far off land

When the full­ness of time was come

Now speed­eth the Lord

Of the Gold­en Strand

From His fair ev­er­last­ing home.

So down be­low

And un­stained by sin

In a man­ger born will He be;

Thereby a lost world

He did en­ter in

To set the loved cap­tives free!

And bright was the car­ol

And loud the song

Which burst from the sil­ver sky

When en­ter­ing low­ly

Earth’s sons among

He was seen by the hosts on high.

While song shall re­sound

As the years go round

Till the moon and the stars shall cease;

All glo­ry and praise

To the An­cient of Days

And to men be good will and peace!