Song of the Angels
Edmund Hamilton Sears
CALM on the listening ear of night
Come Heaven’s melodious strains,
Where wild Judæa stretches far
Her silver-mantled plains!
Celestial choirs, from courts above,
Shed sacred glories there;
And angels, with their sparkling lyres,
Make music on the air.
The answering hills of Palestine
Send back the glad reply
And greet, from all their holy heights,
The dayspring from on high.
On the blue depths of Galilee
There comes a holier calm,
And Sharon waves, in solemn praise,
Her silent groves of palm.
“Glory to God!” the sounding skies
Loud with their anthems ring;
Peace to the earth, good-will to men,
From heaven’s Eternal King!
Light on thy hills, Jerusalem!
The Saviour now is born!
And bright on Bethlehem’s joyous plains
Breaks the first Christmas morn.
