Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79.
Song of the Angels
By Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810–1876)C
Come Heaven’s melodious strains,
Where wild Judæa stretches far
Her silver-mantled plains!
Shed sacred glories there;
And angels, with their sparkling lyres,
Make music on the air.
Send back the glad reply;
And greet, from all their holy heights,
The dayspring from on high.
There comes a holier calm,
And Sharon waves, in solemn praise,
Her silent groves of palm.
Loud with their anthems ring;
Peace to the earth, good-will to men,
From heaven’s Eternal King!
The Saviour now is born!
And bright on Bethlehem’s joyous plains
Breaks the first Christmas morn.