Bethlehem (Frost)

O Beth­le­hem

sweet Beth­le­hem

To thee my song I sing;

To thee I raise my hum­ble lay

Thou ci­ty of the King.

Above thy courts the an­gels sang

Their bright­est ser­aph song

And

faint­ly ec­ho­ing their re­frain

I would their praise pro­long.

I see thy wide and wood­ed fields

Thy roc­ky slopes and hills

Thy val­leys deep

here wa­ters flow

In spark­ling

tune­ful rills.

Thy bal­my air is rich with scent

Of ol­ive and of vine

Thy trees hang low with rip­ened fruit

Thy vats o’er­flow with wine.

Thy shep­herd boys

like Da­vid

lead

Their flocks with win­some call

Across thy up­lands bright

and through

Deep vales here sha­dows fall.

Thy dus­ky men and rud­dy maids

Are scat­tered ’cross the plain—

Where Ruth once fol­lowed Bo­az’ men—

And har­vest gold­en grain.

Thy mo­thers hush their babes to rest

With hymns of Da­vid’s Lord

Thy sing how in yon cave He came

To heav’n­ly love af­ford;

The scene is fair

and all is joy

About thy well kept walls;

Yea

sor­rows nev­er touch thy gates

Thy hearth­stones or thy halls.

Beyond is dark­some Cal­va­ry

And sad Geth­se­ma­ne;

But sha­dows flee

bright Beth­le­hem

Whene’er they come to thee!

Lo

as I gaze

a vi­sion breaks:

Behold

I see the Child

Lie once again in cave of stone

All pure and un­de­filed.

The vir­gin mo­ther bends above

To watch the face di­vine

From which

so fair and beau­ti­ful

Bright rays of glo­ry shine;

And oh

what long­ings fill my soul

As I be­hold my Lord!

I fall and wor­ship at His feet

My ev­ery sin ab­horred.

And here I pray to be like Him

A ho­ly in­fant child

All meek and gen­tle

sweet and good

All pure and un­de­filed!

And so to thee

O Beth­le­hem

My song of love I sing;

All praise to thee

sweet Beth­le­hem

Thou ci­ty of my king!