New Heaven, New War

Come to your heav’n

you heav’n­ly choirs

Earth hath the heav’n of your de­sires.

Remove your dwell­ing to your God;

A stall is now His best abode.

Since men their hom­age do de­ny

Come

an­gels

all their fault sup­ply.

His chill­ing cold doth heat re­quire;

Come

se­ra­phim

in lieu of fire.

This lit­tle ark no cov­er hath;

Let cher­ubs’ wings His bo­dy swathe.

Come

Ra­pha­el

this Babe must eat;

Provide our lit­tle Sav­ior meat.

Let Ga­bri­el be now His groom

That first took up His earth­ly room.

Let Mi­chael stand in His de­fense

Whom love hath linked to fee­ble sense.

Let Grac­es rock when He doth cry

And an­gels sing His lul­la­by.

The same you saw in heav’n­ly seat

Is He that now sucks Ma­ry’s teat;

Now see your king a mor­tal wight

His bor­rowed weed de­ceives your sight.

Come

kiss the man­ger where He lies

That is your bliss above the skies.

This lit­tle Babe so few days old

Is come to ri­fle Sa­tan’s fold;

All hell doth at His pre­sence quake

Though He Him­self for cold doth shake;

For in this weak un­arm­èd wise

The gates of hell He will sur­prise.

With tears He fights and wins the field

His ti­ny breast stands for a shield;

His bat­ter­ing shot are bab­ish cries

His ar­rows

looks of weep­ing eyes

His mar­tial en­signs

cold and need

And fee­ble flesh His war­ri­or’s steed.

His camp is pitch­èd in a stall

His bul­wark but a brok­en wall

The crib His trench

hay stalks His stakes

Of shep­herds He His ar­my makes;

And thus

as sure His foe to wound

The an­gels’ trumps the charge now sound.

My soul

with Christ join thou in fight;

Stick to His tents

the place of might.

Within His crib is sur­est ward;

This lit­tle Babe will be thy guard.

If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy

Then flit not from this heav’n­ly Boy!