Upon the verge of that vast wilderness
Which from Akabah's salt-encrusted shore
Extends its lonely wastes towards the East
Unto the threshold of those watered lands
Erstwhile the seat of proud Assyria's power,
And southward rock-encircled Petra meets,
The sculptured gate of hermit Araby,
The shepherds from Judea's terraced hills
Guarded their flocks far from abodes of men.
There, amid sun-scorched rocks and wind-swept sands,
In wadies deep, where scanty herbage grew,
Remote from all the world's vain murmurings,
Where thought broods undisturbed by jarring note,
By jealous strife or frown of tyrant kings,
But free and unconfined high heaven greets,
The omnipresent God Himself reveals
To those receptive of His grace divine.
And ofttimes as the simple herdsmen sat
Enshrouded in the all-pervading gloom
Of night, above whose shades Cimmerian
A host of distant suns resplendent shone,
Mute symbols of the great creator's might;
Or when of silver moon the soft pale rays
Bathed all the wastes in dim, uncertain light,
A holy calm their peaceful hearts suffused,
Turning their thoughts from earth towards their God.
And one night as they mused, their leader aged,
Leaning on staff, towards them halting came
And stood, and eastward pointing trembling hand
In solemn accents said: "Full fourscore years
Have I as boy and man these gray wastes roamed,
Through which our fathers, chosen of the Lord,
Upheld by Him amidst afflictions sore,
To yonder Jordan made their painful way.
Each day have I beheld the first pale ray
Of rising sun glint on cold rock and sand;
Each eve have seen the glowing orb of light
As burnished gold sink behind Judah's hills;
But ne'er in all that time have seen or heard
Such wondrous sights and sounds as on this night.
Just now, as my last customary round
Of folds I made to see that thoughtless youth
No opening had left for prowling beast,
A gentle zephyr seemed to pass me by,
And as it passed a whisper soft and low,
As from above, greeted my wondering ear
And said, Rejoice, O earth; Messias comes
To heal thy wounds and bring thee balm of love.
And while it spake, lo! in the Orient,
Where, as it seemeth, earth and heaven meet,
Upon the instant gleamed a dazzling light
More splendid than the glow of noonday sun.
But even as I strove to drink in more
Of those strange messages from heaven sent,
They passed as suddenly as they had come;
And silent night once more resumed her sway."
The aged shepherd paused, and o'er the band
Of herdsmen rude there fell a solemn awe,
As though they, too, some holy presence felt,
Until one younger than the rest exclaimed:
"Good father, can it be that after years
Of faithful vigil 'midst these solitudes
Thy mind is now beset with phantasy?
Think'st thou that Israel's long-promised king
His coming would reveal to such as we,
The unregarded servants of our race?
Dost thou . . . ?" But ere the youth could further speak
The aged shepherd, raising high his staff
With shaking hand, in eager tone cried, "See!"
As in the East shone forth a blazing star
Of wondrous size, whose all-illuming rays
Bathed earth and sky in light celestial;
While all around a flood of harmony,
As from a thousand harps to song attuned
Of untold voices in sweet unison,
In diapason full the ether cleft
With chorus oft repeated, grand and clear:
On high, hosannas raise, for Christ is come;
Let earth rejoice and all men praise his name
And the Redeemer with one voice acclaim!
And, gently marveling, the shepherd band,
Moved by the presence of an unseen power,
In low obeisance humbly bowed their heads
As they drank in the hallelujah strain;
Then forthwith, their flocks to God confiding,
Led by His light, to distant Bethlehem
Rejoicing went, and hailed the sleeping babe,
Love's harbinger of hope and joy and peace.
Copyright, 1925, by The Christian Science Publishing Society, Falmouth and St. Paul Streets. Boston, Massachusetts. Entered at Boston post office as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at a special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 11, 1918.
