When the night was dark and still,
When the midnight hour was long,
Prophet-shepherds on the hill
Understood the angels' song.
Light that cheered their winter gloom,
In that sweet compelling hour,
Herald of eternal noon,
Promise of eternal power —
They beheld its guiding ray,
And to Bethlehem were led,
Where the gentle Saviour lay
In a lowly cattle shed.
Precious is the sacred place
Where in daily life we find
Gleam of Spirit, light of grace,
Sonship to eternal Mind.
Ever precious is the song
Heard upon the shepherds' hill,
When the midnight watch is long,
'Neath the starlight bright and still.
