From The Birmingham Age Herald, December 21, 1913. By Willoughby Newton Claybrook.
Gen. 9.27—“God shall persuade Japheth and he shall dwel in the tents of Shem.”
Let the sons of Japheth gather to the goodly tents of Shem,
For the Heavenly Host is singing o’er the heights of Bethlehem,
For the King of Glory cometh as the Travail of the years,
And Judea’s hills are sounding with the music of the spheres.
Let the sons of earth rejoice in the song the Angels sing
That “To all mankind is born today in Bethlehem a King.”
Not a despot clothed in power, won by shedding human blood;
But the Prince and King of Glory by the grace of doing good.
Not a ruler swept to power as the hero of a day,
But the King of men forever, by the Everlasting Yea.
Not a King who by enslaving men, his glory hopes to find,
But a King who knows no greatness but the service of His kind.
Not a King to rule by terror of the chariot and sword,
But the King of human nature, by the Spirit of the Lord.
Not in pomp and dazzling power, as the world expects the great;
Not bedecked in golden splendor and the majesty of state,
Comes the Prince and Lord of Glory, and the King of all mankind,
But an infant and His Mother in a manger you will find;
Not to might, nor wealth, nor power, nor to cabalistic word,
Are the battlements surrendered in the Kingdom of the Lord;
But to gentleness and purity He opens wide His gate.
All the greatest things are simple, and the simplest things are great,
For the Lord’s not in the earthquake, nor in the thunder’s roll,
But is ever in the silences within the human soul.
Let’s arise and go to Bethlehem, and see this Holy Thing!
Lo, the Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, and helplessness is King!
Let the wise men in their wisdom, make their journey from afar,
And to Bethlehem be guided by the leading of a star.
Let them come in awful reverence, and the threefold offering bring,
For the Infant in the manger is their Prophet, Priest and King.
He’s the Heir of all the ages and the promised of the Lord,
The Redeemer and Restorer, by the power of His word.
Let the hilltops of Judea shout for joy to Gallilee,
Let the sacred flood of Jordan sing an anthem to the sea,
Till the music of the Angels shall be heard in all the earth,
And the world shall know the blessing of the Great Redeemer’s birth.
Let the sons of Japheth gather to the goodly tents of Shem,
For the Heavenly Host is singing o’er the heights of Bethlehem;
For the King of Glory cometh as the Travail of the years,
And Judea’s hills are sounding with the music of the spheres.