Part 1 — CALM ON THE LISTENING EAR OF NIGHT.
Reading edition
Calm on the listening ear of night Come heaven's melodious strains, Where wild Judea stretches far Her silver-mantled plains. Celestial choirs from courts above Shed sacred glories there; And angels, with their sparkling lyres, Make music on the air. The answering hills of Palestine Send back the glad reply; And greet, from all their holy heights, The Dayspring from on high. O'er the blue depths of Galilee There comes a holier calm, And Sharon waves in solemn praise Her silent groves of palm. "Glory to God!" the sounding skies Loud with their anthems ring, "Peace to the earth, good-will to men, From heaven's eternal King!" Light on thy hills, Jerusalem! The Savior now is born! And bright on Bethlehem's joyous plains Breaks the first Christmas morn. Edmund H. Sears.