I always enjoy the leisure to write poetry, and Christmas break proved fruitful. The following hymn goes through the the Gloria in Excelsis: glory to God (st. 1-4), peace to men (st. 5-6), goodwill (st. 7-8), plus a final doxological stanza returning to the “Glory to God.” The hymn is loosely based on the sermon I preached at the school Advent service.
1. To God be glory, Him alone,
And glory to no other;
He made us, claimed us as His own,
And is become our Brother.
The devil shakes; his arms grow frail;
His might is dust upon the scale
Before this swaddled God-Man.
2. We all are like to fading grass
And for our sins we wither.
Our flower falls, away we pass,
But hope has now come hither.
We wastelands now rejoice and sing,
For into winter came the Spring
And Jesus has revived us.
3. Not for our sake did He appear,
For we deserve no favor.
His love and promise brought Him here,
Whose mercies never waver.
We all were sinful, worthless slaves,
But Jesus is the Lord who saves,
And for His name He acted.
4. And yet His love is love for us;
With Him there is no coldness.
Like Bridegroom with His bride He thus
Bids us draw near with boldness:
“I bowed the heav’ns and downward came;
I took on Me your mortal frame;
Fear not! I deeply love you.”
5. Yea, Peace on earth incarnate lies,
And in His little finger
Is pow’r that makes the dead to rise
And demons scared to linger;
And God’s own blood there flows within,
One drop of which blots out all sin;
Thus we have peace of conscience.
6. The wolf and lamb at peace recline
By Jesus’ holy manger,
And thus do Christian brothers dine:
At peace and free from danger.
Christ gives Himself to us to eat,
So we our swords to plowshares beat;
Our warfare now is ended.
7. Goodwill toward men! The promised Seed
Gives warning from His cradle:
“O Serpent, I have come indeed;
For thee it will be fatal.
This heel thou seest will crush thy head,
And though I die, I shan’t stay dead.
I am My people’s Savior.”
8. Goodwill we too will show to Him
Who works all things to bless us.
Though storms may brew and skies look grim,
Yet these should not distress us.
Could He who came to seek our gain
Give clouds for aught but blessed rain?
Our crosses show His favor.
9. All glory, Father, be to Thee,
Who dost all mercies send us;
To Thee, O Jesus, glory be,
Who in Thy flesh dost tend us;
And glory, Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Who givest peace eternally:
Yea, glory in the highest!
In Christ,
Pastor Richard
