Poems (Howard)/The Shepherds of Judea
The Shepherds of Judea.
O favored people! just as bright
The halo round their name to-day
As when they watched their flocks by night
While in the manger Jesus lay;
When from the skies an angel-throng
Looked down upon the wondrous scene,
And in exultant, choral song
Awoke the hills of Palestine.
The halo round their name to-day
As when they watched their flocks by night
While in the manger Jesus lay;
When from the skies an angel-throng
Looked down upon the wondrous scene,
And in exultant, choral song
Awoke the hills of Palestine.
These shepherd-men exemplified
True kindliness in word and look;
And called their sheep unto their side,
And in their arms the lambkins took
So gently that beyond a doubt
As loving, tender hearts were theirs
As ever poured their fullness out
In honest, earnest, humble prayers.
True kindliness in word and look;
And called their sheep unto their side,
And in their arms the lambkins took
So gently that beyond a doubt
As loving, tender hearts were theirs
As ever poured their fullness out
In honest, earnest, humble prayers.
No harshness moved the patient lip,
No hand e'er dealt a cruel blow,
For care and long companionship
Of gentle things had made them so;
And yet, if near their precious fold
Might danger lurk in cave or den—
Rapacious beast, or robber bold—
They could be stern like other men.
No hand e'er dealt a cruel blow,
For care and long companionship
Of gentle things had made them so;
And yet, if near their precious fold
Might danger lurk in cave or den—
Rapacious beast, or robber bold—
They could be stern like other men.
The fleecy covering of their flocks
Became their own, while flowing hair
In unconfined, uncared-for locks
Surrounding foreheads bronzed and bare,
And patriarchal beard that fell
Upon each weather-beaten breast,
The story plainly seemed to tell
No thought of self their minds distressed.
Became their own, while flowing hair
In unconfined, uncared-for locks
Surrounding foreheads bronzed and bare,
And patriarchal beard that fell
Upon each weather-beaten breast,
The story plainly seemed to tell
No thought of self their minds distressed.
What theme inspired their social talk?
For naught could be the world to them,
The circuit of whose daily walk
But girt the plains of Bethlehem;
In palaces and works of art,
And scenes of revelry approved
By royalty, they bore no part—
Nor envyings their spirits moved.
For naught could be the world to them,
The circuit of whose daily walk
But girt the plains of Bethlehem;
In palaces and works of art,
And scenes of revelry approved
By royalty, they bore no part—
Nor envyings their spirits moved.
And if perchance they ever heard
Of pompous king or glittering court,
Or felt the passing interest stirred
By pageantry of armed cohort—
Contented, peaceful sons of Earth!—
They wondered, when the crests were gone,
How life the living could be worth
So diametric to their own.
Of pompous king or glittering court,
Or felt the passing interest stirred
By pageantry of armed cohort—
Contented, peaceful sons of Earth!—
They wondered, when the crests were gone,
How life the living could be worth
So diametric to their own.
Perchance on some celestial night
Delicious, clear, though wanting stars,
When moonbeams poured their mellow light
Though olive-boughs in silver bars,
Recounted one in sympathy
How briers held some bleating lamb
Till his the hand that set it free,
Restored it to its frantic dam.
Delicious, clear, though wanting stars,
When moonbeams poured their mellow light
Though olive-boughs in silver bars,
Recounted one in sympathy
How briers held some bleating lamb
Till his the hand that set it free,
Restored it to its frantic dam.
Or of a hungry lion bold
That overleaped the rugged wall
And seized the firstling of the fold,
The choicest jewel 'mong them all;
When to the rescue swiftly came
Those ever-faithful servitors
Which, though a pedigree might claim,
Appeared but gaunt and savage curs.
That overleaped the rugged wall
And seized the firstling of the fold,
The choicest jewel 'mong them all;
When to the rescue swiftly came
Those ever-faithful servitors
Which, though a pedigree might claim,
Appeared but gaunt and savage curs.
So, in exterior, were they
Scarce comelier than their shepherd-dogs—
Yet they revered the Sabbath-day
And went up in the synagogues
And heard the law, which they believed;
And gave to God their offerings,
From whom a wisdom they received
Surpassing far the lore of kings.
Scarce comelier than their shepherd-dogs—
Yet they revered the Sabbath-day
And went up in the synagogues
And heard the law, which they believed;
And gave to God their offerings,
From whom a wisdom they received
Surpassing far the lore of kings.
O shepherds! on Judean plains
Who sang your simple, pastoral songs
And kept your vigils, earth contains
A remnant yet to whom belongs
That heritage of faith and trust,
As nature pure and free from art,
The child-like feeling that we must
"Love God with all our mind and heart."
Who sang your simple, pastoral songs
And kept your vigils, earth contains
A remnant yet to whom belongs
That heritage of faith and trust,
As nature pure and free from art,
The child-like feeling that we must
"Love God with all our mind and heart."
For echoes still that matchless strain,
The symphony by seraphs sung,
And thrills the world with its refrain
Wherever joy hath found a tongue;
From mountain-top and sunny vale,
From desert waste and wooded glen
Unnumbered throngs the tidings hail
Of "Peace on Earth, Good-will to Men."
The symphony by seraphs sung,
And thrills the world with its refrain
Wherever joy hath found a tongue;
From mountain-top and sunny vale,
From desert waste and wooded glen
Unnumbered throngs the tidings hail
Of "Peace on Earth, Good-will to Men."