Lux in Tenebris

DARK falls the night, withheld the day,
Weary we fare perplexed and chill,
Led by one little guiding ray
Shining from centuries far away,—
Good-will and Peace: Peace and Good-will.

The torch of glory pales and wanes,
The lamp of love must know decease,
But still o’er far Judæan plains
The quenchless star-beam lives and reigns,—
Peace and Good-will: Good-will and Peace.

And clear to-day as long ago
The angel-chorus echoes still,
Above the clamor and the throe
Of human passion, human woe,—
Good-will and Peace: Peace and Good-will.

Through eighteen hundred stormy years
The dear notes ring, and will not cease;
And past all mists of mortal tears
The guiding star rebukes our fears,—
Peace and Good-will: Good-will and Peace.

Shine, blessed star, the night is black,
Shine, and the heavens with radiance fill,
While on thy slender, guiding track
The angel voices echo back,—
Good-will and Peace: Peace and Good-will.