Heavy on the chosen nation rests the tyrant’s hand
Shackles mar the landscape that was once the Promised Land
Beneath the yoke they stagger, within their spirits cry
Yet few among them know that their Deliverer is nigh.
Multitudes assemble at the king’s ancestral home
Gathered to accede to the demands of distant Rome
The edict of Augustus has summoned one and all
Despair and resignation cast about a fateful pall.
Inns and hostels overfill as evening turns to night
Harried strangers soon converge upon a feeble light
A woman with her husband, in pain and deep travail
Inquire as to a resting place, but plead to no avail.
Down the quiet lane they roam, awash in anxious fear
Nowhere can they find repose, no respite far or near
In desperate haste they venture to visit one last inn
To beg a place for Him who seeks to save the world from sin.
Yielding to their tearful plight, the keeper finds a room
Nothing but the crudest shield from cold and dark and gloom
A dank, putrescent stable—a common cattle shed
Is now the only shelter for the infant Savior’s head!
Soon a newborn cry ascends to pierce the tranquil night
Angel hosts assemble to attend the awesome sight
The Potentate of heaven, in fallen flesh revealed!
To whom the watching universe its homage now will yield.
As the voice of earnest prayer is heard amid the hills
History bends to listen as the world of nature stills
A thund’rous peal of music, a chord of joyful song
Resounds across the firmament from heaven’s glorious throng.
Angels guide the humble to the place Messiah lies
There amid the stubble sleeps the Lord before their eyes
Their fervent hearts rejoicing, their spirits lost in love
They rush to sound the tidings that enthrall the host above.
Soon thereafter noble steps approach the Savior’s rest
Regal hands unveil before Him tokens of the best
Such royal gifts they proffer—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
For One whose wealth is righteousness, a heart transformed and pure.
Days elapse and soon the Lord repairs to Zion’s hill
There within those precincts where His glory soon will fill
Two aging, faithful watchers, their hope still burning bright
Attend at last the One whose truth will end transgression’s blight.
Joy unspeakable and glorious now descends to fill the earth
Joy triumphant and victorious grants to all a priceless worth
The joy of endless ages, in Zion’s pearly gates
For those redeemed and purified—for such this joy awaits.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan