(Compare The Desire of Ages, p. 47)
Deep in troubled Zion, ‘neath its turrets and its walls
Where for ages prophets have intoned their earnest calls
Within the golden precincts, inside the sacred space
From whence the Lord of heaven yearns to loose a flood of grace,
Priests and rulers gather, staid traditions to observe
Human counsel marks the course for hand and heart to serve
The Scriptures disregarded, their voice but little heard
The truly pious desolate without the written Word.
Leaders tend to rituals, averse to public need
Careful not to violate their lifeless, man-made creed
Yet off in distant heaven, beyond the starry sky
Exalted beings rejoice that Earth’s deliverance is nigh.
Toward a nearby village square a rabbi wends his way
Keeping rote appointments on an uneventful day
Then down a street adjacent, he hears a joyful sound
A flourish of hosannas from spectators gathered ‘round.
Occupied with duty, he emits a thoughtless sigh
Stopping but a moment to perceive a gladsome cry
“Just rude, excited peasants,” insists his busy mind
“A dull existence broken as diversion now they find.”
What might he have pondered had he stopped to hear the news?
Had he not dismissed the scene as one to but amuse?
Regarding not the watchful, who knew their hope was nigh
He sauntered on, oblivious, as history passed him by.
Back within the temple, one observes a startled priest
Flustered with the questions voiced by strangers from the east
They seek Messiah’s birthplace, the nation’s long-sought King
But, though a priest, he cannot grasp the news these heralds bring.
Thus the noble Wise Men, with the star above their way,
Like the peasant shepherds, find the place where Jesus lay
But God’s appointed leaders, who should have known the time
Are lost in history’s dustbin, with its glory and its grime.
Thus do all who presently neglect God’s sacred Word,
Risk the fate of ancient souls who spurned the joy they heard.
Arouse, God’s listless watchmen! Declare your Savior nigh!
Lest like the lost of ages past, we find ourselves passed by!
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