"Adoration of the Shepherds"
Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-1779
This little Babe so few days old,
Is come to rifle Satan's fold;
All hell doth at his presence quake,
Though he himself for cold do shake;
For in this weak unarmed wise
The gates of hell he will surprise.
With tears he fights and wins the field,
His naked breast stands for a shield;
His battering shot are babish cries,
His arrows made of weeping eyes,
His martial ensigns cold and need,
And feeble flesh his warrior's steed.
His camp is pitched in a stall,
His bulwark but a broken wall;
The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes,
Of shepherds he his muster makes;
And thus as sure his foe to wound,
The Angels' trumps alarum sound.
My soul with Christ join thou in fight,
Stick to the tents that he hath pight;
Within his crib is surest ward,
This little Babe will be thy guard;
If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,
Then flit not from this heavenly boy.
-Robert Southwell
I really like a lot of Christmas songs, but this is my favorite. :-)
Hope you are all are having an amazing Christmas. I am. :-)
Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian
I love this song. We don't sing it NEAR enough!
ReplyDeleteThose shepherds look so excited!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to sing that song this year.