A Christmas Question.
Rev. Minot J. Savage.
[For concert recitation. In order to avoid monotony in the repetition of the question, the first line of the first stanza can be read with direct falling slides; of the second, with direct rising slides; of the third, with emphasis on the first word; of the fourth, with a perfect monotone; of the fifth, with emphasis on the second word; of the sixth, with direct rising slides.]
I.
When will He come?
A captive nation dwell upon
The river-banks of Babylon;
What is the word they speak?
The prophet’s eye looks down the years
And kindles as the sight appears—
“Messiah! him ye seek!
Lo! the Lord’s anointed comes! and then
Shall dwell the heavenly kingdom among men!”
II.
When will He come?
The Christian answers, “Long ago
The King was born in manger low.
Him wicked men have slain,
And now we wait with longing eye,
And fix our look upon the sky;
For He will come again,
We pray and watch since He has gone away;
For when He comes He’ll bring the perfect day.”
III.
When will He come?
“Lo, here! Lo, there!” the foolish shout,
And think that God will come without.
But ever has it been,
In spite of fabled tales that tell
Of magic and of miracle,
That He has come within.
Only through man, and man alone,
Does God build up his righteous throne.
IV.
When will He come?
When iron first was hammered out;
When far shores heard the seaman’s shout;
When letters first were known;
When separate tribes to nations grew;
When men their brotherhood first knew;
When law first reached the throne:
Each separate upward step that man has trod
Has been a coming of the living God.
V.
When will He come?
While you are looking far away,
His tireless feet are nigh to-day;
Each true word is His voice.
All honest work, all noble trust,
Each deed that lifts man from the dust,
Each pure and manly choice,
Each upward stair man’s toil-worn feet do climb,
Is just another birth of God sublime.
VI.
When will He come?
He’ll come to-morrow if you will;
But cease your idle sitting still.
Yes, He will come to-day.
He will not come in clouds; but through
Your doing all that you can do
To help the right alway.
Do honest work, and to the truth be true,
And God already has appeared in you.