It was Christmas day in 1863 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The house nor the man’s white full beard did little in stopping the cold from piercing through. Had it been a sunshine filled day, the aging man still would have still felt numb inside. Very much against his will, he had grown used to it. He remembered a year earlier recording in his journal, "A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
by Henry Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
MUSIC:
Cameron and Carlie - Tiny Winter Hymnal. Go to:
www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/music/cameronandcarlie/tiny-winter-hymnal
RELATED VERSES:
Jeremiah 17:15
Malachi 2:17
Galatians 6:7
Luke 2:8-14
2 Cor. 1:20
SPONSOR:
COMMUNITY RENEWAL - Community Renewal invites the whole body of Christ to take the whole Gospel to the whole city in order to demonstrate "our good works and glorify our father who is in heaven."
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