Oh! lovely voices of the sky
   Which hymned the Saviour's birth,
Are ye not singing still on high,
   Ye that sang, "Peace on earth";
      To us yet speak the strains
         Wherewith, in time gone by,
      Ye blessed the Syrian swains,
         Oh! voices of the sky!

Oh! clear and shining light, whose beams
   That hour Heaven's glory shed,

Around the palms, and o'er the streams,
   And on the shepherd's head.
      Be near, through life and death,
         As in that holiest night
      Of hope, and joy, and faith—
         Oh! clear and shining light!