STAR, that shone in Bethlehem,
Purer than the purest gem
Upon mortal diadem,
Chief of all the stars that are,
Shine into my soul, and there
Leave thy beauty heavenly fair.
ROBE, that veiléd Jesus' form,
Come and make my bosom warm,
Shield it from the outward storm.
VOICE, that bade the wave be still,—
Laden with the Almighty will
That the wild sea must fulfill,
Speak unto the storms within—
Swelling waves of shame and sin,
And a blessed silence win.
POWER, that from the grave could call
Swathed bondmen of the pall,
Me uplift from Adam's fall:
Give me life anew to live,—
Life that earth can never give
With its comforts fugitive.
VINE, that art of all preferred,
Clustered with the living word,
O'er the walls thy yard that gird,
Droop with fruits, that I may press
Sweet wine for my thirstiness
From thy purple wealth's excess.
SHEPHERD of the heavenly fold
Me upon thy bosom hold—
Lamb, forsaken in the cold.
MASTER of the little Few,
Let me be thy servant too, —
Servant without guile, and true.
VICTOR, who didst conquer death
By thy living power that saith
Be, to all that perisheth, —
Speak, that I may rise again,
When, by evil passions slain,
In the grave my soul hath lain.
CHRIST, that over all things trod
Earth and Death—and rose to God,
Let my feet like thine be shod ;
So to rise and be at rest,
Where the true lean on thy breast,
And the least of all are blest.
Askings