Two of the contemporary carols posted earlier on this site to wish all who visit it from time to time a blessed and peaceful Christmas: one of the carols is to a well known tune, the other to a new tune.
Carol of the Cosmos Finlandia *(10.10.10.10.10.10)
Be still small earth, this is the night of nights,
Your great Creator hovers at your gates,
In human form, now to become a babe
To Jewish maid, who for this moment waits:
Fulfilling now the ancient prophecies,
Her child, the Saviour of the human race.
You nightly stars surrounding Bethlehem,
Prepare yourselves to be eclipsed this night,
An angel host, with joyful beating wings
Clothes all the waiting hills with brilliant light.
And shepherds, spurned by those of wealth and might,
Are first to see the Christ, this holy sight.
O dazzling skies, welcome a stranger star
To play its part, a brief and guiding role:
To bring from far, sage watchers of the night
Who linked its light to what the prophets told.
Trav’ling with gifts to celebrate The King
Rich myrrh and frankincense and precious Gold.
‘Twas by this child th'eternal Word came flesh
God’s pledge unveiled, such holy mystery.
Come praise him now, this coming was for us,
His cosmic task laid by to set us free.
From death the natural end in time and space
He calls our souls beyond to his great grace.
* * * * * * *
This second carol, unusually, gives Joseph a ‘voice’ in the stable as he expresses his hopes for his newborn son. (Find a printable score below the words and hear the first verse and chorus from the video file beneath the score)
‘This manger’s well made’,
said Joseph to Mary,
‘Its joints are a joy
to a carpenter’s eye’.
‘I hope that our son
will be skilled with timber,
so neighbours we serve
will be e’er satisfied.
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
yet our son will, perhaps,
work with far more than wood.’
‘That crook there is shaped
with skill and perception;
‘tis made for a shepherd
who’ll both dare and save’.
‘I’ll show our son how
sheep are protected,
so shepherds will ask him,
to shape them good staves.
Oh Joseph love etc
‘This yoke is a work
of marvellous honing.
It never will chafe:
the ox scarce need a goad.
Our son must learn ways
of both beast and ploughman,
then contour his yokes
to ease burdensome loads’.
Oh Joseph love etc.
‘I‘ll teach him the strengths,
Of timber, dear Mary,
show him all the things
he must and must not do’.
‘Like ne’er make a cross
for fierce Roman soldiers,
Nor sell them our wood
To hang slave, thief or Jew.’
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
Yes, our son when time comes
Will be smitten by wood.
Listen to the first verse and chorus
on YouTube at https://youtu.be/7qCqJzlP3N0
‘Stable Talk’ is part of ’The Cross and Cosmos’ Christmas collection which you can find HERE
