Adventist Pioneer Library

Christ — First Advent

Calm on the listening ear of night

  • No. 292
  • Words Edmund H. Sears.
  • 4 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

Calm on the listening ear of night,
Come heaven's melodious strains,
Where wild Judea stretches far
Her silver-mantled plains;
Celestial choirs from courts above
Shed sacred glories there;
And angels, with their sparkling lyres,
Make music on the air.

2

The answering hills of Palestine
Send back the glad reply,
And greet from all their holy hights
The Dayspring from on high:
O'er the blue depths of Galilee
There comes a holier calm;
And Sharon waves in solemn praise
Her silent groves of palm.

3

"Glory to God!" the lofty strain
The realm of ether fills;
How sweeps the song of solemn joy
O'er Judah's sacred hills!
"Glory to God!" the sounding skies
Loud with their anthems ring:
"Peace on the earth; good will to men,
From heaven's eternal King."

4

To-day shall Christian tongues be mute,
And Christian hearts be cold?
O catch the anthem that from heaven
O'er Judah's mountains rolled
When sweetly burst from seraph-harps
The high and solemn lay,—
"Glory to God; on earth be peace;
Salvation comes to-day!"

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «292» (large) in the left column of p. 95, under hymn 291 (CAROL. C. M. D.), with the italic reference line «486, 450, 83.» (= sing to the tunes of hymns 486, 450 or 83) beside the number; stanza 1 stands in the left column, stanzas 2–4 in the right column (stanza 2 at the top of the column, level with stanza 2 of hymn 291); «Edmund H. Sears.» in italics after stanza 4. The first word «CALM» is set in capitals and small capitals. Lines 2, 4, 6, 8 of each stanza are indented in the print. The print sets a thin space before «;», «:», «!» and «?» («plains ;», «there ;», «high :», «calm ;», «God !», «fills ;», «hills !», «ring :», «earth ;», «cold ?», «God ;», «peace ;», «to-day !»); it is closed up here. Quotes and apostrophes are written straight. No meter is printed (the text is C. M. D., like the three tunes referred to). Spelling («hights», «To-day», «to-day»), punctuation and capitals are the print's.

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
Christ — First Advent · No. 292 · printed page 95
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-01