Shiloh by William Billings Lyrics

Methinks I see an heav'nly host
Of angels on the wing
Methinks I hear their cheerful notes
So merrily they sing:

Let all your fears be banish'd hence
Glad tidings I proclaim
For there's a Saviour born today
And Jesus is his name

Lay down your crooks and quit your flocks
To Bethlehem repair;
And let your wand'ring steps be squar'd
By yonder shining star

Seek not in courts or palaces
Nor royal curtains draw;
But search the stable, see your God
Extended on the straw

Then learn from hence, ye rural Swains
The Meekness of your God
Who left the boundless Realms of Joy
To Ransom you with blood
The Master of the Inn refus'd
A more commodious Place;
Ungenerous Soul of Savage Mould
And destitute of Grace

Exult ye oxen, low for joy
Ye tenants of the stall
Pay your obeisance, on your knees
Unanimously fall

The royal guest you entertain
Is not of common birth
But second to the great I Am;
The God of heav'n and earth

Then suddenly a heav'nly host
Around the shepherds throng
Exulting in the threefold God
And thus address their song
To God the Father, Christ the Son
And Holy Ghost ador'd;
The First and Last, the Last and First
Eternal praise afford