Thou wast a Stranger here

Thou wast a Stranger here. In Bethlehem no room for Thee was found.
The world - it lay in darkness; man‘s mind by Satan bound.
In David‘s city David‘s Lord, the Christ, was all unknown;
Thy people son for Thee would raise a cross, and not a throne.
Thou wast unloved, unwanted, and by all but few despised;
Thy wondrous beauty wholly missed by nature‘s blinded eyes.

Thou wast a Stranger here, heaven‘s ivory palaces left far behind.
On earth no place to lay Thy waery head Thou couldest find.
When others shelter sought and found a home, Thou didst repair
Alone to Olivet‘s steep slopes to meet Thy Father there.
The foxes had their holes prepared, each bird its special nest;
But Thou upon an earth so filled with sin couldst know no rest.

Thou wast a Stranger here, the Father‘s bosom always Thy abode,
Thou wast alone, though with a multitude upon the road.
So perfect were Thy ways, so pure Thy every word and thought,
Thou wast misunderstood by all sav those the Father taught.
Thy walk was one of fully proven faith, and not of sight;
Thy Father‘s presence ever Thy one source of pure delight.

I too am now a stranger here with Thee, no more to feel at home
Upon this earth, which gave Thee nothing but a cross and tomb.
Thy God is mine, Thy Father now my own through wondrous grace.
The Father‘s house of light and love is now my dwelling place.
I am a pilgrim happy just to walk by faith with Thee,
Until the glorious day when home at least Thy face I‘ll see!

C.E.Cipp