Oh realm of light! whose morn­ing star
To Beth­le­hem’s man­ger led the way,
Not yet up­on our long­ing eyes
Shines the full splen­dor of thy day:
Yet still across the cen­tu­ries fall,
Both strong and sweet, our Lord’s com­mand;
And still with stead­fast faith we cry,
Behold, the king­dom is at hand!

Oh realm of Heav’n! whose dawn be­gan
With love’s di­vine, in­car­nate breath,
Our hearts were slow to un­der­stand
The les­sons of that life and death:
Yet though with stam­mer­ing tongues we tell
Redemption’s story, strange and sweet,
The world’s Re­deem­er, lift­ed up
Shall draw the na­tions to His feet.

Oh realm of peace! whose mu­sic clear
Swept through Ju­dea’s star­lit skies,
Still the harsh sounds of hu­man strife
Break on thy hea­ven­ly har­mo­nies;
Yet shall thy song of tri­umph ring
In full ac­cord, from land to land,
And men with an­gels learn to sing,
Behold, the king­dom is at hand!