John the Baptist – Kate Bluett

Zion on the heights now rising,
see the Christ is drawing near.
He will come with fire baptizing,
all this threshing floor to clear.
Pride and might he comes chastising,
yet, belovèd, do not fear:
All who bear the world's despising
shout for joy when he appears.

Zion on the heights upstanding:
Christ is coming; look and see!
You who wept as you were planting,
now with laughter shall you reap.
Peace that passes understanding
touches your anxiety;
mercy and salvation granting,
now he comes to see you free.

Zion on the heights behold him;
wake your hearts and see his day.
Precipices bow before him;
valleys rise to make his way.
Leave your falsehood, your extortion;
give your hoarded goods away;
make your cities ready for him:
Now he comes without delay!

For God has commanded
   that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
   be filled to level ground,
   that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
   have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
   by the light of his glory,
   with his mercy and justice for company.
—Baruch 5:1-9

A voice is crying in the desert:
“Make straight the path! Prepare the way,
that children may return from exile
and those in darkness see the day.

“The frail and foolish shall not falter;
the strong shall not oppress the weak,
but all come streaming to the altar
where kings bow down before the meek.”

But God it was made these rough places,
with plumb and line laid out the earth.
He comes, remaking this creation,
preparing hearts to know his birth.

And lo! The mountains bow to greet him;
the valleys rise to offer praise.
They know our God has come to meet us,
and all the earth shall see his face.

The narrow way grows wide and even
and shaded o'er by every tree.
No heights now block the way between us;
no gorges gape before our feet.

Then let us go along his highway
with all who come from east and west.
A light is breaking forth to guide us
into the pastures of his rest.

The Preaching of St. John the Baptist by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1566 – Google Arts & Culture: Home – pic Maximum resolution., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122059315

Category: John the Baptist

Zion On the Heights

Let Us Go