1. Over the dark wave of Galilee,
The gloom of twilight gathers fast,
And on the waters drearily,
Descends the fitful evening blast.

2. The weary bird hath left the air,
And sunk into his sheltered nest;
The wandering beast has sought his lair,
And laid him down his welcome rest.

3. Still near the lake, with weary tread,
Lingers a form of human kind;
And on His lone, unsheltered head,
Flows the chill night-damp of the wind.

4. Why seeks He not a home of rest?
Why seeks He not a pillowed bed?
Beasts have their dens, the bird its nest;
He hath not where to lay His head.

5. Such was the lot He freely chose,
To bless, to save the human race;
And through His poverty there flows
A rich, full stream of heavenly grace.
RUSSELL.

Henry Ward Beecher, Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes for the Use of Christian Congregations, (New York: A. S. Barnes & Company, 1859), 72.