Sunlight upon Judea’s hills,
And on the waves of Galilee –
On Jordan’s stream, and on the rills
that feed the dead and sleeping sea!
Most freshly from the greenwood springs,
The light breeze on its scented wings;
And daily quiver in the sun
The cedar tops of Lebanon?

A few more hours – a change hath come!
The sky is dark without a cloud!
The shouts of wrath and joy are dumb,
And proud knees unto earth are bowed.
A change is on the hill of death,
The helmed watchers pant for breath,
And turn with wild and maniac eyes,
From the dark scenes of sacrifice!

SThat sacrifice! – the death of Him –
The High and ever Holy One!
Well may the conscious heaven grow dim,
And blackent the beholding sun!
The wonted light hath fled away,
Night settled on the middle day,
And Earthquake from his caverned bed
Is walking with a thrill of dread!

SThe dead are walking underneath!
Their prison door is rent away!
And ghostly with the seal of death,
They wander in the eve of day!
The temple of the Cherubim,
The House of God is cold and dim;
A curse is on its trembling walls,
Its mighty vail asunder falls.

SWell may the cavern depths of earth
Be shaken, and her mountains nod;
Well may the sheeted dead come forth,
To gaze upon their suffering Lord!
Well may the temple shrine grow dim,
And shadows veil the Cherubim,
When He, the Chosen one of Heaven,
A sacrifice for guilt is given!

SAnd shall my sinful heart alone
Behold, unmoved, the stoning hour
When Nature trembles on her throne,
And death reigns his iron power?
Oh, shall my heart – whose sinfulness
Gave keenness to his sore distress,
And added to his tears of blood –
Refuse its trembling gratitude?

SAuthor: J. G. Whittier

SSigns of the Times
Volume 28, Number 13; July 1, 1860

Below are the songs that were made from the poem using AI. They are identified
by the genre of the music in paranthesis.