My heart remains in wonder Before that lowly bed Within the stable yonder Where Christ, my Lord, was laid. My faith finds there its treasure, My soul its pure delight, Its joy beyond all measure, The Lord of Christmas night. But Oh! my heart is riven With grief and sore dismay To see the Lord of heaven Must rest on straw and hay, That He whom angels offer Their worship and acclaim From sinful man must suffer Such scorn, neglect and shame. Why should not castles royal Before Him open stand, And kings, as servants loyal, Obey His least command? Why came He not in splendor Arrayed in robes of light And called the world to render Its homage to His might? The sparrow finds a gable Where it may build its nest, The oxen know a stable For shelter, food and rest; Must then my Lord and Savior A homeless stranger be, Denied the simplest favor His lowly creatures see. O come, my Lord, I pray Thee, And be my honored guest. I will in love array Thee A home within my breast. It cannot be a stranger To Thee, who made it free. Thou shalt find there a manger Warmed by my love to Thee. Far different from this song of quiet contemplation is the searching hymn that follows it. How do we exalt the Father That He sent His Son to earth. Many with indifference gather At His gift of boundless worth. This is followed by another hymn of praise. Lift up your voice once more The Savior to adore. Let all unite in spirit And praise the grace and merit Of Jesus Christ, the Holy, Our joy and glory solely. And then comes "The Fairest of Roses", which a distinguished critic calls "one of the most perfect lyrics in the Danish language". This hymn is inspired by a text from the Song of Songs "I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley". It is written as an allegory, a somewhat subdued form of expression that in this case serves admirably to convey an impression of restrained fire. Its style is reminiscent of the folk songs, with the first stanza introducing the general theme of the song, the appearance of the rose, that is, of the Savior in a lost and indifferent world. The remainder of the verses are naturally divided into three parts: a description of the dying world in which God causes the rose to appear, a lament over the world's indifference to the gift which it should have received with joy and gratitude, and a glowing declaration of what the rose means to the poet himself.