The Hills are Bare at Bethlehem arr. Ralph Johnson

"Let Heaven and Nature Sing" An Abendmusik Christmas, First Plymouth Church, Lincoln Nebraska, December, 2012.
The Hills are Bare in Bethlehem American Folk Hymn/ arr. Ralph Johnson
(Text: Royce J. Scherf, alt.)
The hills are bare at Bethlehem, no future for the world they show;
Yet here new life begins to grow, from earth's old dust a greenwood stem.
The stars are cold at Bethlehem, no warmth for those beneath the sky;
Yet here the radiant angels fly, and joy burns new, a fiery gem.
The heart is tired at Bethlehem, no human dream unbroken stands;
Yet here God comes to mortal hands, and hope renewed cries out: "Amen!"