Lions and oxen will sleep in the hay,
Leopards will join with the lambs as they play,
Wolves will be pastured with cows in the glade,
Blood will not darken the earth that God made.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
Life redeemed from fang and claw.
Peace will pervade more than forest and field:
God will transfigure the violence concealed
Deep in the heart of systems of gain,
Ripe for the judgment the Lord will ordain.
Little Child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
Justice purifying law.
Nature reordered to match God’s intent,
Nations obeying the call to repent,
All of creation completely restored,
Filled with the knowledge and love of the Lord.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
Knowledge, wisdom, worship awe.
—Thomas H. TroegerLantz Professor of Christian Communication
Yale University Divinity School in his book
Borrowed Light: Hymn Texts, Prayers and Poems