Alone

Genesis 28:10-22.     The sun had set. He was alone;     Mid twilight shadows he would rest.     He laid his head upon a stone     To woo sweet slumber for his guest.     Perhaps within those midnight hours     His rugged bed was cold and chill,     But wrapped in Dreamland's mystic powers,     He knew no danger, felt no ill.     A vision in his dreams appeared!     Angels were stepping to and fro     Upon a ladder which, upreared,     Aided their ministry below.     And then God spake in words which said     What future ages would unfold,     The soil on which he made his bed     Was his, by prophecy foretold.     He further heard that holy voice     Predict that through his tribe would be     Blessings in which all should rejoice,     Blessings which all the world should see.     Through Jacob would the gift be given     Of Jesus to this sinful earth;     God signified within this vision     Glad news of our Redeemer's birth;     The star of Bethlehem would shine,     That star of joy and peace and love,     Our bleeding sacrifice divine     To cleanse our hearts, our guilt remove.     If faith and praise in us abound     Toward Israel's God, angels are near;     His word declares they camp around     All those who look to him in fear.     When Jacob woke, the ground he trod     Seemed holy; and he named his stone     "Bethel," which means "the house of God."     With heaven so near, was he alone?