All praise and glory we afford,
To Jesus, the incarnate Word:
And God the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
(Missum redemptorum polo. No. 40.)
THE Prince of Peace, to sinners given,
The great Redeemer sent from heaven,
The Virgin-born, let all adore,
And spread his name from shore to shore.
The Word of God, that dwelt on high
With God from all eternity,
Is now confined to life's short span,
Is now a helpless child of man.
Our God is in a manger laid,
Of straw his humble couch is made:
For a whole world's salvation sent,
He needs an infant's nourishment.
And see, those heaven-directing hands
Are now compressed with swaddling bands:
Helpless and desolate he lies,
That we, through Him, to heaven may rise.
He'll come once more to judge the earth,
But now He calls us to His birth:
His love to sinners thus was proved,
Oh, may we love, as we are loved!
The Father's name we loudly raise,
The Son, the Virgin-born, we praise;
The Holy Ghost we all adore,
One God, both now and evermore.
(Jam desinant suspiria. No. 41.)
CEASE, weary mortals, cease to sigh,
For God hath heard you from on high,
E'en now he sendeth from above
The Prince of Peace, the Lord of Love.
The silence of the night profound
Is broken by a heavenly sound;
The angel-host to mortal ear
Announcing that the Lord is near.
So while the shepherds' feet are led
Within the Saviour's lowly shed,
We, too, will contemplate the sight,
The wonder that is brought to light.
Thither in fancy we repair:
We enter in: what see we there?
A stall, a manger rudely piled,
A mother and an infant child.
Can this be He, the Lord of Grace,
The brightness of his Father's face?
Can this be He, who rules the land,
And holds the ocean in his hand?
It is faith penetrates the clouds,
The darkness that his glory shrouds :
It is indeed the mighty Lord
By angels worshipped and adored.
E'en here the teacher we discern:
E'en now the lesson we may learn;
With Him, from worldly pride be pure:
Meekly, with Him, thy woes endure.
Oh! holy Babe, thy love inspire,
Repress in us each vain desire :
And thus thy saving grace impart,
To each believer's new-born heart.
WHILE shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The Angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around:
"Fear not," said he, for mighty dread Had seized their troubled mind;
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring you and all mankind.
"To you in David's town this day
Is born, of David's line,
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord,
And this shall be the sign:
"The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid."
Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, and thus
Addressed their joyful song:
"All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace:
Good-will henceforth from Heaven to men
Begin, and never cease."
(Adeste fideles. No. 42.)
OH! come ye faithful, and your homage bring
To David's town with glad accord ;
Behold the Son, behold the angels' King:
Oh, come ye, and sing praises to the Lord!
For he, the God of God, the Light of Light,
The Virgin's womb hath not abhorred :
And God is now reveal'd to mortal sight!
Oh, come ye, and sing praises to the Lord!
And hark! the angels through the lofty sky Their praises to his name afford;
All glory they ascribe to God on high!
Oh, come ye, and sing praises to the Lord!
Oh, Jesu Virgin-born! thy name shall be,
On this thy day for aye ador'd!
Incarnate Word of God, we worship Thee!
Oh, come ye, and sing praises to the Lord!
HIGH let us swell our tuneful notes,
And join the angelic throng :
For angels no such love have known
Tawake a cheerful song.
Good-will to sinful man is shown,
And peace on earth is given:
For, lo! th' incarnate Saviour comes
With messages from heaven.
grace, in sweet accord,
His rising beams adorn;
Let heaven and earth in concert join,
"To us a child is born."
Glory to God, in highest strains,
In highest worlds be paid;
His glory by our lips proclaimed,
And by our lives displayed.
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