Scripture Verse

Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Introduction

portrait
Benjamin H. Kennedy
(1804–1889)

Words: Un­known au­thor, prob­ab­ly 14th or 15th Cen­tu­ry (In na­ta­li Do­mi­ni). Trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish in Hym­no­lo­gia Chris­ti­ana, by Ben­ja­min H. Ken­ne­dy (Lon­don: Long­man, Green, Long­man, Ro­berts & Green, 1863), num­ber 101.

Music: In Na­ta­li Do­mi­ni Fried­rich Lay­riz (1808–1859) (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

Hark, the an­gel choirs pro­claim
Joyfully the Sav­ior’s name;
At His birth their ar­mies cry:
Glory be to God on high!

Refrain

God the Son, made flesh to­day,
Takes the guilt of man away;
Pardoned sin­ners, shout for joy.

As the glo­ry shines around,
Fears the shep­herd throng con­found,
Till the an­gel’s cheer­ing voice
Bids their ti­mid hearts re­joice.

Refrain

Hasting with obe­di­ent mind,
Him in swath­ing bands they find;
Him, by whom the worlds were made
In a low­ly man­ger laid.

Refrain

Glory be to God ab­ove,
Fountain of eter­nal love,
To the Fa­ther and the Son,
And the Spir­it, Three in one.

Refrain

illustration
Christmas Carols New and Old, 1871