Kindly and gra­cious­ly, prompt­ed by love,
Jesus came down from the bright world above,
Tho’ He was glo­ri­ous, al­migh­ty, di­vine,
Sun of that world where the bright spir­its shine;
Gentle and low­ly, and hum­ble and mild,
Like us poor child­ren, He, too, was a child;
Praise Him! oh, praise Him! for, prompt­ed by love,
Jesus came down from the bright world above.

Lovingly, lov­ing­ly, close to His breast,
Once lit­tle child­ren so fond­ly He pressed;
Laid each dear hand on some lit­tle one’s head,
Tenderly smil­ing as sweet­ly He said:
Dear lit­tle child­ren, so hap­py and free!
Suffer the child­ren to come un­to Me.
Lovingly, lov­ing­ly, close to His breast,
Once lit­tle child­ren so fond­ly He pressed.

Tenderly, ten­der­ly, free from alarms,
Jesus now folds the dear lambs in His arms;
Hark! there is me­lo­dy through the air borne—
Borne from the hap­py land whi­ther they’re gone;
Parents and sis­ters, and bro­thers most dear!
Weep not, but meet us, oh, meet with us here!
Tenderly, ten­der­ly, free from alarms,
Jesus now folds us, His lambs, in His arms.