Scripture Verse

She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Introduction

portrait
Paul Gerhardt
1607–1676

Words: Paul Ger­hardt, in Prax­is Pi­eta­tis Me­li­ca, by Jo­hann Crü­ger, fifth edi­tion, 1653 (Ich steh an dein­er Kripp­en hier). Trans­lat­ed from Ger­man to Eng­lish by Will­iam M. Cza­man­ske in Se­lect Songs for School and Home, ed­it­ed by John A. Theiss & Bern­hard Schu­mach­er (St. Lou­is, Mis­sou­ri: Con­cor­dia Pub­lish­ing House, 1922), alt.

Music: Wonn­ber­ger C. Wonn­ber­ger, pro­bab­ly late 19th Cen­tu­ry (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know Wonn­ber­ger’s full name, or where to get a good pic­ture of him or Cza­man­ske,

illustration
Adoration of the Shepherds
Gerard van Honthorst
1590–1656

Lyrics

Beside Thy man­ger here I stand,
Dear Je­sus, Lord and Sav­ior,
A gift of love with­in my hand
To thank Thee for Thy fa­vor.
O take my hum­ble of­fer­ing;
My heart, my soul, yea, ev­ery­thing
Is Thine to keep for­ev­er.

With joy I gaze up­on Thy face;
Thy glo­ry and Thy splen­dor
Are great­er than my heart can praise,
And songs can fit­ly ren­der.
O that my mind might tru­ly be
As bound­less as the deep­est sea—
’Twould still be lost in won­der.

O grant me this abun­dant grace,
And let it be Thy plea­sure
That I may be Thy dwell­ing place,
Dear Sav­ior, sweet­est trea­sure!
O let me be Thy man­ger bed,
Then shall I lift my low­ly head
With joy be­yond all mea­sure.