Scripture Verse

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and will call Him Emmanuel. Isaiah 7:14

Introduction

Words: Hen­ry R. Bram­ley (1833–1917).

Music: A Vir­gin Un­spot­ted tra­di­tion­al Eng­lish ca­rol (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Bram­ley (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

The great God of Hea­ven
Is come down to earth,
His mo­ther a vir­gin,
And sin­less His birth;
The Fa­ther eter­nal
His Fa­ther alone:
He sleeps in the man­ger;
He reigns on the throne.

Refrain

Then let us adore Him,
And praise His great love:
To save us poor sin­ners
He came from above.

A babe on the breast
Of a maid­en He lies,
Yet sits with the Fa­ther
On high in the skies;
Before Him their fac­es
The se­ra­phim hide,
While Jo­seph stands wai­ting,
Unscared, by His side.

Refrain

Lo! here is Em­ma­nu­el,
Here is the Child,
The Son that was pro­mised
To Ma­ry so mild;
Whose pow­er and do­min­ion
Shall ev­er in­crease,
The Prince that shall rule
O’er a king­dom of peace.

Refrain

The won­der­ful Coun­se­lor,
Boundless in might,
The Fa­ther’s own im­age,
The beam of His light;
Behold Him now wear­ing
The like­ness of man,
Weak, help­less, and speech­less,
In mea­sure a span.

Refrain

O won­der of won­ders,
Which none can un­fold:
The An­cient of Days is
An hour or two old;
The Mak­er of all things
Is made of the earth,
Man is wor­shipped by an­gels,
And God comes to birth:

Refrain

The word in the bliss
Of the God­head re­mains,
Yet in flesh comes to suf­fer
The keen­est of pains;
He is that He was,
And for­ev­er shall be,
But be­comes that He was not,
For you and for me.

Refrain