Immanuel, God with us!
Bow down, ye hea­vens, to­day!
Behold a won­drous glo­ry,
The star of Beth­le­hem’s ray!
For an­gels have des­cend­ed
With mes­sage from on high;
Let all the earth keep si­lence,
Redemption draw­eth nigh!

Strange sight for men and an­gels!
Lo! the ef­ful­gent light
Which led the ho­ly ma­gi
Rests on Ju­de­an height!
Stopped in its course ce­les­ti­al,
O’er low­ly cat­tle shed,
Its heav’n­ly beams il­lum­ine
An in­fant’s man­ger bed.

O earth, with all thy king­doms,
Was there no oth­er place
Wherein to wel­come Je­sus,
The Lord of life and grace?
No room in roy­al pa­lace?
No spot with­in the inn
To shield the Word made hu­man—
The God-man with­out sin?

To make men priests and mon­archs,
Joint heirs with Him on high,
The Lo­gos con­sub­stan­tial
Descendeth from the sky.
Leaving the Fa­ther’s bright­ness,
Leaving His throne of flame,
He comes a help­less in­fant,
To suf­fer grief and shame.

Depth of hu­mil­ia­tion!
Love pass­ing all de­gree!
Thus to re­store to mor­tals
Their im­mor­ta­li­ty!
Henceforth the race shall tri­umph,
And foil the ser­pent’s art:
The laws of stone on Si­nai
Be writ­ten on the heart!

All hail! an­gel­ic her­alds
Proclaiming peace on earth!
Hail! gra­cious star of pro­mise,
Sign of a Sav­ior’s birth!
Lift up thy gates, O Zi­on!
Sing, ev­er­last­ing hills!
Joy for the God in­carnate
The whole cre­ation fills!