Have you list­ened to the sto­ry,
Sweet and old?
Have you list­ened to the sto­ry,
Filling life with light and glo­ry,
Men have told?
How there came a heav’n­ly stran­ger,
Cradled low in Beth­l’hem’s man­ger,
Strong to shield from death and dan­ger
God’s dear fold?

He was wronged above all oth­ers,
Mocked, de­nied;
He was wronged above all oth­ers,
Bruised and brok­en, O my bro­thers,
Crucified;
In a pur­ple robe they bound Him,
With the cru­el thorns they crowned Him;
Pitiless, they ga­thered round Him
Till He died.

When I heard the won­drous sto­ry,
So di­vine;
When I heard the won­drous story,
Coming down thro’ an­nals hoa­ry,
Christ was mine;
O that love be­yond com­par­ing,
Burdened heart, thy sor­row shar­ing,
For thy sake the thorn-crown wear­ing!
Is He thine?