Jesus, united by Thy grace,
And each to each endeared,
With confidence we seek Thy face
And know our prayer is heard.

Still let us own our common Lord,
And bear Thine easy yoke,
A band of love, a threefold cord,
Which never can be broke.

Make us into one spirit drink;
Baptize into Thy Name;
And let us always kindly think,
And sweetly speak, the same.

Help us to help each other, Lord,
Each other’s cross to bear;
Let all their friendly aid afford,
And feel each other’s care.

Up onto Thee, our living Head,
Let us in all things grow;
Till Thou hast made us free indeed
And spotless here below.

Touched by the lodestone of Thy love,
Let all our hearts agree,
And ever toward each other move,
And ever move toward Thee.

To Thee, inseparably joined,
Let all our spirits cleave;
O may we all the loving mind,
That was in Thee receive.

This is the bond of perfectness,
Thy spotless charity;
O let us, still we pray, possess
The mind that was in Thee.

Grant this, and then from all below
Insensibly remove:
Our souls their change shall scarcely know,
Made perfect first in love!

With ease our souls through death shall glide
Into their paradise,
And thence, on wings of angels, ride
Triumphant through the skies.

Yet, when the fullest joy is given,
The same delight we prove,
In earth, in paradise, in Heaven,
Our all in all is love.

Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ,
Nor creed, nor form, nor word,
Nor holy church, nor human love,
Compare with Thee, my Lord.

Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ,
Thy love has conquered me;
Beneath Thy cross I die to self,
And live alone to Thee.

Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ,
My inmost being fill;
So shall I think as Thou dost think,
And will as Thou dost will.

Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ,
Thy life transfigure mine;
And through this veil of mortal flesh,
Lord, let Thy splendors shine.

Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ,
My soul exults in Thee;
To be Thy slave, to do Thy will,
Is my felicity.

The call goes out from highest Heaven,
From that great Voice whose vast decree
Calls out of nothing all creation,
And brings to birth eternity.
“Go down, My Son, go down from Heaven,
Bring My belovèd home to Me.
Go find her, lost, abandoned, ruined,
Storm-tossed in sin’s relentless sea.”

Now speaks the Prince of highest Heaven,
Whose light no seraph can endure—
Who owns the glories of the Godhead
By right and title all-secure.
“Yes, I will go, go down from Heaven,
To find our lost, our wand’ring bride,
I’ll bring her home, whate’er it cost Me—
I’ll bring her home, though I must die.”

Now see Him plunge from highest Heaven,
Through light-years dark, to virgin’s womb,
Enfleshed in dust and human weakness:
A body destined for a tomb.
A long, long way from highest Heaven,
He walks the ground from which He made
The Man whose sons He has come seeking,
The captives Satan has betrayed.

With tears He cries to highest Heaven,
”Lord, let this cup now pass from Me!”
His blood pours down His sweating forehead;
At horror’s brink, oh, what He sees!
But He submits to highest Heaven,
“Not Mine, but Thy own will be done.”
He rises, strengthened by an angel:
Ahead there’s battle to be won.

The mighty wrath of highest Heaven
Falls down upon bright Heaven’s Son.
A rage omnipotent and righteous
Burns down upon the chosen One.
The Enemy of highest Heaven
With snarling teeth and slashing claw,
With howls of savage accusation,
Calls down the curses of the Law!

Before the bar of highest Heaven,
The Son of God convicted stands;
My guilty conscience burns within Him
Because my crimes are on His hands.
The sentence falls from highest Heaven,
Unleashing Hell upon His own,
The Second Death consumes the Sacrifice.
So perfect mercy can be shown.

Again the Voice of highest Heaven
Speaks life into a three-days’ grave,
And there triumphant, death defeating,1
The God-man comes, mighty to save!
He will return from highest Heaven,
Ten million angels in His train:
He’ll claim the blood-bought bride He ransomed,
To love while highest Heav’n remains.

1Originally, And there, triumphant over sin and death

Let your mindset be the same
As that of Jesus Christ;
Though in very nature God,
He did not cling to His rights.

Refrain

He became a man,
In humility,
Was obedient unto death,
And Lord of all will be.

He made nothing of himself,
Took on a servant’s form;
Found in likeness as a man,
On the cross He died forlorn.

Refrain

Therefore God exalted Christ
Up to the highest place,
Gave the Name above all names;
All His shame, He did erase.

Refrain

One day at the Name of Christ
All men will bow their knee.
Those in Heaven, on the earth,
And beneath, their Lord will see.

Refrain

Every tongue will then confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
He will be exalted e’er,
To the glory of our God.

Refrain

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.

Now praise we Christ, the Holy One,
The blessed virgin Mary’s Son,
Far as the glorious sun doth shine,
E’en to the world’s remote confine.

He Who Himself all things did make
A servant’s form vouchsafed to take
That He as man mankind might win
And save His creatures from their sin.

The grace and power of God the Lord
Upon the mother was outpoured;
A virgin pure and undefiled
In wondrous wise conceived a Child.

The noble mother bore a Son—
For so did Gabriel’s promise run—
Whom John confessed and leaped with joy
Ere yet the mother knew her Boy.

Upon a manger filled with hay
In poverty content He lay;
With milk was fed the Lord of all,
Who feeds the ravens when they call.

The heavenly choirs rejoice and raise
Their voice to God in songs of praise.
To humble shepherds is proclaimed
The Shepherd Who the world hath framed.

All honor unto Christ be paid,
Pure Offspring of the favored maid,
With Father and with Holy Ghost,
Till time in endless time be lost.

O mind of God, broad as the sky,
The earth, the air, the sea,
Give us Thy broadening Spirit’s grace,
In sweet simplicity.

O heart of God, deep as the needs
Of all humanity,
Give unto us the kindlier soul,
The larger sympathy.

O will of God, high as all Heav’n,
With power superb and free,
Give us the will to do and dare,
In fullest liberty.

O large and free and glorious God,
With ways exceeding kind,
Give unto us Thy breadth of love,
In loving all mankind.

Ye who the Name of Jesus bear,
His sacred steps pursue;
And let that mind which was in Him
Be also found in you.

Though in the form of God He was,
His only Son declared,
Nor to be equally adored
As robbery did regard;

His greatness He for us abased,
For us His glory veiled;
In human likeness dwelt on earth,
His majesty concealed:

Nor only as a man appears,
But stoops a servant low;
Submits to death, nay, bears the cross,
In all its shame and woe.

Hence God this generous love to men
With honors just hath crowned,
And raised the Name of Jesus far
Above all names renowned:

That at this Name, with sacred awe,
Each humble knee should bow
Of hosts immortal in the skies,
And nations spread below:

That all the prostrate powers of hell
Might tremble at His Word,
And every tribe, and every tongue,
Confess that He is Lord.

The advent of our God
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must meet Him on His road
With hymns of holy joy.

The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant’s form puts on
To set His people free.

Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King,
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace He comes to bring.

As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And all His scattered saints unite
With Him in Heaven to reign.

Before the dawning day
Let sin’s dark deeds be gone;
The old man all be put away,
The new man all put on.

All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.

Jesu hail! O God most holy,
Gentle Lamb, an Infant lowly;
Born, great God, a human stranger,
Laid within the narrow manger:

Refrain

Might transcending, weakness blending,
Greatness bending from the sky;
Love unending, man befriending,
God most High, God most High.

To enrich my desolation,
To redeem me from damnation,
Wrapt in swathing bands Thou liest,
Thou in want and weakness sighest:

Refrain

Low abased, where brutes are sleeping,
God’s belovèd Son is weeping;
Judge supreme, true Godhead sharing,
Sinner’s likeness for us wearing!

Refrain

Jesu, Thine my heart is solely;
Draw it, take it to Thee wholly;
With Thy sacred fire illume me,
Let it inwardly consume me.

Refrain

Hence let idle fancies vanish,
Hence all evil passions banish;
Make me like Thyself in meekness,
Bind to Thee my human weakness,

Refrain

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

Refrain

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Refrain

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

Refrain

When the heav’ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

When Jesus left His Father’s throne,
He chose a humble birth;
Like us, unhonored and unknown,
He came to dwell on earth.
Like Him may we be found below,
In wisdom’s path of peace;
Like Him in grace and knowledge grow,
As years and strength increase.

Sweet were His words and kind His look,
When mothers round Him pressed;
Their infants in His arms He took,
And on His bosom blessed.
Safe from the world’s alluring harms,
Beneath His watchful eye,
Thus in the circle of His arms
May we forever lie.

When Jesus into Zion rode,
The children sang around;
For joy they plucked the palms and strewed
Their garments on the ground.
Hosanna our glad voices raise,
Hosanna to our King!
Should we forget our Savior’s praise,
The stones themselves would sing.

All wise, all good, almighty Lord,
Jesus, by highest Heav’n adored,
Ere time its course began;
How did Thy glorious mercy stoop,
To take Thy fallen children up,
When Thou Thyself wert man?

Th’eternal God from Heav’n came down;
The King of glory dropped His crown
And veiled His majesty;
Emptied of all but love He came,
Jesus, I call Thee by the Name,
Thy pity bore for me.

O holy Child, still let Thy birth
Bring peace to us poor worms of earth,
And praise to God on high!
Come, Thou who didst my flesh assume;
Now to the abject sinner come,
And in a manger lie.

Didst Thou not in person join
The natures human and divine,
That God and man might be
Henceforth inseparably one?
Haste then and make Thy nature known
Incarnated in me.

In my weak, sinful flesh appear,
O God, be manifested here,
Peace, righteousness and joy;
Thy kingdom, Lord, set up within
My faithful heart; and all my sin,
The devil’s work, destroy.

I long Thy coming to confess,
The mystic power of godliness,
The life divine to prove:
The fulness of Thy life to know,
Redeemed from all my sins below,
And perfected in love.

O Christ, my Hope, make known to me
The great, the glorious mystery
The hidden life impart;
Come, Thou Desire of nations, come,
Formed in a spotless virgin’s womb,
A pure, believing heart.

Come quickly, dearest Lord, that I
May own, tho’ Antichrist deny,
Thy incarnation’s power:
May cry, a witness to my Lord,
“Come in my flesh is Christ the Word,
And I can sin no more!”

Behold the great Creator makes
Himself a house of clay,
A robe of virgin flesh He takes
Which He will wear for ay.

Hark, hark, the wise eternal Word,
Like a weak infant cries!
In form of servant is the Lord,
And God in cradles lies.

This wonder struck the world amazed,
It shook the starry frame;
Squadrons of spirits stood and gazed,
Then down in troops they came.

Glad shepherds ran to view this sight;
A choir of angels sings,
And eastern sages with delight
Adore this King of kings.

Join then, all hearts that are not stone,
And all our voices prove,
To celebrate this holy One
The God of peace and love.

Down from His glory,
Ever living story,
My God and Savior came,
And Jesus was His Name.
Born in a manger,
To His own a stranger,
A Man of sorrows, tears and agony.

Refrain

O how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all.
The great Creator became my Savior,
And all God’s fullness dwelleth in Him.

What condescension,
Bringing us redemption;
That in the dead of night,
Not one faint hope in sight,
God, gracious, tender,
Laid aside His splendor,
Stooping to woo, to win, to save my soul.

Refrain

Without reluctance,
Flesh and blood His substance,
He took the form of man,
Revealed the hidden plan,
O glorious myst’ry
Sacrifice of Calv’ry,
And now I know Thou art the great “I Am.”

Refrain

Down from the worlds of radiant light
Behold the Savior come,
To ransom souls from endless night
And bring the wand’rers home.

He calls us to His dear embrace
From mis’ry and despair,
Bids us receive His wondrous grace,
And seek salvation there.

We come, Emmanuel, at Thy call,
Believe Thy glad’ning Word,
Renounce our sins, ourselves, our all,
And glory in our Lord.

Salvation to Messiah’s Name
With grateful hearts we sing,
And join our voices to proclaim
Our Saviour and our King.

Immortal praise to God belongs
For such unfathomed love;
Join, all below, in rapturous songs,
And shout, ye hosts above.

Prelude

He became incarnate, Christ the King of glory,
He became incarnate

Shepherds were keeping their nightly watch on Bethlem’s plain,
“Fear not, O brothers,” the angel addressed them,
Wonderful brightness around them shone so marv’lously.
“Joy I proclaim through the birth of the Savior.”

Refrain

He became incarnate, Christ the King of glory,
He became incarnate

“This sign I’ll show you by which you’ll find the Lord of all.”
Suddenly heavenly hosts sang forth praises.
“In David’s city you’ll find Him in a lowly stall.”
“Glory to God Who gives peace on earth good will.”

Refrain

Lína awatárá soí jagaraijá
Lína awatárá.

Desha Yahúdamen
Kitane gareriye
Kheton men jo saba basa rarayá.

The holy Son of God most high,
For love of Adam’s lapsèd race,
Quit the sweet pleasures of the sky
To bring us to that happy place.

His robes of light He laid aside,
Which did His majesty adorn,
And the frail state of mortals tried,
In human flesh and figure born.

Whole choirs of angels loudly sing
The mystery of His sacred birth,
And the blest news to shepherds bring,
Filling their watchful souls with mirth.

The Son of God thus man became,
That men the sons of God might be,
And by their second birth regain
A likeness to His deity.

I cannot tell why He whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored,
And so the Savior, Savior of the world is come.

I cannot tell how silently He suffered,
As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the cross was broken,
The crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, He heals the brokenhearted,
And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
For yet the Savior, Savior of the world is here.

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,
How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations
Of East and West, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,
And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor
When He the Savior, Savior of the world is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation
When all the hearts of men with love are filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to Heaven, and Heaven to earth, will answer:
At last the Savior, Savior of the world is King!

I know not how that Bethlehem’s Babe
Could in the Godhead be;
I only know the manger Child
Has brought God’s life to me.

I know not how that Calvary’s cross
A world from sin could free;
I only know its matchless love
Has brought God’s love to me.

I know not how that Joseph’s tomb
Could solve death’s mystery;
I only know a living Christ,
Our immortality.

Immortal Babe, who this dear day
Didst change Thine Heaven for our clay,
And didst with flesh Thy Godhead veil,
Eternal Son of God, all hail!

Shine, happy star, ye angels sing
Glory on high to Heaven’s King;
Run, shepherds, leave your nightly watch,
See Heaven come down to Bethlehem’s cratch.

Worship, ye sages of the east,
The King of gods in meanness dressed;
O blessèd maid, with smiles adore
The God thine arms, thy bosom bore.

Star, angels, shepherds, sages wise,
Thou virgin glory of all eyes,
Restorèd frame of Heaven and earth,
Rejoice in your Redeemer’s birth!

In mute astonishment and awe,
The angels learn God’s plan
To send His Uncreated Son
Down to the Earth—as Man!

From Light Eternal shines the Light,
And Satan’s night is ended;
Its brilliance breaks upon the world
In day uncomprehended.

The Word, enfleshed, invades His world,
And speaks the words of life:
“Lay down your arms, my rebel sons;
Be reconciled from strife.”

Immortal God, yet mortal man,
With men He makes His dwelling,
And we behold His glory here,
In grace beyond all telling.

His grace and truth, His abundant love,
His grand, gigantic meekness
Appear to us in human form,
In omnipotent weakness.

Incarnate God, embrace me now,
And by your Spirit’s art,
Enflesh the Word of God anew
Within my yielded heart.

Let earth and Heaven combine,
Angels and men agree,
To praise in songs divine
The incarnate Deity,
Our God contracted to a span,
Incomprehensibly made Man.

He laid His glory by,
He wrapped Him in our clay;
Unmarked by human eye,
The latent Godhead lay;
Infant of days He here became,
And bore the mild Immanuel’s Name.

See in that Infant’s face
The depths of deity,
And labor while ye gaze
To sound the mystery
In vain; ye angels gaze no more,
But fall, and silently adore.

Unsearchable the love
That hath the Savior brought;
The grace is far above
Of men or angels’ thought:
Suffice for us that God, we know,
Our God, is manifest below.

He deigns in flesh t’appear,
Widest extremes to join;
To bring our vileness near,
And make us all divine:
And we the life of God shall know,
For God is manifest below.

Made perfect first in love,
And sanctified by grace,
We shall from earth remove,
And see His glorious face:
His love shall then be fully showed,
And man shall all be lost in God.

O Christmas night! Day’s light transcending,
Who no beginning had or end
Till He a man became, was God.
Then He Who ne’er before was human
Was born in Bethlehem of woman,
When nips the frost the verdant sod.

This richest Babe comes poor in being,
More pearled within than to the seeing
With diadem and royal power;
He takes no heed of greater places,
But that small spot alone embraces,
Where light illumes the midnight hour.

This Prince, do they desire to find Him?
They’re worn out swaddling clothes that bind Him.
A manger, spread with hay’s His bed.
His throne is higher than the highest,
Yet He among the cattle lieth;
What Him to such a lot has led?

Now seeks He God with chaste affection
Who takes before such crib direction,
Are better than this Bethlehem,
Which Christ no resting place shall give;
For they, the after life, shall live
With Him, in Jerusalem.

O mercy divine, O couldst Thou incline,
My God, to become such as infant as mine?
What wonder of grace: The Ancient of Days
Is found in the likeness of Adam’s frail race!

He comes from on high, who fashioned the sky,
And meekly vouchsafes in a manger to lie;
Our God ever blest, with oxen doth rest,
Is nursed by His creature and hangs at the breast.

So heavenly-mild, His innocence smiled,
No wonder the mother would worship the Child,
The angels she knew had worshipped Him, too,
And still they confess adoration His due.

On Jesus’ face, with eager amaze,
And pleasure ecstatic the cherubim gaze;
Their newly born King, transported they sing,
And Heaven and earth with the triumph doth ring.

The shepherds behold Him, the promised of old,
By angels attended, by prophets foretold;
The wise men adore now, and bring Him their store,
The rich are permitted to follow the poor.

To the inn they repair, to see the young Heir;
The inn is a palace, for Jesus is there!
Who now would be great, and not rather wait
On Jesus their Lord in His humble estate?

Like Him would I be, my Master I see
In a stable; a manger shall satisfy me;
And here will I lie, till raised up on high,
With Him on the cross I recover the sky.

Savior, when night involves the skies,
My soul, adoring, turns to Thee;
Thee, self abased in mortal guise,
And wrapped in shades of death for me.

On Thee my waking raptures dwell,
When crimson gleams the east adorn,
Thee, Victor of the grave and hell,
Thee, Source of life’s eternal morn.

When noon her throne in light arrays,
To Thee my soul triumphant springs;
Thee, throned in glory’s endless blaze,
Thee, Lord of lords and King of kings.

O’er earth, when shades of evening steal,
To death and Thee my thoughts I give;
To death, whose power I soon shall feel,
To Thee, with Whom I trust to live.