"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.
3 "To you, in David's town, this day
Is born, of David's line,
The Saviour, who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:
4 "The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid."
5 Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels praising God, and thus
Addressed their joyful song:-
6"All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace!
Good-will henceforth, from heaven to men,
Begin and never cease.
1 CALM on the listening ear of night
Come heaven's melodious strains,
Where wild Judea stretches far
Her silver-mantled plains!
2 Celestial choirs, from courts above, Shed sacred glories there;
And angels, with their sparkling lyres,
Make music on the air.
3 The answering hills of Palestine
Send back the glad reply;
And greet, from all their holy heights,
The dayspring from on high.
4 O'er the blue depths of Galilee
There comes a holier calm,
And Sharon waves, in solemn praise,
Her silent groves of palm.
5 "Glory to God!" the sounding skies
Loud with their anthems ring;
"Peace to the earth, good-will to men,
From heaven's Eternal King!"
6 Light on thy hills, Jerusalem!
The Saviour now is born!
And bright on Bethlehem's joyous plains
Breaks the first Christmas morn.
1 WATCHMAN! tell us of the night,
What its signs of promise are.
Traveller! o'er yon mountain's height
See that glory-beaming star.
2 Watchman! does its beauteous ray
Aught of hope or joy foretell?
Traveller! yes; it brings the day,
Promised day of Israel.
3 Watchman! tell us of the night;
Higher yet that star ascends.
Traveller blessedness and light,
Peace and truth, its course portends.
4 Watchman! will its beams alone
Gild the spot that gave them birth?
Traveller! ages are its own;
See, it bursts o'er all the earth.
5 Watchman! tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Traveller darkness takes its flight;
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
6 Watchman! let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveller! lo! the Prince of Peace,
Lo! the Son of God, is come.
1 BRIGHT was the guiding star, that led,
With mild, benignant ray,
The Gentiles to the lowly bed
Where our Redeemer lay.
2 But, lo! a brighter, clearer light
Now points to his abode ;
It shines through sin and sorrow's night,
To guide us to our Lord.
3 O, haste to follow where it leads ;
The gracious call obey,
Be rugged wilds, or flowery meads,
The Christian's destined way.
4 O, gladly tread the narrow path,
While light and grace are given;
Who meekly follow Christ on earth
Shall reign with him in heaven.
1 HAIL, all hail the joyful morn!
Tell it forth from earth to heaven,
That to us a child is born,
That to us a son is given.
2 Angels, bending from the sky,
Chanted at the wondrous birth;
"Glory be to God on high,
Peace, good-will to man on earth."
3 Join we then our feeble lays
To the chorus of the sky;
And, in songs of grateful praise,
Glory give to God on high.
1 GLORY to God, and peace on earth,
Was once by angels sung;
Glad tidings of a Saviour's birth
Through plains of Bethlehem rung.
2 He came to make the feeble strong,
To heal the deaf and blind,
To give the dumb the voice of song,
And free the captive mind.
3 He came the light of life to show,
The true and living way;
Where streams of joy unceasing flow,
And lead to endless day.
4 Glory to God! the gospel's sound
Our churches echo still ;
Spread it, O Lord, the world around,
And with its spirit fill.
5 Glory to God! our hearts acclaim;
O, haste the happy time,
When songs shall sound the Saviour's name
O'er every distant clime.
1 WHEN in silence, o'er the deep,
Darkness kept its deathlike sleep;
Soon as God his mandate spoke,
Light in wondrous beauty broke.
2 But a beam of holier light
Gilded Bethlehem's lonely night,
When the glory of the Lord,
Mercy's sunlight, shone abroad.
3 "Peace on earth, good-will to men,'
Burst the glorious anthem then;
Angels, bending from above,
Joined that strain of holy love.
4 Floating o'er the waves of time,
Comes to us that song sublime,
Bearing to the pilgrim's ear,
Words to soothe, sustain, and cheer.
5 For creation's blessed light,
Praise to thee, thou God of might!
Seraph-strains thy name should bless
For the Sun of Righteousness!
1 O, LET your mingling voices rise,
In grateful rapture, to the skies,
And hail a Saviour's birth :
Let songs of joy the day proclaim,
When Jesus all-triumphant came
To bless the sons of earth.
2 He came to bid the weary rest,
To heal the sinner's wounded breast,
To bind the broken heart,
To spread the light of truth around,
And to the world's remotest bound
The heavenly gift impart.
3 He came our trembling souls to save
From sin, from sorrow, and the grave,
And chase our fears away;
Victorious over death and time,
To lead us to a happier clime,
Where reigns eternal day.
1 HARK! what celestial sounds,
What music fills the air!
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