See, amid the winter's snow,
Born for us on earth below,
See, the Lamb of God appears,
Promised from eternal years.
Hail, thou ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Lo, within a manger lies
He who built the starry skies,
He who throned in height sublime
Sits amid the cherubim.
Say, ye holy shepherds, say,
What your joyful news today;
Wherefore have ye left your sheep
On the lonely mountain steep?
'As we watched at dead of night,
Lo, we saw a wondrous light:
Angels singing, "Peace on earth"
Told us of the Saviour's birth.'
Sacred Infant, all divine,
What a tender love was Thine,
Thus to come from highest bliss
Down to such a world as this!
Teach, O teach us, holy Child,
By Thy face so meek and mild,
Teach us to resemble Thee
In Thy sweet humility.
About This Song
This song was written in 1851 by Edward Caswa ll, an Anglican priest who later converted to Catholicism, it is sung with the John Goss tune “Humility” which seems to have been composed specifically for this text.
Of particular interest is stanza two which vividly depicts the “the equality with God” (Philippians 2:5-10) to which Christ refused to cling, demonstrating the love that brought him “down to such a world as this”.
