Christ, Humanity of

His whole ancestry is as thoroughly human as ours can be. Every link of the chain is human … It is a long chain, sometimes almost broken or worn through; but thus all the more thoroughly human. He is the seed of the woman; the man Christ Jesus. He is very man, out of the loins of Abraham, and of the substance of the Virgin; son of Mary and son of Adam.

Verse 1

A pilgrim through this lonely world,
The blessed Savior passed;
A mourner all his life was he,
A dying Lamb at last

Verse 2

That tender heart which felt for all,
For us its life-blood gave;
It found on earth no resting-place.
Save only in the grave.

Verse 3

Such was our Lord; and shall we fear
The cross with all its scorn?
Or love a faithless, evil world
That wreathed his brow with thorn?

Verse 4

No, facing all its frowns or smiles,
Like him obedient still,
We homeward press, through storm or calm,
To Zion’s blessed hill.

Verse 1

Awake, awake, the sacred song,
To our incarnate Lord;
Let every heart and every tongue
Adore th’ eternal Word.

Verse 2

That awful Word, that sovereign Power,
By whom the worlds were made;
Oh, happy morn--illustrious hour--
Was once in flesh arrayed.

Verse 3

To dwell with misery here below,
The Savior left the skies,
And sunk to wretchedness and woe,
That worthless man might rise.

Verse 4

Adoring angels tuned their songs,
To hail the joyful day;
With rapture, then, let human tongues
Their grateful worship pay.

Verse 1

In stature grows the heavenly Child,
With death before his eyes;
A Lamb unblemished, meek and mild,
Prepared for sacrifice.

Verse 2

The Son of God his glory hides
With parents mean and poor;
And he who made the heavens abides
In dwelling-place obscure.

Verse 3

Those mighty hands that stay the sky
No earthly toil refuse;
And he who set the stars on high
A humble trade pursues.

Verse 4

He before whom the angels stand.
At whose behest they fly,
Now yields himself to man’s command,
And lays his glory by.

Verse 5

The Father’s name we loudly raise,
The Son we all adore,
The Holy Ghost, One God, we praise,
Both now and evermore.

Verse 1

While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

Verse 2

“Fear not,” said he,--for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind,--
“Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.

Verse 3

“To you, in David’s town, this day,
Is born of David’s line,
The Savior, who is Christ, the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:

Verse 4

“The heavenly babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.”

Verse 5

Thus spake the seraph; and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, and thus
Addressed their joyful song:

Verse 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!”