Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Never Was A Child So Lovely



Never was a child so lovely
Born in ox's stall so lowly;
Ne'er was gift so great to earth
As God's gift, the Virgin Birth.

So the manger they could find,
Wise men were by star beshined,
And the shepherds prayed enow,
As their heads did humbly bow.

Child no crying he did make;
Angels' songs the silence break;
Came betimes the neighbors all,
Homage paying to the stall.

God ne'er seen by man's eye
Silent sate fornent the sky,
Knowing though the angels sang,
His wee son on a cross would hang.

His wee son in man's estate
Come to a wrong-doer's fate,
Sinless die as lived he here,
Master, Savior, Christ our dear.

Never was a child so lovely
Born in ox's stall so lowly;
Ne'er was gift so great to earth
As God's gift, the Virgin Birth.

Traditional: American Collected by John Jacob Niles
images courtesy of Christian Clip Art

2 comments:

Jodi said...

God ne'er seen by man's eye
Silent sate fornent the sky,
Knowing though the angels sang,
His wee son on a cross would hang


I always feel sad when I think of how God must have felt when Jesus left Heaven and came to earth. It seems to me He must have missed His Son for one thing. And for another His heart must have been aching at the knowledge of what lay ahead for His beloved Son. I know we see Christmas as a time of great joy, but it has an underlying sense of sadness to it as well. Our joy was birthed through great sacrifice.

Really beautiful poem, Mom.

Cathy said...

That IS beautiful, Mimi. I like what Jodi said. :o) I love your "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" and your pretty music.