Christmas
Christians, Awake, Salute The Happy Morn
- Words:
- John Byrom
- Music:
- John Wainwright
Sheet music
- 1Christians, awake, salute the happy morn,Whereon the Savior of the world was born;Rise to adore the mystery of love,Which hosts of angels chanted from above;With them the joyful tidings first begunOf God incarnate and the Virgin’s Son.
- 2Then to the watchful shepherds it was told,Who heard the angelic herald’s voice:“Behold, I bring good tidings of a Savior’s birthTo you and all the nations upon earth:This day hath God fulfilled His promised word,This day is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.”
- 3He spake, and straightway the celestial choirIn hymns of joy, unknown before, conspire;The praises of redeeming love they sang,And heav’n’s whole orb with alleluias rang;God’s highest glory was their anthem still,Peace upon earth, and unto men good will.
- 4To Bethlehem straight the happy shepherds ran,To see the wonder God had wrought for man;And found, with Joseph and the blessed Maid,Her Son, the Savior, in a manger laid;Amazed, the wondrous story they proclaim,The earliest heralds of the Savior’s name.
- 5Let us, like these good shepherds, then employOur grateful voices to proclaim the joy;Trace we the Babe, Who hath retrieved our loss,From His poor manger to His bitter cross;Treading His steps, assisted by His grace,Till man’s first heav’nly state again takes place.
- 6Then may we hope, the’angelic thrones among,To sing, redeemed, a glad triumphal song;He, that was born up on this joyful day,Around us all His glory shall display;Saved by His love, incessant we shall singOf angels and of angel-men the King.Amen.
In the hymnals
- Written in 1749, the words are in 208 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The sheet music and words are from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.