Christmas
From Heaven Above To Earth I Come
- Words:
- Martin Luther, 1535. translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1855.
- Music:
- 'Vom Himmel Hoch' traditional German from Schumann's Geistliche Lieder, Leipzig, 1539.
- Setting:
- "Common Service Book" (ULCA), 1917.
- Metre:
- 8 8 8 8
- 1From Heaven above to earth I come,To bear good news to every home;Glad tidings of great joy I bring,Whereof I now will say and sing.
- 2To you, this night, is born a ChildOf Mary, chosen mother mild;This tender Child of lowly birth,Shall be the joy of all your earth.
- 3'Tis Christ our God, Who far on highHad heard your sad and bitter cry;Himself will your Salvation be,Himself from sin will make you free.
- 4He brings those blessings long agoPrepared by God for all below;That in His heavenly kingdom blestYou may with us forever rest.
- 5These are the tokens ye shall mark,The swaddling clothes and manger dark;There shall ye find the young Child laid,By Whom the heav'ns and earth were made.
- 6Now let us all, with gladsome cheer,Follow the shepherds, and draw nearTo see this wondrous Gift of God,Who hath His own dear Son bestowed.
- 7Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!What is it in yon manger lies?Who is this Child, so young and fair?The blessèd Christ Child lieth there!
- 8Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,Through Whom e'en wicked men are blest!Thou com'st to share our misery,What can we render, Lord, to Thee!
- 9Ah, Lord, Who hast created all,How hast Thou made Thee weak and small,To lie upon the coarse dry grass,The food of humble ox and ass.
- 10Were earth a thousand times as fair,Beset with gold and jewels rare,She yet were far too poor to beA narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee.
- 11For velvets soft and silken stuffThou hast but hay and straw so rough,Whereon Thou King, so rich and great,As 'twere Thy heaven, art throned in state.
- 12Thus hath it pleased Thee to make plainThe truth to us, poor fools and vain,That this world's honor, wealth and mightAre naught and worthless in Thy sight.
- 13Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child,Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,Here in my poor heart's inmost shrine,That I may evermore be Thine.
- 14My heart for very joy doth leap,My lips no more can silence keep,I too must sing, with joyful tongue,That sweetest ancient cradle song.
- 15Glory to God in highest Heaven,Who unto man His Son hath given,While angels sing, with pious mirth,A glad New Year to all the earth.
More sheet music
Scripture
Topics
In the hymnals
- The words are in 154 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
- The tune, Vom Himmel Hoch, is in 358 hymnals. The tune →
Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. Further sheet music is 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.