Lauds in Christmastide

Lauds in Christmastide –

From east to west, from shore to shore
Let ev’ry heart awake and sing
The holy child whom Mary bore,
The Christ, the everlasting king.

Behold, the world’s creator wears
The form and fashion of a slave;
Our very flesh our maker shares,
His fallen creatures, all, to save.

For this how wondrously he wrought!
A maiden, in her lowly place,
Became, in ways beyond all thought,
The chosen vessel of his grace.

And while the angels in the sky
Sang praise above the silent field,
To shepherds poor the Lord most high,
The one great shepherd, was revealed.

All glory for this blessed morn
To God the Father ever be;
All praise to you, O Virgin-born,
And Holy Ghost, eternally. Amen.

~Office Hymn, Christmastide before the Epiphany