Henry Bramley's Hymn

<p>‘The great God of heaven is come down to earth,<br> His mother a Virgin, and sinless his birth;<br> The Father eternal his Father alone:<br> He sleeps in the manger; he reigns on the throne:</p> <blockquote>‘Then let us adore him, and praise his great love:<br> To save us poor sinners he came from above.</blockquote> <p>‘A Babe on the breast of a Maiden he lies,<br> Yet sits with the Father on high in the skies;<br> Before him their faces the seraphim hide,<br> While Joseph stands waiting, unscared, by his side:</p> <p>‘Lo! here is Emmanuel, here is the Child,<br> The Son that was promised to Mary so mild;<br> Whose power and dominion shall ever increase,<br> The Prince that shall rule o’er a kingdom of peace:</p> <p>‘The Wonderful Counsellor, boundless in might,<br> The Father’s own image, the beam of his light;<br> Behold him now wearing the likeness of man,<br> Weak, helpless, and speechless, in measure a span:</p> <p>‘O wonder of wonders, which none can unfold:<br> The Ancient of days is an hour or two old;<br> The Maker of all things is made of the earth,<br> Man is worshipped by angels, and God comes to birth:</p> <blockquote>‘Then let us adore him, and praise his great love:<br> To save us poor sinners he came from above.’</blockquote> <p><em>—Henry Ramsden Bramley (1833-1917)</em></p>