To Shepherds, as They Watched By Night

Another from the pen of Martin Luther, again from “The Hymns of Martin Luther”.

A second Christmas Song, to the Tune, “Vom Himmel hoch.”
Melody, 1543.

To shepherds, as they watched by night,
Appeared a troop of angels bright;
Behold the tender babe, they said,
In yonder lowly manger laid.

At Bethlehem, in David’s town,
As Micah did of old make known;-
‘Tis Jesus Christ, your Lord and King,
Who doth to all salvation bring.

Rejoice ye, then, that through his Son
God is with sinners now at one;
Made like yourselves of flesh and blood,
Your brother is th’ eternal Good.

What harm can sin and death then do?
The true God now abides with you:
Let hell and Satan chide and chafe,
God is your fellow-ye are safe.

Not one he will nor can forsake
Who him his confidence doth make:
Let all his wiles the tempter try,
You may his utmost powers defy.

You must prevail at last, for ye
Are now become God’s family:
To God forever give ye praise,
Patient and cheerful all your days.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: