Christum wir sollen loben schon
The Incarnation of the Son
The Creator of all things humbles himself to take on human flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit within the Virgin Mary.
Let's praise Christ, the Son of Mary, the pure virgin. As far as the dear sun shines, reaching to the ends of the earth. The blessed Creator of all things took on the humble body of a servant, so that through flesh he might redeem humanity and keep his creation from perishing entirely. God’s great grace poured down from heaven into the virgin mother; a young woman carried a hidden treasure that nature could not comprehend.✦ Her pure and tender heart quickly became a temple of God; untouched and unknown by any man, she was found to be pregnant by God's Word.
The Nativity and Divine Poverty
Christ is born in poverty and laid in a manger, demonstrating his humility as the provider of all creation.
The noble mother gave birth to the one Gabriel had promised, the one Saint John pointed to by leaping while he was still in his mother’s womb. He lay in the hay in deepest poverty, yet the hard manger didn't trouble him. A little milk became the food of the one who never let a single bird go hungry.
The Joy of the Angels and Shepherds
The heavenly host and the shepherds celebrate the arrival of the Savior, concluding with a doxology to the Triune God.
The choir of heaven rejoices at this, and the angels sing God's praise; the poor shepherds are told that the shepherd and creator of the whole world has arrived. Praise, honor, and thanks be yours, Christ, born of a pure maiden. With the Father and the Holy Spirit, from now through all eternity.
Read the original Latin
Christum wir sollen loben schon / der reynen magd Marien son. So weit die liebe sonne leucht / vnnd an aller welt ende reicht.
Der selig schepffer aller ding / zoch an eins knechtes leib gering / das er das fleisch durch fleisch erworb / vnd seyn geschepff nicht als verdorb.
Die götlich gnad von hymel groß / sych yn die keusche mutter goß / Eyn medlin trug einn heymlich pfand / das der natur war vnbekand.
Das zuchtig haus des hertzen tzart / gar baldt eyn Tempel Gottis wart / die kein man ruret noch erkand / von gots wort sye man schwanger fand.
Die edle mutter hat geborn / den Gabriel verhyeß zuuorn / den sanct Johans mit spryngen zeygt / da er noch lag ynn mutter leyb.
Er lag ym hew mit armut groß / die krippen hart yhn nicht verdroß. Es ward eyn kleyne milch seyn speyß / der nie keyn voglin hungern ließ.
Des hymels Chor sich frewen drob / vnd die engel syngen Got lob / den armen hyrten wird vermeld / der hirt vnd schepffer aller welt.
Lob ehr vnnd danck sey dir gesagt / Christ geborn von reyner magd. Mit vater vnd dem heylgen geist / von nu an byß ynn ewigkeit.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.1.26-Luke.1.35 — In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee whose name was Nazareth, Luke.1.27 — to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. Luke.1.28 — And coming to her, he said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' Luke.1.29 — But she was troubled at his message, and she kept pondering what sort of greeting this might be. Luke.1.30 — And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Luke.1.31 — And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Luke.1.32 — He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. Luke.1.33 — And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Luke.1.34 — But Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not known a man?" Luke.1.35 — And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the one to be born will be called Son of God."
Erfurt Enchiridion (Early Lutheran Hymns) companion
Never lose the rhythm again
Chosen Portion delivers your morning, midday and night office to your phone — the Hours, without the bells.
Chosen Portion is a modern Book of Hours: it turns the fixed-hour structure this collection preserves into scheduled, tappable daily prayer on your phone.
- Three daily prayer moments scheduled around your real calendar, not a monastery's
- Psalms and historic prayers sequenced for you — no page-flipping or decision fatigue
- A visible streak of completed offices, so the rhythm compounds instead of collapsing