For Christmas

Words: Harriet Mozley (1803-1851)  

Music: “St. John” by Cecil
Meter: 77 77 77

Source: Mary Palmer and John Farmer, eds., Church Sunday School Hymn-Book (London: Church of England Sunday-School Institute, 1892), #349.

1. By thy birth, O Lord of all,
In a stable's lowly stall,
Where Thou didst vouchsafe to rest
On a human mother's breast;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this their litany.

2. By Thy humble bed of straw,
Thy obedience to the law;
By Thy forty days of woe
Wrestling with the mighty foe;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this our litany.

3. By the hallowed water poured
On Thy sacred head, O Lord,
When Thou Jordan's wave didst bless,
And fulfill all righteousness;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this our litany.

4. By the anguish laid on Thee,
Kneeling in Gethsemane,
By Thy cross and precious death,
By Thy last expiring breath;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this our litany.

5. By the word of pardon blest
To the dying thief addressed,
By Thy cold and rocky bed,
By Thy sojourn 'midst the dead;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this our litany.

6. By Thy resurrection bright
By Thy wondrous heavenly flight.
By the throne where thou dost stand
At Thy Father's own right hand;
Guard Thy children, Lord, to thee
Chanting this our litany.

Sheet Music "St. John" from Mary Palmer and John Farmer, eds., Church Sunday School Hymn-Book (London: Church of England Sunday-School Institute, 1892), #349.

Note:

Harriet was married to Tom Mozley and brother to John Henry Newman. She was also the author of The Fairy Bower (1841).

Other Music: Litany (J. W. Elliott) is available at Oremus, By Thy Birth, O Lord Of All <http://hymnal.oremus.org/hwiki/index.php/By_thy_birth,_O_Lord_of_all>

This hymn is included in Arthur Sullivan's Church Hymns with Tunes, 1874 , #581 < http://hymnal.oremus.org/hwiki/index.php/Church_Hymns_with_Tunes%2C_1874 >. It is also included in C.E.B. Young's Hymns of Prayer and Praise With Tunes (1921), available at Internet Archive < http://www.archive.org/details/hymnsofpraise00younuoft >