Shepherds rejoice, lift up your eyes

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General information

Shepherds rejoice, lift up your eyes is a poem by Isaac Watts, from Horae Lyricae, 1706, entitled The Nativity of Christ. It was reprinted as Hymn 4 in Book 1 of Isaac Watts's Hymns and Spiritual Songs of 1709. It describes the Annunciation to the shepherdsLink to the English Wikipedia article.

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Text and translations

English.png English text

Original 86. 86.
Shepherds rejoice, lift up your eyes,
And send your fears away;
News from the regions of the skies,
Salvation's born to-day:

Jesus, the God whom angels fear,
Comes down to dwell with you;
Today he makes his entrance here,
But not as monarchs do.

No gold nor purple swaddling bands,
Nor royal shining things;
A manger for his cradle stands,
And holds the King of kings.

Go, shepherds, where the infant lies,
And see his humble throne;
With tears of joy in all your eyes,
Go, shepherds, kiss the Son.

Thus Gabriel sung, and straight around
The heavenly armies throng,
They tune their harps to lofty sound,
And thus conclude the song:

Glory to God that reigns above,
Let peace surround the earth:
Mortals shall know their Maker's love,
At their Redeemer's birth.

Lord, and shall angels have their songs,
And men no tunes to raise!
O may we lose our useless tongues
When they forget to praise.

Glory to God that reigns above,
That pitied us forlorn,
We join to sing our Maker's love,
For there's a Saviour born.

English.png English text

Alternative words 10 10. 10 10.
Shepherds, rejoice,
And send your fears away:
News from the sky;
A Savior's born today.

Jesus the God
Comes down to dwell with you:
Today he comes,
But not as monarchs do.

No gold, no pur-
ple, royal shining things;
A manger stands,
And holds the King of Kings.

Thus Gabriel sung:
the heavenly angels throng.
They tune their harps,
and thus conclude the song:

Glory to God,
Who reigns enthron'd above:
Goodwill to men,
And peace and endless love.

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