1 Ere the blue heav'ns were stretch'd abroad,
From everlasting was the Word:
With God he was; the Word was God,
And must divinely be ador'd.

2 By his own pow'r were all things made;
By him supported all things stand;
He is the whole creation's head,
And angels fly at his command.

3 Ere sin was born, or Satan fell,
He led the host of morning stars.
Thy generation who can tell,
Or count the numbers of thy years!

4 But lo! he leaves those heav'nly forms,
The Word descends and dwells in clay,
That he may hold converse with worms,
Dressed in such feeble flesh as they.

5 Mortals with joy beheld his face,
Th' eternal Father's only Son;
How full of truth, how full of grace,
When through his eyes the Godhead shone.

6 Archangels leave their high abode
To learn new myst'ries here, and tell
The loves of our descending God,
The glories of Emmanuel.