Verse 1
Glory be to God on high,
And peace on earth descend;
God comes[1] down: he bows the sky:
And shews himself our friend!
God th’ invisible appears,
God the blest, the great I AM
Sojourns in this vale of tears,
And Jesus is his name.
Verse 2
Him the angels all ador’d
Their Maker and their King:
Tidings of their humbled Lord
They now to mortals bring:
Emptied of his majesty,
Of his dazling glories shorn,
Being’s source begins to be,
And God himself is BORN!
Verse 3
See th’ eternal Son of God
A mortal Son of man,
Dwelling in an earthy[2] clod
Whom heaven cannot contain!
Stand amaz’d ye heavens at this!
See the Lord of earth and skies!
Humbled to the dust he is,
And in a manger lies!
Verse 4
We the sons of men rejoice,
The Prince of Peace proclaim,
With heaven’s host[3] lift up our[4] voice,
And shout Immanuel’s name;
Knees and hearts to him we bow;
Of our flesh, and of our bone
Jesus is our brother now,
And God is all our own!
[1] Wesley changed “comes” to “came” in 1750 and 1755, but returned to “comes” afterwards.
[2] Wesley changed “earthy” to “earthly” in 1755.
[3] Wesley changed “host” to “hosts” in 1761, but returned to “host” afterwards.
[4] Wesley changed “our” to “your” in 1755 and 1768, but returned to “our” afterwards.