Angels We Have Heard On High

See also the French Original: Les anges dans nos campagnes

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

Refrain

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song? (Refrain)

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King. (Refrain)

See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise. (Refrain)

Text & Tune: Les anges dans nos campagnes 77.77 + Glorias

Traditional French carol, trans. James Chadwick (1862)

O Come, Divine Messiah

See also the French Original: Venez, divin Messie

O come, Divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

Refrain:

Dear Saviour haste;
Come, come to earth,
Dispel the night and show your face,
And bid us hail the dawn of grace.
O come, divine Messiah!
The world in silence waits the day
When hope shall sing its triumph,
And sadness flee away.

O Christ, whom nations sigh for,
Whom priest and prophet long foretold,
Come break the captive fetters;
Redeem the long-lost fold. (Refrain)

You come in peace and meekness,
And lowly will your cradle be;
All clothed in human weakness
Shall we your Godhead see. (Refrain)

Text: Venez, divin Messie

Words: Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin (1663-1745), trans. Sr. Mary of St.Philip.

Noel (An African Spiritual / Congo)

Noel, Noel
Yesu me kwisa ku zinga ti beto
Noel, noel
Yesu me kwisa ku zinga ti beto

Kana nge zola ku zaba mwana
Nge fwiti kwisa ku fukama
Kana nge zola ku zaba mwana
Nge fwiti kwisa ku fukama

African Christmas Spiritual in Kituba Dialect (Congo)

Noel, Noel
Jesus has come to live with us
Noel, Noel
Jesus has come to live with us

If you want to know the Child
You have to come kneel
If you want to know the Child
You have to come kneel

Sing Noel (African Noel)

Sing Noel, sing Noel, Noel, Noel (4X)
Sing we all Noel! (2X)
O sing! (Sing Noel, sing Noel, Noel, Noel) (2X)

O come ye people gather here
To hear the news of good cheer
The King of Kings; The Lamb of God
Is born today in Bethlehen

Sing Noel! (Sing Noel, sing Noel, Noel, Noel) (2x)
Sing Noel, Noel, O sing Noel, Noel. O Sing!

Traditional African

I Bind My Heart This Tide

I bind my heart this tide
To the Galilean’s side,
To the wounds of Calvary,
To the Christ who died for me.

I bind my soul this day
To the brother far away,
And the brother near at hand,
In this town, and in this land.

I bind my heart to thrall
To the God, the Lord of all,
To the God, the poor man’s Friend,
And the Christ whom He did send.

I bind myself to peace,
To make strife and envy cease,
God, knit Thou sure the cord
Of my thralldom to my Lord!

Text: "Thraldom," from The Tryst, by Lauchlan MacLean Watt (1907)

God We Praise You (Te Deum)

1 God, we praise you! God, we bless you!
God, we name you sovereign Lord!
Mighty King whom angels worship, Father, by your church adored:
all creation shows your glory, heaven and earth draw near your throne
singing "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, and God alone!"

2 True apostles, faithful prophets, saints who set their world ablaze,
martyrs, once unknown, unheeded, join one growing song of praise,
while your church on earth confesses one majestic Trinity:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God, our hope eternally.

3 Jesus Christ, the king of glory, everlasting Son of God,
humble was your virgin mother, hard the lonely path you trod:
by your cross is sin defeated, hell confronted face to face,
heaven opened to believers, sinners justified by grace.

4 Christ, at God's right hand victorious, you will judge the world you made;
Lord, in mercy help your servants for whose freedom you have paid:
raise us up from dust to glory, guard us from all sin today;
King enthroned above all praises, save your people, God, we pray.

Paraphrase of the Te Deum

Text: Christopher Idle (1978)
Tune: NETTLETON 87.87D, from A Repository of Sacred Music, Part II (1813)

I Sing The Mighty Power of God

I sing the mighty power of God,
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad,
and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at God's command,
and all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord,
who filled the earth with food,
who formed the creatures through the Word,
and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how thy wonders are displayed,
where'er I turn my eye,
if I survey the ground I tread,
or gaze upon the sky.

There's not a plant or flower below,
but makes thy glories known,
and clouds arise, and tempests blow,
by order from thy throne;
while all that borrows life from thee
is ever in thy care;
and everywhere that we can be,
thou, God art present there.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1715
Tune: ELLACOMBE CMD