Celestial hands that once were stained with stars
Now comprehend a manger’s temporal frame:
And God, dependent on a virgin’s cares,
Succumbs to man, presumes to take the blame.
The King of he’ven is fostered on the earth,
And breathes the dust from which He now is formed,
A mother knows His curse, a painful birth,
Archangels sing, the gates of hell are stormed.
Yet fierce resentments saturate the air,
And Rachel’s grief and mourning is decreed
As wise men leave their gifts of gold and myrrh Who is this child who irks the human seed?
Immanuel, God with us, now disclosed,
Our servant comes, salvation is imposed.