Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty,

Who was, and who is

And Who is to come

For You, Lord, we lift up all our praise!

A shoot has sprung forth

From the stem of Jesse;

A branch from his roots

Has born fruit

Something altogether good

Has come out of the land of Nazareth,

Galilee of the Gentiles!

What an altogether unlikely beginning You have chosen, Lord

Our mighty God and our Creator

Has chosen to limit Himself to our lowly human frame;

To be born in the humblest of places,

And in the meekest of circumstances

Fully God and fully man, You have come,

Securing salvation for all.

You have fulfilled the promises You made to Your people,

Displaying the great depth of Your faithfulness

Those walking in darkness have seen a great light!

With You, oh God,

The impossible has become possible-

There is nothing too difficult for You

The virgin Mary, humble of heart,

Has born a Son!

His name is Jesus,

For He will save His people from their sins.

What a surprise this must have been,

But so very like You, Lord!

You delight in choosing humble vessels

To carry out Your glorious plans

Once again, what a wonder,

When You chose to reveal Your birth to the Shepherds first!

An unpopular group, to be sure-

In the eyes of the world, without much value,

But in Your perfect plan, Lord, recipients of the Angel’s proclamation

Man looks at the outward appearance,

But You, Lord- You look at the heart

You have chosen to carry out your wonderful plans

Through the most surprising people,

And in the most astonishing ways!

What an awesome God You are!

For You choose, out of Your great wisdom,

To use the lowly and despised of this world-

The foolish things to shame the wise

You stop us in our tracks, Lord,

You leave us open mouthed!

When we are unremarkable,

You show Yourself utterly extraordinary!

When we are weak,

You rise up strong!

When we are of little consequence,

You reveal to us our worth in You.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty,

Who was, and who is

And who is to come

For You, Lord, we lift up all our praise!