1 Ere the blue heavens were stretched abroad,
From everlasting was the Word;
With God he was, the Word was God,
And must divinely be adored.
2 By his own power were all things made;
By him supported all things stand;
He is the whole creation's head,
And angels fly at his command.
3 But lo! he leaves those heavenly forms;
The Word descends and dwells in clay,
That he may converse hold with worms,
Dressed in such feeble flesh as they.
4 Mortals with joy beheld his face,
The eternal Father's only Son:
How full of truth, how full of grace,
The brightness of the Godhead shone!
5 The angels leave their high abode,
To learn new mysteries here, and tell
The love of our descending God,
The glories of Immanuel.
Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #146
First Line: | Ere the blue heavens were stretched abroad |
Title: | Deity and Humanity of Christ |
Author: | Isaac Watts |
Meter: | 8.8.8.8 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Ere the blue heavens were stretch'd abroad. I. Watts. [Divinity and Humanity of Christ.] First published in his Hymns & Sacred Songs, 1707, Bk. i. No. 2, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines. In addition to its somewhat extensive use in its original form in Great Britain and America, it is also given in an altered form as, "Before the heavens were spread abroad," in Songs for the Sanctuary, N. Y., 1865-72, and others.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)