In The Bleak Midwinter
Words: Christina Georgina Rossetti
Music: “Cranham,” Gustav Theodore Holst


In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain
Heaven and earth shall welcom Him when He comes to reign
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
Lord God Incarnate, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him Whom cherubim worship night and day
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay
Enough for Him, Whom angels fall before
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air
But His mother only in her maiden bliss
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part
Yet what I can give Him, give my heart.

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