Lobt Gott, ihr christen allzugleich / Praise God the Lord, ye sons of men
| German (ca. 1550) Nikolaus Herman oldest version incl. orthography | English translation August Crull with emendations (closer to the German) |
| 1. Lobt Gott, ir Christen, alle gleich, In seinem höchsten thron, Der heut schleust auff sein Himelreich, Und schenckt uns seinen Son. (bis) | Praise God the Lord, ye sons of men, Before His highest throne; Today He opens heaven again And gives us His own Son. |
| 2. Er kömpt aus seines Vaters schos Und wird ein Kindlein klein, Er leit dort elend, nackt und blos In einem Krippelein. (bis) | He leaves His heavenly Father’s throne, Is born an infant small, And in a manger, poor and and lone, Lies in a humble stall. |
| 3. Er eussert* sich all seiner gewalt, Wird nidrig und gering und nimpt an sich eins knechts gestalt, Der Schöpffer aller ding. (bis) | He veils in flesh His power divine A servant’s form to take; In want and lowliness must pine Who heaven and earth did make. |
| 4. Er leit an seiner Mutter brust, Ir milch, die ist sein speis, An dem die Engel sehn irn lust, Denn er ist Davids reis, (bis) | He nestles at His mother’s breast, Her milk His food must be Whom saints and angels call Him blest Of David’s house is He |
| 5. Das aus sein stamm entspriessen solt In dieser letzten zeit, Durch welchen Gott auffrichten wolt Sein Reich, die Christenheit. (bis) | ‘Tis He who in these latter days From Judah’s tribe should come, By whom the Lord our God will raise his Kingdom, — and the Church. |
| 6. Er wechselt mit uns wunderlich, Fleisch und Blut nimpt er an und gibt uns inn seins Vatern reich die klare Gottheit dran. (bis) | A wondrous change He makes for us! He takes our flesh and blood, And in his Father’s royal realm We shine in God’s own light. |
| 7. Er wird ein Knecht und ich ein Herr, das mag ein Wechsel sein, Wie könnd er doch sein freundlicher, Das herze Jhesulein. (bis) | He serves that I a lord may be; A great exchange indeed! Could Jesus’ love do more for me, My sweet heart and my dear! |
| 8. Heut schleust er wider auff die thür, zum schönen Paradeis, der Cherub steht nicht mehr darfür. Gott sey lob, ehr und preis. (bis) | He opens us again the door Of Paradise today; The cherub guards the gate no more, To God our thanks we pay. |
This christmas song (“Lobt Gott ihr christen alle gleich”) was written ca. 1550 by Nicolaus Herman, schoolteacher at Joachimstal, destined explicitly for ‘his pupils’ at the local school (“die kinder in Joachimstal“).
The original song has 8 stanzas (from which only 6 survive in modern hymnals). Apparently, the stanzas in which the language is most concrete and vivid (4 and 5) were considered primitive and inappropriate, in modern, so called enlightened times. Yet it is precisely this concreteness—this sense of physical tangibility—that stimulates the imagination and thereby makes the Incarnation palpable: Christ’s becoming fully human, even as a baby nursing at his mother’s breast, a scene that awakens tender and intimate feelings toward God, and thus also among human beings. The whole tradition of popular Christmas devotion was, and still is, rooted in and shaped by experiencing this.
Listen to the performance of 4 stanzas (music from the Cantional of J.H. Schein)