Words: Au­thor un­known (Ave Je­su Deus); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by in Christ­mas Car­ols New and Old (Lon­d­on: No­vel­lo, Ew­er & Co., 1871), pp. 14-15.

Music: .


Jesu hail! O God most holy,
Gentle Lamb, an Infant lowly;
Born, great God, a human stranger,
Laid within the narrow manger:

Refrain

Might transcending, weakness blending,
Greatness bending from the sky;
Love unending, man befriending,
God most High, God most High.

To enrich my desolation,
To redeem me from damnation,
Wrapt in swathing bands Thou liest,
Thou in want and weakness sighest:

Refrain

Low abased, where brutes are sleeping,
God’s belovèd Son is weeping;
Judge supreme, true Godhead sharing,
Sinner’s likeness for us wearing!

Refrain

Jesu, Thine my heart is solely;
Draw it, take it to Thee wholly;
With Thy sacred fire illume me,
Let it inwardly consume me.

Refrain

Hence let idle fancies vanish,
Hence all evil passions banish;
Make me like Thyself in meekness,
Bind to Thee my human weakness,

Refrain