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| Source: Unknown |
Infant holy, Infant lowly,
For His bed a cattle
stall.
Oxen lowing, little
knowing
Christ, the Babe, is Lord
of all.
Swift are winging angels
singing,
Noels ringing, tidings
bringing:
Christ, the Babe, is Lord
of all!
Christ, the Babe, is Lord
of all!
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly”
sums up the contrasts in the life of Jesus Christ. How could He be both?
Originally a Polish hymn
called “W Zlobie Lezy” or “He Lies in a Cradle,” it was the work of Piotr
Skarga, a sixteenth-century Jesuit priest. A man of contrasts himself, he
founded a college, a pawnshop, and a bank, all for the aid of the poor, but
still managed to be a major force in Poland’s political history.
The music for the hymn
reached England long before the text did, being attached to several other
songs. It took a war to finally unite the music with an English version of
Skarga’s words. Two years after the end of World War I, perhaps influenced by
the songs of displaced Poles, Edith Margaret Gellibrand Reed turned “W Zlobie
Lezy” into “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly.”
Edith Reed was a traveler
and editor of music magazines. She also wrote mystery (or miracle) plays about
the birth of Christ, exploring the “mystery” of God becoming man. The
similarity between the plays and the hymn may have been what inspired her to
work on the translation.
“Infant Holy, Infant
Lowly” leaves listeners in no doubt that even though this child was born in the
lowest of circumstances, He was still, mysteriously and miraculously, “the Lord
of all.” The Creator became part of His very own creation. And even though He
came to save the whole world—well, He isn’t going to do that in a
straightforward way either. With the salvation of humankind as His holy
mission, He, mysteriously and miraculously, has one lowly human as His
priority. As the song says in its last line, “Christ the Babe was born for
you.”
And the angel answered and
said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. LUKE 1:35
(From Silent Night: The Stories Behind 40 Beloved Christmas Carols,
published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission)
Infant holy, Infant lowly,
For His bed a cattle
stall;
Oxen lowing, little
knowing
Christ the babe is Lord of
all.
Swift are winging, angels
singing,
Noels ringing, tidings
bringing:
Christ the babe is Lord of
all.
Christ the babe is Lord of
all.
Flocks are sleeping,
shepherds keeping
Vigil till the morning
new;
Saw the glory, heard the
story,
Tidings of a gospel true.
Thus rejoicing, free from
sorrow;
Praises voicing, greet the
morrow:
Christ the babe was born
for you.
Christ the babe was born
for you.
Stars are gleaming,
shepherds dreaming,
Oh, the night was dark and
chill;
Angels' story, manger
glory:
Shepherds heard it on the
hill.
Ah, that singing! hear it
ringing,
Earthward winging, praises
bringing:
Christ the babe was born
for you.
Christ the babe was born
for you.
Christ the babe was born
for you.
DO YOU KNOW?
There’s only 35 days left
for Christmas - 35 days in a calendar year equals to one month and 5 days, or
to be more specific:
- 3,024,000 seconds
- 50,400 minutes
- 840 hours
- 5 weeks
- 9.59% of 2019
