Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

The Nativity

Traditional

“The Nativity” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 406 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath looked upon the low estate of his handmaid:

For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is unto generations and generations on them that fear him.

He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.

He hath put down princes from their thrones, and hath exalted them of low degree.

The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath given help to Israel his servant, that he might remember mercy,

As he spake unto our fathers, toward Abraham and his seed for ever.

Verse 2

And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old,

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To show mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, to grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies

Should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Yea and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Most High:

For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people in the remission of their sins,

Because of the tender mercy of our God,

Whereby the day spring from on high shall visit us,

To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death;

To guide our feet into the way of peace.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “The Nativity”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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