Christmas Lullaby

See the baby in the manger,
Our salvation's great exchanger,
Now an exile, now a stranger—
O God and man!
Forgive our each transgression,
Keep us from sin's regression,
Make us thy true possession.
Oh come, oh come and set us free,
O dying babe!
And when the grave shall claim us,
In heaven's rolls rename us
As a living child of thee.
Sleep, baby, sleep.

See the man enthroned in splendor,
Our salvation’s great contender.
"It is done", our praise we render
Ever unto thee!
Salvation's work is ended,
The souls of men amended,
The scept'r of grace extended
By thy, all by thy hand,
O gracious Lord!
Let angels e'er adore thee,
Saints cast their crowns before thee,
All creation praise thy name,
O spotless lamb.

Oh, sleep, baby, sleep.

—Zachary Pletan
Tune: "Adagio" from Christmas Concerto, Arcangelo Corelli

Thoughts

I've had this in my mind for awhile now (the last line of the cello part has always sounded like "sleep, baby, sleep" in my head), but, having babies on the brain a lot of late, I figured now was a good time to put the idea into words. I'm not sure how well I did, honestly, but the text was made for the music and the music fixes any deficit in my words, I think.