Praise we the Lord this day,
This day so long foretold,
Whose promise shone with cheering ray
On waiting saints of old.

The prophet gave the sign
For faithful men to read;
A virgin born of David's line
Shall bear the promised seed.

Ask not how this should be,
But worship and adore,
Like her whom Heav'n's majesty
Came down to shadow o'er.

She meekly bowed her head
To hear the gracious word,
Mary, the pure and lowly maid,
The favored of the Lord.

Blessèd shall be her name
In all the Church on earth,
Through whom that wondrous mercy came,
The incarnate Savior's birth.

Jesus, the virgin's son,
We praise Thee and adore,
Who art with God the Father One
And Spirit evermore.

For Thy dear saints, O Lord,
[or, For Thy dear saint, O Lord,]
Who strove in Thee to live,
Who followed Thee, obeyed, adored,
Our grateful hymn receive.

They all in life and death,
With Thee their Lord in view,
Learned from Thy Holy Spirit's breath
To suffer and to do.

Thine earthly members fit
To join Thy saints above,
In one communion ever knit,
One fellowship of love.

Jesus, Thy name we bless,
And humbly pray that we
May follow them in holiness,
Who lived and died for Thee.