Bukas Palad - The Hands That First Held Mary's Child lyrics

The hands that first held Mary's child Were hard from working wood From boards they sawed and nailed and filed And splinters they withstood This day they gripped no tool of steel They drove no iron nail But cradled from the head to heel Our Lord, newborn and frail When Joseph marvelled at the size Of that small breathing frame And gazed upon those bright new eyes And spoke the infant's name The angel's voice he once had dreamed Poured out from heaven's height And like the host of starts that gleamed Blessed earth with welcome light This Child will be Emmanuel Not God upon a throne But God-with-us, Emmanuel As close as blood and bone The tools which Joseph laid aside A mob would later lift And use with anger, fear and pride To crucify God's gift Let us, O Lord, not only hold The Child who's born today But charged with faith, may we behold To follow in His way Bridge: The tiny form in Joseph's palms Confirmed what he had heard And from his heart rose hymns and psalms For heaven's human Word This Child shall be Emmanuel Not God upon the Throne But God-with-us, Emmanuel As close as blood and bone (Repeat) As close as blood and bone