Earth has many a noble city;
Bethlehem, thou dost all excel;
Out of thee the Lord from Heaven
Came to rule His Israel.

Fairer than the sun at morning
Was the star that told His birth,
To the world its God announcing
Seen in fleshly form on earth.

Eastern sages at His cradle
Make oblations rich and rare;
See them give, in deep devotion,
Gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Sacred gifts of mystic meaning:
Incense doth their God disclose,
Gold the King of kings proclaimeth,
Myrrh His sepulcher foreshows.

Jesu, whom the Gentiles worshipped
At Thy glad Epiphany,
Unto Thee, with God the Father
And the Spirit, glory be.

God’s dear Son without beginning
Whom the Jews of old did scorn,
The Only Wise without all sinning
On this blessèd day was born;
To save us all from sin and thrall,
When we in Satan’s chains were bound,
And shed His blood to do us good,
With many a purple bleeding wound.

Bethlehem, King David’s city,
Was His birthplace, as we find,
Who God and man endued with pity
Was the Savior of mankind;
Yet Jewry land with cruel hand,
Both first and last His power envied;
When He was born, they did Him scorn,
And showed Him malice when He died.

Princely palace for our Savior
In Judea was not found,
But blessèd Mary’s meek behavior
Patiently upon the ground
Her Babe did place in vile disgrace,
Where oxen in their stalls did feed;
No midwife mild had this sweet Child
No woman’s help at mother’s need.

Kingly robes nor golden treasure
Decked the birthday of God’s Son;
No pompous train at all took pleasure
To this King of kings to run;
No mantle brave could Jesus have
Upon His cradle for to lie;
Nor music’s charms in nurse’s arms
To sing the Babe a lullaby.

Yet as Mary sat in solace
By our Savior’s first beginning,
The host of angels from God’s palace
Sounded sweet from Heaven singing;
Yea, Heav’n and earth for Jesus’ birth,
With sweet melodious tunes abound,
And everything for Jewry’s King,
Upon the earth gave cheerful sound.

Now to Him that hath redeemed us
By His death on Holy Rood,
And though poor sinners so esteemed us,
That He bought us with His blood,
Yield lasting fame, that still the Name
Of Jesus may be honored here;
And let us say that Christmas Day
Is still the best day of the year.

Refrain

He is born, the holy Child,
Play the oboe and bagpipes merrily!
He is born, the holy Child,
Sing we all of the Savior mild.

Through long ages of the past,
Prophets have foretold His coming;
Through long ages of the past,
Now the time has come at last!

Refrain

O how lovely, O how pure
Is this perfect Child of heaven;
O how lovely, O how pure
Gracious gift to humankind!

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Jesus, Lord of all the world,
Coming as a Child among us,
Jesus, Lord of all the world,
Grant to us Thy heavenly peace.

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While by the sheep we watched at night,
Glad tidings brought an angel bright.

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How great our joy! Great our joy!
Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

There shall be born, so He did say,
In Bethlehem a Child today.

Refrain

There shall the Child lie in a stall,
This Child who shall redeem us all.

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This gift of God we’ll cherish well,
That ever joy our hearts shall fill.

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I may not go tonight to Bethlehem,
Nor follow star-directed ways, nor tread
The paths wherein the shepherds walked, that led
To Christ, and peace, and God’s good will to men.

I may not hear the herald angel’s song
Peal through the oriental skies, nor see
The wonder of that Heavenly company
Announce the King the world had waited long.

The manger throne I may not kneel before,
Or see how man to God is reconciled,
Through pure St. Mary’s purer, holier Child;
The human Christ these eyes may not adore.

I may not carry frankincense and myrrh
With adoration to the Holy One;
Nor gold have I to give the Perfect Son,
To be with those wise kings a worshipper.

Not mine the joy that Heaven sent to them,
For ages since Time swung and locked his gates,
But I may kneel without—the star still waits
To guide me on to holy Bethlehem.

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy pray to the blessèd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee, Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

Once in Bethlehem of Judah,
Far away across the sea,
There was laid a little Baby
On a virgin mother’s knee.

Refrain

O Savior, gentle Savior,
Hear Thy loving children sing,
The God of our salvation,
The Child that is a King.

It was not a stately palace
Where that little Baby lay,
With His servants to attend Him,
And with guards to keep the way.

Refrain

But the oxen stood around Him,
In a stable low and dim;
In the world He had created
There was not a room for Him.

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For He left His Father’s glory,
And the golden halls above,
And He took our human nature,
In the greatness of His love.

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Of His infinite compassion,
He can feel our want and woe;
For He suffered, He was tempted,
When He lived our life below.

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Still His childhood’s bright example
Gives a light to our poor homes;
From the blood of His atoning
Still our hope of pardon comes.

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Still He stands and pleads in Heaven,
For us, weak and sin-defiled;
God, who is a man for ever,
Jesus, who was once a child.

Refrain

To us a Child of royal birth,
Heir of the promises, is given;
The Invisible appears on earth,
The Son of Man, the God of Heaven.

A Savior born, in love supreme
He comes our fallen souls to raise;
He comes His people to redeem
With all His plenitude of grace.

The Christ, by raptured seers foretold,
Filled with the eternal Spirit’s power,
Prophet, and Priest, and King behold,
And Lord of all the worlds adore.

The Lord of hosts, the God most high,
Who quits His throne on earth to live,
With joy we welcome from the sky,
With faith into our hearts receive.