Whilst Beth­le­hem’s shep­herds kept their flocks
All thro’ the star­lit night,
An an­gel from the heav’ns drew near,
And sud­den was their fright;
Fear not, he cried, be not afraid;
Good news I come to bring:
To you and all man­kind is born
A Sav­ior, and a king.

A throng of an­gels then be­gan
Their voic­es sweet to raise,
Whilst on the ground the shep­herds lay
To hear their songs of praise;
All glo­ry be to God on high
Th’en­rap­tured ser­aphs sing,
Peace on the earth, good will to men,
All hail, the new­born King!

To Beth­le­hem quick the shep­herds ran
To seek the won­drous Child,
And found Him in a low­ly shed,
With Mary, mo­ther mild;
Their voic­es then they turned on high
To glo­ri­fy their God,
And told how they had seen that day
Their Sav­ior, Christ the Lord.