God rest you merry, gentlemen

1God rest you merry, gentlemen,
let nothing you dismay!
for Jesus Christ our saviour
was born on Christmas Day,
to save us all from Satan's power
when we had gone astray:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

2At Bethlehem in Judah
the holy babe was born;
they laid him in a manger
on this most happy morn,
at which his mother Mary
did neither fear nor scorn:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

3From God our heavenly Father
a holy angel came;
the shepherds saw the glory
and heard the voice proclaim
that Christ was born in Bethlehem
and Jesus is his name:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

4Fear not, then said the angel,
let nothing cause you fright;
to you is born a saviour
in David's town tonight,
to free all those who trust in him
from Satan's power and might:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

5The shepherds at these tidings
rejoiced in heart and mind,
and on the darkened hillside
they left their flocks behind,
and went to Bethlehem straightway
this holy child to find:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

6And when to Bethlehem they came
where Christ the infant lay;
they found him in a manger
where oxen fed on hay,
and there beside her newborn child
his mother knelt to pray:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!

7Now to the Lord sing praises,
all people in this place!
with Christian love and fellowship
each other now embrace,
and let this Christmas festival
all bitterness displace:
O tidings of comfort and joy,
comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy!