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

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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.

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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.

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