The Babe of Bethlehem (Smith)

Repeat the dear old sto­ry

Of the ro­yal Babe who came

His throne a low­ly man­ger

In far off Beth­le­hem.

Tell how the sweet girl mo­ther

Watched ov­er the sin­less One

And in her pure heart pon­dered

The strange things that were done.

Oh! tell the sto­ry over

Its charm grows nev­er

nev­er dim;

The sto­ry of the Christ child

The Babe of Beth­le­hem.

Tell how the shep­herds watch­ing

As Da­vid watched of yore

Heard won­drous song of an­gels

Men nev­er heard be­fore.

Tell how they hast­ened quick­ly

To see the Babe whose birth

Could bring from Heav­en the an­gels

To sing of peace on earth.

Tell how the wise men fol­lowed

The beau­te­ous guid­ing star

Which led them to the man­ger

From coun­tries strange and far.

Tell of their low­ly wor­ship

The roy­al gifts they brought

Thereby to fit­ly ho­nor

The king­ly Babe they sought.

The Babe soon left the man­ger

The shep­herds might not stay

The wise men to their coun­try

Returned an­oth­er way.

’Tis ag­es since the Christ child

Slept in the man­ger low

But still we love its sto­ry:

That Christ­mas long ago.