1. Sweet baby, sleep; what ails my dear?
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What ails my darling thus to cry?
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Be still, my child, and lend thine ear
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To hear me sing thy lullaby.
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My pretty lamb, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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2. Thou blessed soul, what canst thou fear?
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What thing to thee can mischief do?
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Thy God is now thy father dear;
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His holy spouse thy mother too.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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3. Whilst thus thy lullaby I sing,
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For thee great blessings ripening be;
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Thine eldest brother is a king,
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And hath a kingdom bought for thee.
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Sweet baby, then, forebear to weep,
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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4. Sweet baby, sleep, and nothing fear,
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For whosoever thee offends,
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By thy protector threatened are,
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And God and angels are thy friends.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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5. When God with us was dwelling here,
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In little babes he took delight:
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Such innocents as then, my dear,
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Are ever precious in his sight.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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6. A little infant once was he,
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And Strength-in-Weakness then was laid
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Upon his virgin-mother's knee,
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That power to thee might be conveyed.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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7. In this thy frailty and thy need
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He friends and helpers doth prepare,
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Which thee shall cherish, clothe and feed,
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For of thy weal they tender are.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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8. The King of kings when he was born,
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Had not so much for outward case;
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By him such dressings were not worn,
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Nor suchlike swaddling-clothes as these.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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9. Within a manger lodged thy Lord,
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Where oxen lay and asses fed;
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Warm rooms we do to thee afford,
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An easy cradle or a bed.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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10. The wants that He did then sustain
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Have purchased wealth, my babe, for thee,
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And by His torments and His pain
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Thy rest and ease secur'd be.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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11. Thou hast (yet more), to perfect this,
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A promise and an earnest got
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Of gaining everlasting bliss,
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Though thou, my babe, perceiv'st it not.
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Sweet baby, then, forbear to weep;
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Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
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