1. There came a little Child to earth Long ago; And the angels of God proclaimed His birth, High and low, Out of the night, so calm and still, Their song was heard; For they knew that the Child on Bethlehem’s hill Was Christ the Lord. 2. Far away in a goodly land, Fair and bright, Children with crowns of glory stand, Robed in white, In white more pure than the spotless snow; And their tongues unite In the psalm which the angels sang long ago On that still night. 3. They sing how the Lord of that world so fair A child was born, And, that they might a crown of glory wear, Wore a crown of them, And in mortal weakness, in want and pain, Came forth to die, That the children of earth might for ever reign With Him on high. 4. He has put on His kingly apparel now, In that goodly land; And He leads, to where fountains of water flow, That chosen band; And for evermore, in their robes most fair And undefiled, Those ransomed children His praise declare Who was once a child.