# God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: lyrics with the Bible verses behind them God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen retells the angel’s words to the shepherds in Luke 2:10-11: do not be afraid, good news of great joy, a Savior is born today in David’s town. “God rest ye merry” is old English for “God keep you well,” so the comma comes after “merry.” It adds that Jesus was born on Christmas Day. Words: Traditional English, 1700s or earlier, printed 1833. Music: Traditional English. The words are in the public domain. 4 of its 6 or more verses. Source: https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/god-rest-ye-merry-gentlemen. Scripture quotations are from the Lumin Translation. ## The words, line by line ### Verse 1 - God rest ye merry, gentlemen Beyond the Bible: Old English for “God keep you in good spirits.” - Let nothing you dismay ([Luke 2:10](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#10): “The angel told them, Do not be afraid, for look, I am proclaiming to you good news of great joy that will belong to all the people:”) - Remember Christ our Savior ([Luke 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#11): “this very day in David’s city a Savior has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.”) - Was born on Christmas Day Beyond the Bible: The Bible gives no date for the birth. - To save us all from Satan’s power ([Acts 26:18](https://www.lumin.faith/read/acts/26#18): “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”) - When we were gone astray ([Isaiah 53:6](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/53#6): “Like sheep, all of us have strayed; we have each turned to our own road, and Yahweh has brought down on him the iniquity of us all.”) ### Refrain - O tidings of comfort and joy ([Luke 2:10](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#10)) - Comfort and joy - O tidings of comfort and joy ### Verse 2 - In Bethlehem, in Jewry ([Matthew 2:1](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1): “Once Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod, magi from the east made their way to Jerusalem”) - This blessed babe was born ([Matthew 2:1](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1)) - And laid within a manger ([Luke 2:7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#7): “and she bore a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him down in a manger, since the guest room had no space for them.”) - Upon this blessed morn - The which his mother Mary - Did nothing take in scorn ([Luke 2:19](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#19): “But Mary held on to all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”) ### Verse 3 - From God our heavenly Father - A blessed angel came ([Luke 2:9](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#9): “Then an angel of the Lord stood over them, the Lord’s glory shone all around them, and they were struck with great fear.”) - And unto certain shepherds ([Luke 2:8](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#8): “There were shepherds in that same area who were staying out in the open country, standing guard over their flock through the night.”) - Brought tidings of the same - How that in Bethlehem was born ([Luke 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#11)) - The Son of God by name ([Luke 1:35](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/1#35): “The angel replied, The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. That is why the holy child to be born will be called Son of God.”) ### Verse 4 - “Fear not then,” said the angel ([Luke 2:10](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#10)) - “Let nothing you affright - This day is born a Savior ([Luke 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#11)) - Of a pure virgin bright ([Luke 1:27](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/1#27): “to a virgin promised in marriage to a man called Joseph, who was from the house of David; the virgin was named Mary.”) - To free all those who trust in him ([Hebrews 2:15](https://www.lumin.faith/read/hebrews/2#15): “and set free all those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.”) - From Satan’s power and might” ([Hebrews 2:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/hebrews/2#14): “Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,”) ## Where it goes beyond the Bible - The Bible gives no date for the birth. December 25 was set by the church in the 300s. - The angel’s “Fear not” is in Luke. “Let nothing you dismay” and “comfort and joy” are the carol’s own warm retelling. ## The story of the carol It is one of the oldest English carols still sung. It was sold on printed sheets in London in the 1700s and collected by William Sandys in 1833. “God rest you merry” meant “God keep you in good spirits.” The comma belongs after “merry,” not before it, though many print it the other way. In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843), a boy starts singing it through Scrooge’s keyhole, and Scrooge chases him off.