Sweet baby, sleep! what ails my dear,
What ails my darling thus to cry?
Be still, my child, and lend thine ear
To hear me sing thy lullaby.
My pretty lamb, forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep.
Thou blessed soul, what canst thou fear?
What thing to thee can mischief do?
Thy God is now thy father dear,
His holy Spouse, thy mother too.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
Though thy conception was in sin,
A sacred bathing thou hast had;
And, though thy birth unclean hath been,
A blameless babe thou now art made.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my dear; sweet baby, sleep,
While thus thy lullaby I sing,
For thee great blessings ripening be;
Thine eldest brother is a King,
And hath a kingdom bought for thee.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
Sweet baby, sleep and nothing fear,
For whosoever thee offends,
By thy protector threat’ned are,
And God and angels are thy friends.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
When God with us was dwelling here,
In little babes he took delight;
Such innocents as thou, my dear,
Are ever precious in His sight.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
A little infant once was He,
And, strength in weakness, then was laid
Upon His virgin-mother’s knee,
That power to thee might be conveyed.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
In this, thy frailty and thy need,
He friends and helpers doth prepare,
Which thee shall cherish, clothe and feed;
For of thy weal they tender are.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
The King of kings, when he was born,
Had not so much for outward ease;
By Him such dressings were not worn,
Nor such like swaddling-clothes as these.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
Within a manger lodged thy Lord
Where oxen lay and asses fed;
Warm rooms we do to thee afford,
An easy cradle or a bed.
Sweet baby, then forbear to weep;
Be still, my babe; sweet baby, sleep.
The wants that He did then sustain
Have purchased wealth, my babe, for thee;
And by His torments and His pain
Thy rest and ease secur
(George Wither)
More Poetry from George Wither:
George Wither Poems based on Topics: Sense & Perception, Money & Wealth, God, Fear, Sin, Kings & Queens, Soul, Angels, Sleep, Cry, Brothers- Rhomboidal Dirge (George Wither Poems)
- Song I (George Wither Poems)
- The Contented Man's Morice (George Wither Poems)
- A Christmas Carol (George Wither Poems)
- Prelude (George Wither Poems)
- A Poet's Home (George Wither Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: God Poems, Soul Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Friendship Poems, Cry Poems, Kings & Queens Poems, Sleep Poems, Fear Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, Sin Poems, Angels PoemsBased on Keywords: virgin-mother, dressings, swaddling-clothes
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Second. (Henry Alford Poems)
- A Story Of Doom: Book I. (Jean Ingelow Poems)
- An Anatomy Of The World... (John Donne Poems)
- Poem For The Two Hundred And Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Founding Of Harvard College (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- Festus - XVI (Philip James Bailey Poems)