O Come All Ye Faithful
The Irish Lyrics

The Irish's song O Come All Ye Faithful is a hymn that celebrates the birth of Jesus and the adoration that is due to him. The opening line "Oh, come ye" is an invitation to all believers to come to Bethlehem and witness the glory of the newborn King. The second line "O come ye to Bethlehem" reinforces the idea that this is an invitation to come and see where Jesus was born. The third line "Come and behold him" encourages people to take a moment to witness the miracle of Jesus' birth, to see him for themselves. The final line of the first verse, "Born the King of angels", emphasizes that Jesus is the King of all creation, including the heavenly hosts.

The second verse expands on the idea of Jesus' divinity. "God of God, Light of Light" harkens back to the Nicene Creed, a statement of the Christian faith which describes Jesus as "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God". The line "Lo, he abhors not the virgin's womb" is a reference to the traditional Christian belief of the Incarnation, that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, was born of a virgin. The final line of the verse repeats the call to adoration that is central to the hymn.

The final verse focuses on the reaction of the shepherds to the news of Jesus' birth. The line "See how the shepherds summoned to his cradle" refers to the story in the Gospel of Luke, where shepherds are visited by angels who announce Jesus' birth. The final lines of the hymn once again emphasize Jesus' divinity, using poetic language to reinforce the idea that Jesus is the Word of the Father, now appearing in flesh.