O Little Town of Bethlehem

I originally posted about O Little Town of Bethlehem on my previous blog.  We sang it recently in an advent service and I thought it was worth repeating for you today.  🙂  

Lyrics to O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars together,
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is giv’n;
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessèd Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Author and History

Written by Philip Brooks, was an American, an Episcopal preacher.  Although he failed as a teacher, he ended up as the rector at Boston’s Trinity Church for a long time.  He was active in the political and religious circles, and spoke against slavery.  The city of Boston has pictures and a bit of a biography into his life. 

Brooks wrote O Little Town of Bethlehem three years after he took a trip to Bethlehem.  This poem, turned song, was a fond recollection of his trip to that tiny town of Bethlehem and the sights he saw there. His organist, Lewis Redner, put his poem to music creating an easy song for the children of his congregation to sing.   Most hymnals today omit the fourth verse. 

Pondering

Until today I didn’t know about this orginal fourth verse

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the undefiled;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

I love those last two lines eh?  Seeing the hope shown when glory breaks and Christmas is here again!  That celebration of what God wrought in the world.  A marvellous thing don’t you find?