THE CHURCH
CONGREGATIONAL HYMNS

O Little Town of Bethlehem

by PHILLIPS BROOKS, 1835-93

O Little Town of Bethlehem
"And thou Bethlehemfor out of thee shall come a Governor. Matthew 2:6
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 street shineth.
The everlasting light;
The hope 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 wandering 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 given!
So God imparts to human hearts.
The blessings of His heaven
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
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 Immanuel.
The Race That Long in Darkness Pined
"For He hath visited and redeemed his people". Lk. 1:68
The, race that long in darkness pined
Have seen a glorious light;
The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death's surrounding night.
To hail thy rise, thou better sun?
The gathering nations come,
Joyous, as when the reapers bear
The harvest treasures home.
For thou our burden hast removed,
And quelled the oppressor's sway,
Quick as the slaughtered squadrons fell
In midian's evil day.
To us a child of hope is born;
To us a son is given;
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him all the host of heaven
His power increasing still shall spread,
His reign no end shall know;
Justice shall guard His throne above
And peace abound below.
JOHN MORISON, 1750-98, as in Scottish
Paraphrases, 1781
God the Father, We Adore Thee
"A lights to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel". Luke 2:32
'God the father, we adore Thee
For the son, Thine image bright:
In whom all thy Holy nature
Dawned on our once hopeless night
By His perfect, holy good life
Thou has made known unto us
Fully what our Father is like
And what He requires of us
Far from Thee our footstep wandered,
On dark paths of sin and shame;
But our midnight turn to morning,
When the Lord of glory came
'But when the Lord of Glory came;
Born for man, and fully man,
Divine light has shone upon us,
Revealing Thee well to us.
Eternal "Word" of our Father
Fully God in His nature
Word incarnate, God revealing
Long for while dark ages ran.
'Love Divine, we bow before Thee;
For thy great and wondrous love,
Thou who overcometh Satan,
"Son of God and Son of Man;
Let our life be new created,
Ever living Lord, in thee,
Till we wake with Thy pure likeness,
When Thy face in heaven we see:
God the father, now we bless Thee
For the Son, Thine image bright
In whom Thy Holy nature
Dawned on our adoring sight.
Attributed to FALCONER, 1859
And JOHN NELSON DARBRY, 1800-82;