| Lyrics: | O little town of bethlehem,
How still we see the 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 to-night.
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 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.
Where children pure and
happy
Pray to the blessed 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
to-day.
We hear the christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide
with us,
Our lord emmanuel! |
