O Little Town of Bethlehem

O Little Town of Bethlehem

By: Phillips Brooks

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 wond'ring 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.

O holy child of Bethlehem! Descend to us, we pray;

Cast our 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 author of this familiar hymn, Phillips Brooks, was born in Boston on December 13, 1835. At an early age, he showed interest in the things of the church, especially the hymns that were sung each week. By the time he entered college, he had memorized all the verses to over 200 hymns. In 1859, at age twenty-four, Phillips was ordained in the Episcopal church. As he began preaching after his training at Harvard, Phillips often used quotations from hymns in his sermons. A few years after preaching at the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, Phillips took a trip to the Holy Land. On December 24, 1865, he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to attend a five hour Christmas Eve service. He listened to the Scripture readings, prayers, and hymns of praise. Later, he said, "I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with splendid praise to God, how again and again it seems as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the wonderful night of the Saviour's birth."  Three years after his trip, Phillips was preparing for the Christmas season of 1867. He wanted to compose an original Christmas hymn for the children to sing during their Christmas program. Recalling that night in Bethlehem, he wrote four stanzas of the poem and gave them to the church organist, Lewis Redner. Phillips told him, "Lewis, why not write a new tune for my poem. If it is a good tune, I will name it 'St. Lewis' after you." Lewis struggled to come up with a satisfactory melody for Phillips poem. The night before the children's program, he awoke from his sleep, hastily jotted down the notes of a tune, went back to sleep, and completed the harmony the next morning. That day, a group of six Sunday school teachers and thirty-six children of Holy Trinity Church sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" for the first time.


"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,  yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
~Micah 5:2