Source (book): "Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, Chapter 14, "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Page 144.
By Robert M. Solomon, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000 - 2012
PHOTO: Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol.
The first stanza must have drawn inspiration from Brooks' visit to Bethlehem. At night it is a very quiet town, even today. It is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the "silent stars go by" (Stanza 1) - there is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light of the one who said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). As the apostle John testified, "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world" (John 1:9). The birth of Jesus is such a striking event because "the hopes and fears of all the years" are "met in thee (Bethlehem) tonight" (Stanza 1). The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties (about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties) find rest in Christ, of whom it is said: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who says to us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1).
The second stanza contrasts the scene between heaven and earth. Below, people are asleep, oblivious to the earth-shaking, history-changing scene of God born as a human child. Earth is asleep, while heaven is awake with watchful worship. Heaven's worship breaks the silence of earth when the angels, or "morning stars" (Job 38:7), appear in the sky to sing their Christmas song (Luke 2:14).
How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations?
Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:15, 24). The answer to that desperate question is: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so?
The Christmas story is applied to the hearts of individuals in the third stanza. Just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart "to human hearts the blessings of his heaven" (Stanza 3). God's "wondrous gift" (Stanza 3) is Christ himself (2 Corinthians 9:15), who enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God (Ephesians 3:17). Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts (Revelation 3:20).
No one can become a true Christian while maintaining a proud attitude before God (Luke 18:9-14). It is for that reason that Jesus observed, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18:24). Why? Because the rich may become self-sufficient, proud of their possessions and achievements. The same is true for people who look at what they have achieved or attained with pride, who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help. But the truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
Only those who are "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), that is to say the humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
The final stanza addresses a plea to Christ, the "holy Child of Bethlehem". It is an invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. We must have faith enough to hear the Christmas angels sing the gospel truth about Jesus. Christ will come into our hearts to "cast out our sin" (Stanza 4) and therefore save us. It is for this reason that He was called Jesus (see Matthew 1:21). He was also called Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). This stanza brings both concepts together: Christ enters our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
Indeed, we desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
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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 all 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 Emmanuel.
(Source: The United Methodist Hymnal [Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989], #230)
PHOTO: The writer of this popular hymn was an American pastor, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia.
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History of the Carol [1]
The writer of this popular hymn was an American pastor, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. Educated at Harvard University, Phillips served in the Episcopal (Anglican) Church and was pastor of a number of churches, most famously Trinity Church in Boston. He became well-known for his inspiring sermons. In 1891, he was elected bishop of Massachusetts. When he died, the city of Boston "buried him like a king".
It was when he was serving in Philadelphia that Phillips took a year's sabbatical to travel in Europe and the Middle East. This included and 1865 visit to Bethlehem to observe Christmas celebrations. He wrote a letter to his father, which was published in his book Letters of Travel (1898):
Last Sunday morning we attended service in the English church, and after an early dinner took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. The great church of the Nativity is its most prominent objects; it is shared by the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, and each church has a convent attached to it. We were hospitably received in the Greek convent, and furnished with a room. Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say he shepherds saw the star (sic). It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds. The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields we rode through the shepherds must have been, and in the same fields the story of Ruth and Boaz must belong. As we passed, the shepherds were still "keeping watch over their flocks," or leading them home to fold.
PHOTO: The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields is where the shepherds must have been, and in the same fields the story of Ruth and Boaz must belong.
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Brooks returned home on September 1866, but his experience in Bethlehem stayed in his mind as he continued to meditate on it. By 1868, he had written his famous Christmas poem, which was set to music by Lewis H. Redner (1831-1908), the church organist and Sunday school teacher. Redner, who was involved in a number or local charities, including a soup kitchen, explains how the carol came to be sung in the church:
As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure. We were to practise it on the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday, and said, "Redner, have you ground out that music yet to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'?" I replied, "No," but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused form sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868. [4]
PHOTO: On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused form sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony.
Artwork by Brigitte Jost
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Initially published in a Sunday school hymn book, it was subsequently published in the 1874 The Church Porch, edited by William R. Huntington. The carol was eventually published in the hymnal of the Episcopal Church in 1892, and began to be widely sung.
In the original hymn, there was a fourth stanza that was eventually omitted because it became controversial. The stanza is:
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.
PHOTO: . . . Pray to the blessed Child, Son of the Undefiled; . . . The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And Christmas comes once more.
In the original hymn, there was a fourth stanza that was eventually omitted because it became controversial.
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There were some who were unhappy with the fourth line: "Son of the Undefiled"; for them it seem to be sympathetic of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the immaculate conception of Mary. Brooks changed the line to "Son of the mother mild" to avoid confusion and controversy. Later, he dropped the entire fourth stanza as the last line was also problematic; saying that "Christmas comes once more" could be mistakenly interpreted as suggesting that the birth of Jesus was an event that could be repeated.
PHOTO: Lewis H. Redner (1831-1908), who wrote the carol 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' for the Christmas Sunday-school service.
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Biblical Insights from the Carol [1]
The hymn begins by addressing the town of Bethlehem and ends by addressing Christ. In between, it tells the story of the birth of Christ and why that is significant.
Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol. How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations? How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so? Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol.
The first stanza must have drawn inspiration from Brooks' visit to Bethlehem. At night it is a very quiet town, even today. It is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the "silent stars go by" (Stanza 1) - there is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light of the one who said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). As the apostle John testified, "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world" (John 1:9). The birth of Jesus is such a striking event because "the hopes and fears of all the years" are "met in thee (Bethlehem) tonight" (Stanza 1). The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties (about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties) find rest in Christ, of whom it is said: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who says to us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1).
PHOTO: Bethlehem is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the 'silent stars go by'. There is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light. The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus.
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The second stanza contrasts the scene between heaven and earth. Below, people are asleep, oblivious to the earth-shaking, history-changing scene of God born as a human child. Earth is asleep, while heaven is awake with watchful worship. Heaven's worship breaks the silence of earth when the angels, or "morning stars" (Job 38:7), appear in the sky to sing their Christmas song (Luke 2:14).
How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations?
Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:15, 24). The answer to that desperate question is: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
PHOTO: Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
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How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so?
The Christmas story is applied to the hearts of individuals in the third stanza. Just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart "to human hearts the blessings of his heaven" (Stanza 3). God's "wondrous gift" (Stanza 3) is Christ himself (2 Corinthians 9:15), who enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God (Ephesians 3:17). Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts (Revelation 3:20).
PHOTO: Christ enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God. Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude.
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No one can become a true Christian while maintaining a proud attitude before God (Luke 18:9-14). It is for that reason that Jesus observed, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18:24). Why? Because the rich may become self-sufficient, proud of their possessions and achievements. The same is true for people who look at what they have achieved or attained with pride, who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help. But the truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
PHOTO: No one who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help can become a true Christian. The truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, are sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
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Only those who are "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), that is to say the humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
The final stanza addresses a plea to Christ, the "holy Child of Bethlehem". It is an invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. We must have faith enough to hear the Christmas angels sing the gospel truth about Jesus. Christ will come into our hearts to "cast out our sin" (Stanza 4) and therefore save us. It is for this reason that He was called Jesus (see Matthew 1:21). He was also called Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). This stanza brings both concepts together: Christ enters our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
PHOTO: An invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. Christ need to enter our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
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Indeed, we desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
PHOTO: We desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
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PHOTO: “Dear Lord, we learn that although Bethlehem is like a town in deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens. There is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light, the true light that gives light to everyone in the world. He is our Lord Jesus. The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties find rest in Christ.
Remembering heaven and God in Christ help us deal with earthly frustrations. It is Christ who frees us and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have, to live nobly instead of being repeatedly been frustrated.
We also learn that just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart to human hearts the blessings of his heaven. Christ himself enters into a believing and humble heart. Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts.
Those who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help, cannot become a true Christian. We are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation. Only those who are humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
We want to invite Jesus to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, we want Him to be born in our hearts. We desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!”
Picture posted by Beautiful Art on Thursday, 27 November 2014
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"Faithful to the end", A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Faithful to the end (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html
"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html
[4] Louis E. Benson, Studies Of Familiar Hymns, First Series (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1924).
New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
2 Corinthians 9:15 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+9%3A15&version=NIV
Ephesians 3:17 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+3%3A17&version=NIV
Hebrews 13:8 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A8&version=NIV
Job 38:7 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38%3A7&version=NIV
John 1:9 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A9&version=NIV
John 8:36 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A36&version=NIV
John 9:5 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+9%3A5&version=NIV
John 14:1 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A1&version=NIV
Luke 2:14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A14&version=NIV
Luke 18:9-14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A9-14&version=NIV
Luke 18:24 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A24&version=NIV
Matthew 1:21 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A21&version=NIV
Matthew 1:23 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A23&version=NIV
Matthew 5:3 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A3&version=NIV
Matthew 11:28-29 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11%3A28-29&version=NIV
Revelation 3:20 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3%3A20&version=NIV
Romans 7:15, 24 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A15%2C+24&version=NIV
Romans 7:25 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A25&version=NIV
By Robert M. Solomon, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000 - 2012
PHOTO: Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol.
The first stanza must have drawn inspiration from Brooks' visit to Bethlehem. At night it is a very quiet town, even today. It is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the "silent stars go by" (Stanza 1) - there is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light of the one who said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). As the apostle John testified, "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world" (John 1:9). The birth of Jesus is such a striking event because "the hopes and fears of all the years" are "met in thee (Bethlehem) tonight" (Stanza 1). The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties (about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties) find rest in Christ, of whom it is said: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who says to us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1).
The second stanza contrasts the scene between heaven and earth. Below, people are asleep, oblivious to the earth-shaking, history-changing scene of God born as a human child. Earth is asleep, while heaven is awake with watchful worship. Heaven's worship breaks the silence of earth when the angels, or "morning stars" (Job 38:7), appear in the sky to sing their Christmas song (Luke 2:14).
How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations?
Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:15, 24). The answer to that desperate question is: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so?
The Christmas story is applied to the hearts of individuals in the third stanza. Just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart "to human hearts the blessings of his heaven" (Stanza 3). God's "wondrous gift" (Stanza 3) is Christ himself (2 Corinthians 9:15), who enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God (Ephesians 3:17). Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts (Revelation 3:20).
No one can become a true Christian while maintaining a proud attitude before God (Luke 18:9-14). It is for that reason that Jesus observed, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18:24). Why? Because the rich may become self-sufficient, proud of their possessions and achievements. The same is true for people who look at what they have achieved or attained with pride, who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help. But the truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
Only those who are "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), that is to say the humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
The final stanza addresses a plea to Christ, the "holy Child of Bethlehem". It is an invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. We must have faith enough to hear the Christmas angels sing the gospel truth about Jesus. Christ will come into our hearts to "cast out our sin" (Stanza 4) and therefore save us. It is for this reason that He was called Jesus (see Matthew 1:21). He was also called Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). This stanza brings both concepts together: Christ enters our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
Indeed, we desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
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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 all 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 Emmanuel.
(Source: The United Methodist Hymnal [Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1989], #230)
PHOTO: The writer of this popular hymn was an American pastor, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia.
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History of the Carol [1]
The writer of this popular hymn was an American pastor, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. Educated at Harvard University, Phillips served in the Episcopal (Anglican) Church and was pastor of a number of churches, most famously Trinity Church in Boston. He became well-known for his inspiring sermons. In 1891, he was elected bishop of Massachusetts. When he died, the city of Boston "buried him like a king".
It was when he was serving in Philadelphia that Phillips took a year's sabbatical to travel in Europe and the Middle East. This included and 1865 visit to Bethlehem to observe Christmas celebrations. He wrote a letter to his father, which was published in his book Letters of Travel (1898):
Last Sunday morning we attended service in the English church, and after an early dinner took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. The great church of the Nativity is its most prominent objects; it is shared by the Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, and each church has a convent attached to it. We were hospitably received in the Greek convent, and furnished with a room. Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say he shepherds saw the star (sic). It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds. The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields we rode through the shepherds must have been, and in the same fields the story of Ruth and Boaz must belong. As we passed, the shepherds were still "keeping watch over their flocks," or leading them home to fold.
PHOTO: The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields is where the shepherds must have been, and in the same fields the story of Ruth and Boaz must belong.
Picture saved from miguel vigil - ‘At the crossroads’ By Carl Böker (1836-1905)
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Brooks returned home on September 1866, but his experience in Bethlehem stayed in his mind as he continued to meditate on it. By 1868, he had written his famous Christmas poem, which was set to music by Lewis H. Redner (1831-1908), the church organist and Sunday school teacher. Redner, who was involved in a number or local charities, including a soup kitchen, explains how the carol came to be sung in the church:
As Christmas of 1868 approached, Mr. Brooks told me that he had written a simple little carol for the Christmas Sunday-school service, and he asked me to write the tune to it. The simple music was written in great haste and under great pressure. We were to practise it on the following Sunday. Mr. Brooks came to me on Friday, and said, "Redner, have you ground out that music yet to 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'?" I replied, "No," but that he should have it by Sunday. On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused form sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony. Neither Mr. Brooks nor I ever thought the carol or the music to it would live beyond that Christmas of 1868. [4]
PHOTO: On the Saturday night previous my brain was all confused about the tune. I thought more about my Sunday-school lesson than I did about the music. But I was roused form sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony.
Artwork by Brigitte Jost
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Initially published in a Sunday school hymn book, it was subsequently published in the 1874 The Church Porch, edited by William R. Huntington. The carol was eventually published in the hymnal of the Episcopal Church in 1892, and began to be widely sung.
In the original hymn, there was a fourth stanza that was eventually omitted because it became controversial. The stanza is:
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.
PHOTO: . . . Pray to the blessed Child, Son of the Undefiled; . . . The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, And Christmas comes once more.
In the original hymn, there was a fourth stanza that was eventually omitted because it became controversial.
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There were some who were unhappy with the fourth line: "Son of the Undefiled"; for them it seem to be sympathetic of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the immaculate conception of Mary. Brooks changed the line to "Son of the mother mild" to avoid confusion and controversy. Later, he dropped the entire fourth stanza as the last line was also problematic; saying that "Christmas comes once more" could be mistakenly interpreted as suggesting that the birth of Jesus was an event that could be repeated.
PHOTO: Lewis H. Redner (1831-1908), who wrote the carol 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' for the Christmas Sunday-school service.
Picture posted by dlf music on 13 March 2012
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http://unforgettablechristmasmusic.blogspot.com/2012/03/story-of-carol-o-little-town-of.html
Biblical Insights from the Carol [1]
The hymn begins by addressing the town of Bethlehem and ends by addressing Christ. In between, it tells the story of the birth of Christ and why that is significant.
Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol. How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations? How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so? Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
Reflect on the contrast between the earthly and heavenly scenes described in this carol.
The first stanza must have drawn inspiration from Brooks' visit to Bethlehem. At night it is a very quiet town, even today. It is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the "silent stars go by" (Stanza 1) - there is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light of the one who said, "I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). As the apostle John testified, "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world" (John 1:9). The birth of Jesus is such a striking event because "the hopes and fears of all the years" are "met in thee (Bethlehem) tonight" (Stanza 1). The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties (about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties) find rest in Christ, of whom it is said: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the one who says to us, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me" (John 14:1).
PHOTO: Bethlehem is as if the town is in a deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens, where the 'silent stars go by'. There is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light. The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus.
Picture posted by Taylor Rossean@taylor_rossean on 22. Märch 2018 at 12:34 night
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The second stanza contrasts the scene between heaven and earth. Below, people are asleep, oblivious to the earth-shaking, history-changing scene of God born as a human child. Earth is asleep, while heaven is awake with watchful worship. Heaven's worship breaks the silence of earth when the angels, or "morning stars" (Job 38:7), appear in the sky to sing their Christmas song (Luke 2:14).
How does remembering heaven and God in Christ help you deal with earthly frustrations?
Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?" (Romans 7:15, 24). The answer to that desperate question is: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
PHOTO: Our aspirations have repeatedly been frustrated. We want to rise above our sinful instincts and impulses, our enmities (hostility) and warring madness, our grudges and jealousies, but we seem caught by a spiritual gravitational force that keeps us tied to our sinfulness. It is Christ who frees us (John 8:36) and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have to live nobly.
Picture saved by Maryjo Sellars to Easter
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How does Christ enter a humble heart silently, and what happens when He does so?
The Christmas story is applied to the hearts of individuals in the third stanza. Just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart "to human hearts the blessings of his heaven" (Stanza 3). God's "wondrous gift" (Stanza 3) is Christ himself (2 Corinthians 9:15), who enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God (Ephesians 3:17). Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts (Revelation 3:20).
PHOTO: Christ enters into a believing and humble heart. No one hears Him entering, except the one whose heart becomes the humble residence of the Son of God. Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude.
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No one can become a true Christian while maintaining a proud attitude before God (Luke 18:9-14). It is for that reason that Jesus observed, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" (Luke 18:24). Why? Because the rich may become self-sufficient, proud of their possessions and achievements. The same is true for people who look at what they have achieved or attained with pride, who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help. But the truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
PHOTO: No one who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help can become a true Christian. The truth is that we are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, are sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation.
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Only those who are "poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3), that is to say the humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
Invite Jesus to enter or remain in your heart.
The final stanza addresses a plea to Christ, the "holy Child of Bethlehem". It is an invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. We must have faith enough to hear the Christmas angels sing the gospel truth about Jesus. Christ will come into our hearts to "cast out our sin" (Stanza 4) and therefore save us. It is for this reason that He was called Jesus (see Matthew 1:21). He was also called Immanuel, which means "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). This stanza brings both concepts together: Christ enters our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
PHOTO: An invitation for Him to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, He must be born in our hearts through faith as we believe in Him and in all He has done for us. Christ need to enter our hearts to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
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Indeed, we desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
PHOTO: We desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, for a heart without Him is a sad place, even though it is surrounded by fleeting possessions and temporary amusement. The truly poor are those who do not have Christ in their hearts, while those who do are truly rich. Christmas is a good time to examine the true condition of our hearts.
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PHOTO: “Dear Lord, we learn that although Bethlehem is like a town in deep sleep, silent and still, but above it are the heavens. There is movement in heaven even while the earth is still. And there is light from heaven even while the earth is filled with darkness. This light is the everlasting Light, the true light that gives light to everyone in the world. He is our Lord Jesus. The human anxieties and aspirations that are found everywhere throughout history find their answer in the birth of Jesus. Our anxieties about past guilt, present difficulties, and future uncertainties find rest in Christ.
Remembering heaven and God in Christ help us deal with earthly frustrations. It is Christ who frees us and enables us to fulfil the deep spiritual aspirations we have, to live nobly instead of being repeatedly been frustrated.
We also learn that just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He needs to be born in our hearts. Just as Christ was born rather silently in the night, so does God quietly impart to human hearts the blessings of his heaven. Christ himself enters into a believing and humble heart. Such a heart becomes like the manger that received the Lord; there was no pomp and ceremony, only repentance, awe, and gratitude. There was no room at the inn in Bethlehem, but in a poor and simple spot in the city, there was space for the birth of Christ. So it must be with our hearts.
Those who mistakenly think that they have no or little need for God's help, cannot become a true Christian. We are all, no matter who we are and how much we have, sinners in desperate need of God's forgiveness and salvation. Only those who are humble, are ready to receive Christ into their lives and thus enter the kingdom of heaven. Only when we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy can we repent of our sins and receive God's love and grace.
We want to invite Jesus to descend to us from His heaven and to enter our hearts. Just as He was born in Bethlehem, we want Him to be born in our hearts. We desperately need Christ to be in our hearts, to save us from our sin and to abide with us.
Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen!”
Picture posted by Beautiful Art on Thursday, 27 November 2014
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Reflection - O Little Town of Bethlehem
Question from source (book): "Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, Chapter 14, "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Page 144.
By Robert M. Solomon, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000 - 2012
Question from source (book): "Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, Chapter 14, "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Page 144.
By Robert M. Solomon, Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore from 2000 - 2012
Also from the same author, Robert M. Solomon
"Faithful to the end", A Preacher's Exposition of 2 Timothy, @ 2014 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Faithful to the end (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2017/06/reflection-faithful-to-end-links.html
"Finding rest for the soul" Responding to Jesus' Invitation in Matthew 11:28-29, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - Finding rest for the soul (Links)
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2018/10/reflection-finding-rest-for-soul-links.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART I-III, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-i.html
"God in Pursuit" Lessons from the Book of Jonah, © 2016 by Robert M. Solomon
Reflection - God in Pursuit (Links) - PART IV, posted on Saturday, 10 August 2019
https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/08/reflection-god-in-pursuit-links-part-iv.html
Reference
[1] From "Songs of Christmas", The Stories and Significance of 20 Well-Loved Carols, Copyright © 2017 by Robert M. Solomon, ISBN 978-981-11-6752-2, Chapter 14, "O Little Town of Bethlehem", Page 135-144.[4] Louis E. Benson, Studies Of Familiar Hymns, First Series (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1924).
New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
2 Corinthians 9:15 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+9%3A15&version=NIV
Ephesians 3:17 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+3%3A17&version=NIV
Hebrews 13:8 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A8&version=NIV
Job 38:7 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38%3A7&version=NIV
John 1:9 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1%3A9&version=NIV
John 8:36 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A36&version=NIV
John 9:5 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+9%3A5&version=NIV
John 14:1 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14%3A1&version=NIV
Luke 2:14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A14&version=NIV
Luke 18:9-14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A9-14&version=NIV
Luke 18:24 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A24&version=NIV
Matthew 1:21 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A21&version=NIV
Matthew 1:23 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1%3A23&version=NIV
Matthew 5:3 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A3&version=NIV
Matthew 11:28-29 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+11%3A28-29&version=NIV
Revelation 3:20 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+3%3A20&version=NIV
Romans 7:15, 24 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A15%2C+24&version=NIV
Romans 7:25 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+7%3A25&version=NIV
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- https://veryfatoldman.blogspot.com/2019/12/reflection-o-come-all-ye-faithful.html
- https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaKpWV-s6-gIPMKJeIWvByWc9Y1Tx_9Q0d-RgCc31IkcaUnJW1FW2w6mNXidmpN3SPjK0YglXXLlSbu-a5MsVsag7ZIQAlVLRXEHaKLw14u0P6KsNggcBBAfYCjtRWxCODlUydd2sVIQ/s1600/16.jpg
- https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xsXP0aKcYI8/VHgVPhymECI/AAAAAAAAY0Y/esBCR7g7qzY/s1600/16.jpg
- https://tvorchestvof.blogspot.com/2014/11/vladimir-abat-cherkasov_27.html
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