One of the many Christmas carols we sing at church or hear on the radio during the holiday season is O Little Town of Bethlehem. Most people know the song but not the story behind it.
This popular Christmas hymn was written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) while he was pastoring the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. In 1865 he took time off to travel abroad.
Can you guess where Phillips Brooks was on Christmas Eve of that year? Bethlehem! Before nightfall, he rode a horse from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. He went to the field where, according to tradition, the angel appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of the Savior (Luke 2:8-14). Imagine what it was like for Rev. Brooks to celebrate Christmas at the birthplace of Jesus!
The late Gospel musician and hymn historian Albert Smith described the scene, saying,
As [Rev. Brooks] looked toward the little town of Bethlehem, with the … stars shining in the sky, he witnessed a scene much the same as the shepherds had witnessed almost 2000 years before.
Except for the absence of the great light and the shepherds, nothing had changed very much. Instead of a candle to light their way, some who were traveling through the quiet streets were using lamps. There also were no angels present, yet the aura of the occasion lent a holy hush to the surroundings.
From 10:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m., Phillips Brooks worshiped the Lord in the Church of the Nativity. Soon thereafter he wrote a letter to the children in his Sunday school class, telling them about his experience. In part he said,
I remember on Christmas Eve, when I was 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 the splendid hymns of praise to God, how again & again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the ‘Wonderful Night’ of the Savior’s birth, as I had heard them a year before.
Yes, Phillips Brooks loved the children in his church, and it was almost as if he could hear them singing in the church at Bethlehem those same songs that he had sung with them back home in Philadelphia the previous year.
But now words to a new Christmas carol began stirring in his heart! Yet it wasn’t until two years later, when he was 32, that the preacher wrote them down. He was hoping to have the song in place by Christmas. So he asked his organist, Lewis H. Redner, who was also the superintendent of the Sunday school, to write the tune.
Even though Rev. Brooks had given Mr. Redner plenty of time to compose the tune, the organist kept waiting in vain for a “moment of inspiration” — right up until Christmas Eve when he fell asleep without having written a single note. But several hours later he woke up with a melody ringing in his ears! He quickly jotted down the musical notes on a piece of paper by his bed. The following morning he completed his composition by writing out all the harmony parts for the tune.
The hymn was sung for the first time on the Sunday after Christmas — December 27, 1868. (This coming Sunday falls on December 27 too!)
Now that we know the history of this Christmas carol — especially the fact that the words began formulating in Phillips Brooks’ mind as he stood in the field near Bethlehem — we can appreciate the lyrics all the more. Below are the four published stanzas, followed by a video of the lyrics to stanzas 1, 2, and 4, sung by children. (This seemed most appropriate, since Rev. Brooks had the children of his Sunday school class in mind on that Christmas Eve when these words first stirred in his heart.)
Why not take a moment to sing this song as part of your Christmas Eve reflection and celebration?
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 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.