Scripture Verse

There was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Introduction

portrait
R. Kelso Carter (1849–1928)

Words: A. L. Skil­ton, re­frain by R. Kel­so Car­ter, 1891. Gos­pel sing­er Ma­hal­ia Jack­son re­cord­ed this song on her 1955 al­bum Ma­hal­ia Sings Songs of Christ­mas.

Music: Car­ter E. Grace Up­de­graff (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know Skilton’s full name, or where to get a good pho­to of him or Up­de­graff (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

No beau­ti­ful chamber, no soft cra­dle bed,
No place but a man­ger, no­where for His head;
No prais­es of glad­ness, no thought of their sin,
No glo­ry but sad­ness, no room in the inn.

Refrain

No room, no room, for Je­sus,
O give Him wel­come free,
Lest you should hear at Heav­en’s gate,
There is no room for thee.

No sweet con­se­cra­tion, no seek­ing His part,
No hu­mi­li­ation, no place in the heart;
No thought of the Sav­ior, no sor­row for sin,
No pray­er for His fa­vor, no room in the inn.

Refrain

No one to re­ceive Him, no wel­come while here,
No balm to re­lieve Him, no staff but a spear;
No seek­ing His trea­sure, no weep­ing for sin,
No do­ing His plea­sure, no room in the inn.

Refrain

illustration
Arrival at Bethlehem
Luc-Olivier Merson (1846–1920)