Scripture Verse

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

Introduction

Words: F. E. Pett­ing­ell, 1890. Ap­peared in Fair as the Morn­ing, ed­it­ed by John Kurz­en­kna­be & Will­iam W. Bent­ley (Har­ris­burg, Penn­syl­van­ia: J. H. Kurz­en­kna­be & Sons, 1891), num­ber 92.

Music: Er­zu­rum John H. Kurz­en­kna­be, 1890 (🔊 pdf nwc).

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

portrait
John H. Kurzenknabe (1840–1927)

Lyrics

O bless­èd day of days!
We hail thy glad­some rays.
O day of Je­sus’ birth,
Of peace, good will to earth!
We praise the Fa­ther’s love
Who sent Him from above
Our joys and griefs to share,
Our check­ered lives to wear.

Refrain

Then wake the cheer­ful song;
With buoy­ant step draw near,
And join the wait­ing throng
Who in His courts ap­pear.

O bless­èd day of days!
The grate­ful heart obeys
The call of tune­ful bell,
And hastes with joy to swell
The cho­rus of His praise,
The fer­vent pray­er to raise
That peace, good will on earth
May crown the Sav­ior’s birth.

Refrain

O bless­èd day of days!
The watch­ful eye sur­veys
The woes and wants of life,
Its con­tests and its strife,
And longs to see and know
The Christ­mas light and glow;
On earth good will and peace
Forevermore in­crease.

Refrain