Scripture Verse

She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.Luke 2:7

Introduction

portrait
D. Rand Pierce (1869–1947)

Words: D. Rand Pierce, The Hea­ven­ly Pil­grim and Oth­er Po­ems (Fitch­burg, Mas­sa­chu­setts: D. Rand Pierce, 1909), pag­es 75–77.

Music: St. Co­lum­ba an­cient Ir­ish tune (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

Lyrics

Of all the happy gold­en days,
The heav’n­ly Fa­ther gives us,
None can sur­pass for joy and praise,
The glad­some tide of Christ­mas.

How sad and dark the world became,
The bless­èd Bi­ble tells us,
Till in a stall, at Beth­le­hem,
Was born the baby Je­sus.

Within the inn there was no room
To place the lit­tle Stran­ger,
So in a cat­tle cave of gloom
They laid Him in a man­ger.

How li­ttle dreamed that si­lent town
Of all the mid­night won­der,
When Christ the Lord of Heav’n came down
To break sin’s bands asun­der.

And to the shep­herds, that same night,
An an­gel told the sto­ry,
And off they hast­ened with de­light,
And found the Lord of glo­ry.

And then a won­drous star had led
The wise men, too, to tra­vel,
Far from the East, with wea­ry tread,
To see this king­ly mar­vel.

And when they found the Sav­ior dear,
Within the low­ly man­ger,
They wor­shiped Him, and pre­sents rare
They gave the lit­tle Stran­ger.

We love to tell how Je­sus came,
The bless­èd Lord of glo­ry,
For His is now the sweet­est name
In any song or sto­ry.

And gifts are dear­er when we know
That Je­sus first was given;
For God did love this lost world so
He gave His Son from Hea­ven.

So let the whole wide world be glad
For all the joy it gives us,
For how could any one be sad
On such a day as Christ­mas!