When Christ Was Born In Bethlehem

When Christ was born in Bethlehem, Fair peace on earth to bring

Author: Laurence Housman
Published in 9 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1. When Christ was born in Bethlehem,
Fair peace on earth to bring,
In lowly state of love He came
To be the children’s king.

2. And round Him, then, a holy band
Of children blest was born,
Fair guardians of His throne to stand
Attendant night and morn.

3. And unto them this grace was giv’n
A Savior’s name to own,
And die for Him who out of Heav’n
Had found on earth a throne.

4. O blessèd babes of Bethlehem,
Who died to save our king,
Ye share the martyrs’ diadem,
And in their anthem sing!

5. Your lips, on earth that never spake,
Now sound th’eternal word;
And in the courts of love ye make
Your children’s voices heard.

6. Lord Jesus Christ, eternal child,
Make Thou our childhood Thine;
That we with Thee the meek and mild
May share the love divine.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #7363

Author: Laurence Housman

Housman, Lawrence, author and artist, was born July 18, 1867, at Bromsgrove, Worcs. His devotional poetry is principally in his Spikenard, 1898, and Bethlehem, 1902. To the English Hymnal, 1906, he contributed eight translations (142, 188, 191, 228, 229, 230, 231, 234); also three original hymns, with a fourth previously published, viz.:— 1. Lord God of Hosts, within Whose hand. St. George. 2. The Maker of the sun and moon. Christmas. From Bethlehem, 1902, p. 75. 3. The Saint who first found grace to pen. St. Mark. 4. When Christ was born in Bethlehem. Holy Innocents. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: When Christ was born in Bethlehem, Fair peace on earth to bring
Title: When Christ Was Born In Bethlehem
Author: Laurence Housman
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

RODMELL


ST. SAVIOUR (Baker 11716)


DUNDEE (Ravenscroft)

DUNDEE first appeared in the 1615 edition of the Scottish Psalter published in Edinburgh by Andro Hart. Called a "French" tune (thus it also goes by the name of FRENCH), DUNDEE was one of that hymnal's twelve "common tunes"; that is, it was not associated with a specific psalm. In the Psalter Hymnal…

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Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #7363
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 9 of 9)

Church Hymnal, Fourth Edition #70

Page Scan

Songs of Praise #441

Songs of Praise for America #d127

The Book of Common Praise #85

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #7363

Page Scan

The English Hymnal #611

Page Scan

The English Hymnal #611

AudioPage Scan

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #112

The New English Hymnal #203

Exclude 7 pre-1979 instances
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