Tuesday, December 4, 2007

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Bethlehem..., out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be the ruler in Israel; Micah 5:2

Joseph Seeks Lodging at Bethlehem by James Tissot
Joseph Seeks Lodging at Bethlehem


O little town of Bethelehem, How still we see the 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.

Shepherds Watch Their Flocks Under the Light from a Distant Star near Bethlehem, Israel by Tom Nebbia
Shepherds Watch Their Flocks Under the Light from a Distant Star near Bethlehem, Israel


For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondring love,
O morning stars, together Proclaim the Holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth.

Madonna and Child by Sano di Pietro
Madonna and Child


How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear can hear His coming, But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still The dear Christ enters in.

Angels V by Wolfgang Otto
Angels V


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.

Text: Phillips Brooks
Music: Lewis H. Redner

You can listen to the music at Trinity Hymnal.

Images courtesy of All Posters

11 comments:

Mimi said...

Cathy,
I love the pictures you selected to go with your Christmas Carol today!!!

~~Deby said...

All of these pictures and words have been wonderful....I am really enjoying them
Deby

Anonymous said...

as always, your blog inspires me, speaks to my hardt, and sets me to focus on Christ. Thank you. <><

Cathy said...

Thank you, Mimi. It was not easy, especially for the 3rd verse, but I just loved that picture. :o)

Thank you, Deby, I'm glad you enjoyed them. I too love reading all the words to these hymns.

haus frau ~ You are welcome, what a sweet thing to say, makes me happy.

Jodi said...

Oh Cathy ~ I just love this hymn, and you illustrated it beautifully. Bethlehem is our focus this week of Advent, and one of the reasons I chose it as a topic was because of this hymn. The last couple of nights we've been talking about the importance of place . . . as in where God places you. It's odd to think that had Jesus been born anywhere else or had those particular shepherds lived elsewhere, they would not have gotten to see the Babe in the manager. We are so privileged that God guides and directs us to the place He appoints for us.

NannyKaren said...

I love the Christmas Carols. It is so comforting to come to vist you here Cathy...

Cathy said...

Thank you, Jodi, I'm sure God had the whole scene all planned out, to make it special and wonderful and to show His glory. :o)

Thank you, dear Karen. It's great to have you visiting. :o)

Sharon said...

I love Christmas songs and it would be hard to pick my favorite, but this is one of them! :-)

Cathy said...

I'm glad it blessed you, Sharon. I believe it was my mother's favorite. :o)

Joyfulsister said...

Hi Sis..
Wow you really took the time to put this together so beautifully!! You have a heart that shines for our heavenly Father. I think if you were an ornament for Christ you would be an ornament of his light that shines ever so brightly for his glory.

Luv ya Lorie

Cathy said...

Thank you, dear Lorie, that is just the sweetest thing you said! You are just so precious. I am probably going to use your ornament post as a link, my sister. :o) I have illustrated lots of hymns this way. They are under labels and hymns.