The hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, written by Phillips Brooks describes the wondrous eternal gift God has given us in Christ, proclaiming (in verse 3), “Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in.” Every verse contains precious nuggets of biblical truth.
1. O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee 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.
Micah 5:2 prophesied where the coming Messiah of Israel would be born:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Simeon, a devout man in the temple, held the baby Jesus in his arms and declared that He would be “a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus declared in John 8:12,
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
O Little Town of Bethlehem
2. For Christ is born of Mary;
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
The gospel of Luke describes this heavenly scene:
Luke 2 (NKJV)
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
O Little Town of Bethlehem
3. How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
By believing in Him and receiving Him as Savior and Lord, we are born again.
John 1 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
O Little Town of Bethlehem
4. 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.
The name Immanuel (or Emmanual) means “God with us”. This is how the prophet Isaiah described the coming Messiah:
Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus is our Immanuel, God abiding with us. He promises in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” Living united with Christ is truly living.
David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/
Compelling Love 
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