Lyrics Page
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
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Sep 26, 2026 updated
Christmas: God With Us album
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
Jeremy Camp's reading keeps Phillips Brooks' hymn text exactly as written, and the opening verse stays deliberately unremarkable — "how still we see thee lie... the silent stars go by" — a small town doing nothing visibly historic on an ordinary night.
The third verse turns from the outer scene to something quieter still: "how silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given... no ear may hear his coming." The hymn insists the most significant thing that ever happened made almost no sound at all.
The final verse shifts from watching history to asking for it to happen personally: "cast out our sin and enter in, be born to us today." Micah's prophecy naming Bethlehem as the source of Israel's ruler gives the little town its scriptural weight, and the hymn's closing plea — "our Lord Emmanuel," God with us — makes the same request Revelation pictures Christ making at every door: come in and stay.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
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
For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel