How Brightly Shines the Morning Star!/Philipp Nicolai

SOURCE - Hymnary

How brightly shines the Morning Star!
The nations see and hail afar
the light in Judah shining.
Thou David's son of Jacob's race,
The Bridegroom, and the King of grace,
for thee our hearts are pining!
Lowly, holy, great and glorious,
thou victorious Prince of graces,
filling all the heavenly places!

Though circled by the hosts on high,
he deigns to cast a pitying eye
upon his helpless creature;
the whole creation’s Head and Lord,
by highest seraphim adored,
assumes our very nature.
Jesus, grant us, through thy merit,
to inherit thy salvation:
hear, O hear our supplication.

Rejoice, ye heav'ns; thou earth, reply;
with praise, ye sinners, fill the sky
for this his incarnation.
Incarnate God, put forth thy pow'r,
ride on, ride on, great Conqueror,
till all know thy salvation.
Amen, amen! Alleluya, alleluya!
Praise be given evermore by earth and heaven.

The Wise Men / G. K. Chesterton

SOURCE

Step softly, under snow or rain,

    To find the place where men can pray;

The way is all so very plain

    That we may lose the way.

Oh, we have learnt to peer and pore

    On tortured puzzles from our youth,

We know all labyrinthine lore,

We are the three wise men of yore,

    And we know all things but the truth.

We have gone round and round the hill

    And lost the wood among the trees,

And learnt long names for every ill,

And served the mad gods, naming still

    The furies the Eumenides.

The gods of violence took the veil

    Of vision and philosophy,

The Serpent that brought all men bale,

He bites his own accursed tail,

    And calls himself Eternity.

Go humbly…it has hailed and snowed…

    With voices low and lanterns lit;

So very simple is the road,

    That we may stray from it.

The world grows terrible and white,

    And blinding white the breaking day;

We walk bewildered in the light,

For something is too large for sight,

    And something much too plain to say.

The Child that was ere worlds begun

    (…We need but walk a little way,

We need but see a latch undone…)

The Child that played with moon and sun

    Is playing with a little hay.

The house from which the heavens are fed,

    The old strange house that is our own,

Where trick of words are never said,

And Mercy is as plain as bread,

    And Honour is as hard as stone.

Go humbly, humble are the skies,

    And low and large and fierce the Star;

So very near the Manger lies

    That we may travel far.

Hark! Laughter like a lion wakes

    To roar to the resounding plain.

And the whole heaven shouts and shakes,

    For God Himself is born again,

And we are little children walking

    Through the snow and rain.

The Star Of The East / Anonymous

SOURCE

Star of the East, whose beacon light

    A gleam on Bethlehem threw,

And thither by that wondrous sight

    Arabia's sages drew;

On thee in thought we love to gaze

    In western climes afar,

And think on thy mysterious rays,

    Thou lovely eastern star.

Fair is the star of eve that sheds

    Her light betokening rest;

And fair the morning star that leads

    The day in glory drest:

But still more fair thy form arose,

    And lovelier to behold,

Which of a more serene repose

    A brighter glory told.

Hail thou, whose silvery radiance led

    Those Magian chiefs to bring

Their choicest gifts, in worship spread

    Before Judea's King:

That glorious Sun, whose harbinger

    Thy light was made to shine,

And like the pillar'd flame to bear

    Aloft salvation's sign!

Hail thou appointed to adorn

    The rising King of heaven,

The promis'd Child to Judah born,

    The Son to Israel given:

In whom the peaceful empire seal'd

    Should more and more increase;

In Him, the mighty God reveal'd,

    In Him, the Prince of Peace!

So on thy beacon light we gaze

    In western climes afar,

And note thy heav'n-directed rays,

    Thou lovely eastern star:

With praise to Him, who in the sky

    Thy wondrous cresset hung,

Prompt to inform the observing eye,

    Apart from speech or tongue.

Him who permits to all to see

    The light their stations need;

Who chose the star-vers'd sage by thee,

    Star of the east, to lead;

Who made by shepherd swains at night

    The angel's voice be heard;

And gives to use his scripture's light,

    His own recording word.

On Shepherds' Pipes / William Drummond

SOURCE

O than the fairest day, thrice fairer night!

Night to blest days in which a sun doth rise

Of which that golden age which clears the skies

Is but a sparkling ray, a shadow-light!

And blessed ye, in silly pastors' sight,

Mild creatures, in whose warm crib now lies

That heaven-sent youngling, holy-maid-born wight:

Midst, end, beginning of our prophecies!

Blest cottage that hath flowers in winter spread,

Though withered--blessed grass that hath the grace

To deck and be a carpet to that place!

Thus sang, unto the sounds, of oaten reed,

Before the Babe, the shepherds bowed on knees;

And springs ran nectar, honey dropped from trees.

Of The Epiphany / Sir John Beaumont

SOURCE

Fair eastern star, that art ordained to run

Before the sages, to the rising sun,

Here cease thy course, and wonder that the cloud

Of this poor stable can thy Maker shroud:

Ye heavenly bodies glory to be bright

And are esteemed as ye are rich in light;

But here on earth is taught a different way,

Since under this low roof the Highest lay.

Jerusalem erects her stately towers,

Displays her windows and adorns her bowers:

Yet there thou must not cast a trembling spark,

Let Herod's palace still continue dark;

Each school and syngogue thy force repels,

There Pride enthroned in misty error dwells;

The temple, where the priests maintain their quire,

Shall taste no beam of thy celestial fire,

While this weak cottage all thy splendour takes:

A joyful gate of every chink it makes

Here shines no golden roof, no ivory stair,

No king exalted in a stately chair,

Girt with attendants, or by heralds styled,

But straw and hay enwrap a speechless child.

Yet Sabae's lords before this babe unfold

Their treasures, offering incense, myrrh and gold.

The crib becomes an altar: therefore dies

No ox nor sheep; for in their fodder lies

The Prince of Peace, who, thankful for his bed,

Destroys those rites in which their blood was shed:

The quintessence of earth he takes, and fees,

And precious gums distilled from weeping trees;

Rich metals and sweet odours now declare

The glorious blessings which his laws prepare,

To clear us from the base and loathsome flood

Of sense and make us fit for angels' food,

Who life to God for us the holy smoke

Of fervent prayers with which we him invoke,

And try our actions in the searching fire

By which the seraphims our lips inspire:

No muddy dross pure minerals shall infect,

We shall exhale our vapours up direct:

No storm shall cross, nor glittering lights deface

Perpetual sighs which seek a happy place.

Wartime Christmas / Joyce Kilmer

SOURCE

Led by a star, a golden star,

The youngest star, an olden star,

Here the kings and the shepherds are,

A kneeling on the ground.

What did they come to the inn to see?

God in the Highest, and this is He,

A baby asleep on His mother’s knee

And with her kisses crowned. 

Now is the earth a dreary place,

A troubled place, a weary place.

Peace has hidden her lovely face

And turned in tears away.

Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees

Babies asleep on their mother’s knees.

While there are love and home—and these—

There shall be Christmas Day.

Christmas Carol / Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, trans. Longfellow

SOURCE 

When Christ was born in Bethlehem,

'T was night, but seemed the noon of day;

    The stars, whose light

    Was pure and bright,

    Shone with unwavering ray;

But one, one glorious star

Guided the Eastern Magi from afar.

Then peace was spread throughout the land;

The lion fed beside the tender lamb;

    And with the kid,

    To pasture led,

    The spotted leopard fed;

In peace, the calf and bear,

The wolf and lamb reposed together there.

As shepherds watched their flocks by night,

An angel, brighter than the sun's own light,

    Appeared in air,

    And gently said,

    Fear not,--be not afraid,

For lo! beneath your eyes,

Earth has become a smiling paradise.

A Christmas Hymn / Anonymous

SOURCE

In the fields where, long ago,

    Dropping tears, amid the leaves,

Ruth's young feet went to and fro,

    Binding up the scattered sheaves,

In the field that heard the voice

    Of Judea's shepherd King,

Still the gleaners may rejoice,

    Still the reapers shout and sing.

For each mount and vale and plain

    Felt the touch of holier feet.

Then the gleaners of the grain

    Heard, in voices full and sweet,

"Peace on earth, good will to men,"

    Ring from angel lips afar,

While, o'er every glade and glen,

    Broke the light of Bethlehem's star.

Star of hope to souls in night,

    Star of peace above our strife,

Guiding, where the gates of death

    Ope to fields of endless life.

Wanderer from the nightly throng

    Which the eastern heavens gem;

Guided, by an angel's song,

    To the Babe of Bethlehem.

Not Judea's hills alone

    Have earth's weary gleaners trod,

Not to heirs of David's throne

    Is it given to "reign with God."

But where'er on His green earth

    Heavenly faith and longing are,

Heavenly hope and life have birth,

    'Neath the smile of Bethlehem's star.

In each lowly heart or home,

    By each love-watched cradle-bed,

Where we rest, or where we roam,

    Still its changeless light is shed.

In its beams each quickened heart,

    Howe'er saddened or denied,

Keeps one little place apart

    For the Hebrew mother's Child.

And that inner temple fair

    May be holier ground than this,

Hallowed by the pilgrim's prayer,

    Warmed by many a pilgrim's kiss.

In its shadow still and dim,

    Where our holiest longings are,

Rings forever Bethlehem's hymn,

    Shines forever Bethlehem's star.

A Sound of Singing Fills the Air / Timothy Dudley-Smith

SOURCE - Hope Publishing
TEXT-

A sound of singing fills the air

   in praise of all that God has done,

who sent, our human life to share,

   his Son, his own beloved Son;

      the Prince of life the Father gave,

      a wayward world to seek and save.

The sovereign King of all the earth,

   and Lord of all the worlds there are,

he chose, as emblems of his birth,

   a stable and a shining star:

      within a manger-bed to lie,

      whose fingers formed the starry sky.

He came, the Father's final Word,

   from that celestial throne above;

a child, and yet creation's Lord,

   to show the human face of Love:

      the love of god to earth come down,

      who chose the cross before the crown.

So lift our songs to fill the skies!

   From manger-crib and cattle-stall,

from cross and grave, behold him rise,

   the high-ascended Lord of all,

      whose praise the whole creation sings,

      as Lord of lords and King of kings!

Christmas Carol / Sarah Teasdale

SOURCE

The kings they came from out the south,
   All dressed in ermine fine;
They bore Him gold and chrysoprase,
   And gifts of precious wine.

The shepherds came from out the north,
   Their coats were brown and old;
They brought Him little new-born lambs—
   They had not any gold.

The wise men came from out the east,
   And they were wrapped in white;
The star that led them all the way
   Did glorify the night.

The angels came from heaven high,
   And they were clad with wings;
And lo, they brought a joyful song
   The host of heaven sings.

The kings they knocked upon the door,
   The wise men entered in,
The shepherds followed after them
   To hear the song begin.

The angels sang through all the night
   Until the rising sun,
But little Jesus fell asleep
   Before the song was done.

Sons of men, behold from far / Charles Wesley

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

Sons of men, behold from far, Hail the long-expected star! Jacob's star that gilds the night, Guides bewilder'd nature right. Fear not hence that ill should flow, Wars or pestilence below, Wars it bids and tumults cease, Ushering in the Prince of Peace. Mild he shines on all beneath, Piercing thro' the shade of death, Scatt'ring error’s wide-spread night, Kindling darkness into light. Nations all, far off and near, Haste to see your God appear! Haste, for him your hearts prepare, Meet him manifested there! There behold the Day-Spring rise, Pouring eye-sight on your eyes, God in his own light survey, Shining to the perfect day. Sing, ye morning stars again, God descends on earth to reign, Deigns for man his life t'employ; Shout, ye sons of God, for joy!

Brightest and best / Reginald Heber

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,

Dawn on our darkness and lend us Thine aid;

Star of the East, the horizon adorning,

Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid.

Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining;

Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall;

Angels adore Him in slumber reclining,

Maker and Monarch and Savior of all!

Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion,

Odors of Edom and offerings divine?

Gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean,

Myrrh from the forest, or gold from the mine?

Vainly we offer each ample oblation,

Vainly with gifts would His favor secure;

Richer by far is the heart’s adoration,

Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.

Watchman, tell us of the night (Aberystwyth) / Joseph Parry

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

Watchman, tell us of the night,
What its signs of promise are.
Traveler, o'er yon mountain's height,
See that glory beaming star.
Watchman, does its beauteous ray
Aught of joy or hope foretell?
Traveler, yes – it brings the day,
Promised day of Israel.

Watchman, tell us of the night;
Higher yet that star ascends.
Traveler, blessedness and light,
Peace and truth its course portends.
Watchman, will its beams alone
Gild the spot that gave them birth?
Traveler, ages are its own;
See, it bursts o'er all the earth.

Watchman, tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Traveler, darkness takes its flight,
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveler, lo! the Prince of Peace,
Lo! the Son of God is come!
  

Los tres Reyes / Traditional

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

Los tres Reyes, vednos aquí!,

Lejos nuestra patria está.

Siempre vimos y seguimos

La estrella que nos guió.

¡Oh, astro lleno de amor,

De belleza y fulgor!

Tu camino nos conduce

Al eterno esplendor.

To God on high all glory be / Adam Geibel

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

The shepherds saw in Eastern sky,

Star of promise shining bright,

Ever gleaming, gleaming ever,

With its bright effulgent light.

Refrain:

Blessed Saviour, Son of Mary,

In a stable He was born,

Holy Angels watching o'er Him,

On that natal Christmas morn.

In David's city, ere the dawn,

In a manger, Christ was born,

Holy Angels watching o'er Him,

On that natal Christmas morn.

Refrain.

Of noble, royal lineage

House of David, Prince and King,

Came our Saviour, infant Jesus,

And His praises we will sing.

Refrain.

"To God on high all glory be,"

Thus the joyous paean ran;

"Ever hail our Saviour's advent -

Peace on earth, good will to man."

Refrain.

Silent Night / Franz Gruber

SOURCE - CPDL

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight;
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Silent night, holy night
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King;
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born!

Starlight, starbright / Paul Rosas

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SSSAA (includes soprano solo)

(Starlight, starbright ... starlight, starbright)
Starlight, starbright, the brighest star in the sky tonight. It points the way, it lights the night. This is the miracle starlight.
(Starlight, starbright ... Starlight, starbright)
Starlight, starbright, the brighest star in the sky tonight. The quiding light that shows it's time to pray and say: This is the sacred night of nights.
This is the sacred night of nights. This is the sacred night of nights. (This is the sacred night of nights).

Star of my heart / David Monks

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SSATB (includes soprano descant)

Star of my heart, I follow from afar.
Sweet Love on high, lead on where shepherds are,
Where Time is not, and only dreamers are.
Star of my heart, I follow from afar.

Star from of old, though Magi-Kings are dead
yet man, with hope still seeks the manger-bed.
O lead me to the Holy, Heavenly Child
Across this dreamland so lone and wild.

Then I will speak this prayer unsaid,
And I still kiss His little haloed head:
My star and I, we love you, little child.
Enter our hearts, O Holy infant mild. 

The Star of Bethlehem / Sally DeFord

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - S

High above the weary world, amid the stars of heaven

To men of old a wondrous sign of peace and hope was given

A brighter star was kindled there, to reign among the skies

To mark the way to Bethlehem and everlasting light

And high above the weary world, for eyes to see that will

The star of Bethlehem will shine for those who seek him still

High above the weary world it shone upon their road

And thus it led the wise men on, to seek a poor abode

And is there now no humble home to which its light may lead?

No quiet need? No tears of grief? No hungering soul to feed?

Look high above the weary world -- for eyes to see that will,

The star of Bethlehem will shine for those who seek him still

High above the weary world his star still shines for me

It bids me seek the Holy Child, adoring on bended knee

It beckons me through ages past, by countless years undimmed

It bids me serve his children now, thus to worship him

And high above the weary world, for eyes to see that will

The star of Bethlehem will shine for those who seek him still.

Rise up, shepherd / Traditional

SOURCE - CPDL
FOR - SATB

There’s a star in the East on Christmas morn,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
It will lead to the place where the Christ was born,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Follow, follow, rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Follow the Star of Bethlehem,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.

If you take good heed to the angel’s words,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
You’ll forget your flocks, you’ll forget your herds,
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Follow, follow, rise up,...