December

CHRISTMAS - page 2

Oh, how joyfully,
Oh, how hopefully,
waits the world on Christmas Eve!
Love comes healing,
God revealing
Friends, be joyful and believe!

Oh, how joyfully,
Oh, how peacefully,
sleeps the world on Christmas Night!
Sins are covered,
grace discovered.
In our darkness shines the light!

Oh, how joyfully,
Oh, how thankfully,
wakes the world on Christmas Morn!
God has spoken,
death is broken,
Alleluia! Christ is born!

Brian Wren (born 1936)
© 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd
5.5.7.4 4.7.

O most joyful, O most holy,
Christmas time that brings down God's grace.
Welcome the stranger, Christ laid in a manger.
Gladly, gladly sing to God your praise.

O most joyful, O most holy,
Christmas time that brings down God's grace.
Christ's revelation brings us salvation.
Gladly, gladly sing to God your praise.

O most joyful, O most holy,
Christmas time that brings down God's grace.
Heaven's bright angels! Sing and be joyful!
Gladly, gladly sing to God your praise.

O du froliche by Johannes Daniel Falk (1768-1826) translated by Alan Luff (born 1928)
English translation © Stainer & Bell Ltd
8.8.10.8.

'One of the children of the year'
Is the little Lord Jesus:
One of us, yet a stranger here,
Is the little Lord Jesus:
One of us, but of special birth,
Is the little Lord Jesus.
God's only Son shall walk the earth!

'One of the children of the year'
Is the little Lord Jesus:
Mary and Joseph are taking care
Of the little Lord Jesus:
One of us, yet the Saviour of all,
Is the little Lord Jesus.
Watch his first footsteps, lest he fall!

'One of the children of the year'
Is the little Lord Jesus:
Look, the day-star is shining clear
For the little Lord Jesus:
Look at that shadow of a cross -
O my little Lord Jesus!
Look, he holds out his hands to us!

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1992 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Irregular

Open your sleeping eyes
And see the great sun rise!
See where through darkest night
The new-born stranger
Shines with eternal light
From his dark manger.

We celebrate the birth
That brings God's love to earth:
Light of eternity,
Drawn to earth's sadness,
To claim on Calvary
Eternal gladness.

Angels, with joy ablaze,
Might crowd to sing his praise,
And yet each humble heart,
Joyful before him,
Surpasses angels' art.
Let us adore him!

We, with the shepherds bow
In adoration now,
And we, like them, will run
To tell our story:
Of Mary's new-born son,
Who is earth's glory.

Alan Gaunt (born 1935)
© Stainer & Bell Ltd
6 6.6.5.6.5.

Our God has given his Son to the earth,
a Father's love has brought Christmas to birth.
Life now unfolds in the light of the day,
Jesus is present, the feast is to stay.

He holds the future, the present, the past;
the fact of Christmas was given to last.
Let us then see in the coming of Christ:
love is the gift and the church is the feast.

Of incarnation the church is the sign,
the given token of hope for mankind,
bringing us under the good of its spell:
God is among us, each day is noel.

Fred Kaan (born 1929)
© 1968 Stainer & Bell Ltd
10 10.10 10.

Ring the bells of Bethlehem!
Jesus is born to save us all:
Ring the bells of Bethlehem!
Comes to redeem us from the Fall.
Ring the bells of every town,
There is joy when the lost are found.
Ring the bells in every town,
Let the whole world hear the sound!

Toll a bell in Jerusalem!
Jesus dies to save us all,
Toll a bell in Jerusalem!
Dies to redeem us from the Fall.
Chorus

Ring the bells of Jerusalem!
Jesus lives to save us all:
Ring the bells of Jerusalem!
Lives to redeem us from the Fall.
Chorus

Ring the bells of every town!
Let the whole world hear the sound!
Ring the bells of every town!
There is joy when the lost are found!
Chorus

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1980 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Irregular

Say you this pagan mistletoe
Is fit to bring us nought but woe?
Rejoice that he who came that night redeems us all:
Deck the branches! Light the candles! Sing Nowell, Nowell!

Say you these holly berries red
Are drenched in sacrificial blood?
Chorus

Say you this Christian holy day
Was first a pagan holiday?
Chorus

Say you our Christian joy recalls
Wild Saturnalian carnivals?
Chorus

Rejoice that he who came that night
Turns pagan darkness into light!
Chorus

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1980 Stainer & Bell Ltd
8.8. & Refrain

See the glory, more than glimmer,
Carollers are now in sight;
See the silver star, its shimmer,
Shining through the frosty night.

Watch the shoppers stand at windows:
Moving figures beckon, glow;
Shining crib and cartoon shadows:
See excitement spread and grow.

But you're huddled, cramped and sodden
In the doorway's frozen chill;
Do you wonder you're forgotten,
Jesus, waiting for us still?

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
© Stainer & Bell Ltd
8.7.8.7. Trochaic

Such a calm stillness envelops the night,
As darkness in silence, waits for dawning light;
Then all at once the hush in the air is torn
By cries of labour, as Mary's child is born.

Through all the turmoil that fills earth with grief,
And all human anguish, yearning for relief,
Hear, though your worries, as morning dawns, increase,
The infant crying, who brings us God's own peace.

2A
Through all the turmoil that fills earth with grief,
And all human anguish, yearning for relief,
Hear, though your worries, as morning dawns, increase,
The infant crying, who brings you God's own peace.

Feel how the splendour of innocence here,
Can pierce the soul's darkness, healing guilt and fear!
Let us now worship and celebrate the birth
Of him whose pains will reveal God's joy on earth.

Loudly, though Christians join angels to sing,
Proclaiming the splendour of the news they bring;
The child, now sleeping, calls all who are distressed:
'Adore my silence, and come into my rest.'

4A
Loudly, though Christians join angels to sing,
Proclaiming the splendour of the news they bring;
The child, now sleeping, calls all who are distressed:
'Adore in silence, and come into my rest.'

Alan Gaunt (born 1935)
© Stainer & Bell Ltd
10 11.11 11.

The lone cow lows; the asses bray;
The star shines steady through the night.
The baby nestles in the hay
And squirms and gurgles with delight.

The hasty world goes fleeting by
On pleasure or ambition bent,
And will not even pause to try
The things that are more excellent.

But Mary has a lovely boy,
And though the world may think us odd
We take the time to kneel in joy
Before the humbleness of God.

John Ferguson (1921-1989)
© 1982 Stainer & Bell Ltd
LM

The night is nearly over
The daylight nearly here:
With praises let us welcome
God's bright and morning star.
Who suffered long in darkness
Join in the joyful strain:
The morning star is shining
On all your fear and pain.

He who was served by angels
Comes as a child to serve:
For God in mercy tempers
The justice we deserve.
Whoever here is guilty,
Who knows himself defiled:
Look up! and find salvation
Believing in this Child.

How quickly night is passing -
Haste to the stable now!
There you will find salvation,
The reason why and how.
God from your guilt's beginning
Has heard you when you cried.
Now he whom God has chosen
Is standing at your side.

As long as nights are falling
On human guilt and pain,
The star of God's good pleasure
Will shine on travelling men.
In souls lit by its radiance
The darkness cannot brood:
Look up! salvation for you
Shines from the face of God!

God wants to live in darkness
So he can make it bright;
As though he would reward it
He guides the world aright.
He who created all things
Does not forsake the lost;
Who trusts the Son as Saviour
Has freedom at the last.

Die nacht ist vorgedrungen by Jochen Klepper (1903-1942) translated by Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
English translation © 1974 Stainer & Bell Ltd
7.6.7.6.D.

The Word is born this very night:
Hail, Mary, full of grace!
A hanging lantern sheds its light
On Joseph's anxious face.

The Word must come in human form,
In God's redemptive plan.
A Babe takes every heart by storm,
But who will heed the Man?

The Word is born this very night,
And humble is the place;
The world is dark, but hope is bright,
And sinners look for grace.

The Word has come to end the war
Which Adam first began.
O bless the Babe who sleeps on straw.
And listen to the Man!

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1972 Stainer & Bell Ltd
C.M.

This carol we will gladly sing
To all with ears to hear,
So we may show you Jesus Christ,
How near he is, how dear!
Yes, yes, it was at Bethlehem
That Jesus Christ was born,
But Bethlehem is any town
And this is Christmas morn!

For any hill could be the hill
Where glory shone around,
And any shepherd out at night
Stumble on holy ground.
Though it was many miles from here
Where Jesus Christ was born,
How near he is, how dear he is,
And this is Christmas morn!

2A
For any hill could be the hill
Where glory shone around,
And any shepherd out at night
Could fall on holy ground.
Though it was many miles from here
Where Jesus Christ was born,
How near he is, how dear he is,
And this is Christmas morn!

For any star could be the star,
And any inn the inn,
And any byre could be the byre
By loving hands swept clean.
Though it was many years ago
When Jesus Christ was born,
How near he is, how dear he is,
And this is Christmas morn!

This carol we will gladly sing
At any open door,
So we may show you Jesus Christ,
Who lives for evermore.
Because it was for each of us
That Jesus Christ was born,
How near he is, how dear he is,
And this is Chnstmas morn!

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1974 Stainer & Bell Ltd
CMD

This is the night of his coming to earth:
Christ in the darkness is waiting his birth.
All is now ready, and each in their place,
Planets and people, this moment of grace:
Gloria!

This is the hour when a Mother must wait,
Wait until labour comes, early or late:
This is the moment the Babe in her womb
Knocks on the door of a carpenter's home.
Gloria!

This is the hour when we sinners despair:
This is the hour when the angels declare
Peace upon earth to all men of goodwill:
Shepherds see glory on Bethlehem's hill.
Gloria!

This is the night: let a trumpet be blown!
Never again shall love wear such a crown!
This is the hour when our souls find release:
Welcome to him who has come to make peace!
Gloria!

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1974 Stainer & Bell Ltd
10 10.10 10. (Dactylic) with gloria which may be omitted

Tomorrow Christ is coming
as yesterday he came;
a child is born this moment
- we do not know its name.
The world is full of darkness,
again there is no room;
the symbols of existence
are stable, cross and tomb.

Tomorrow will be Christmas,
the feast of love divine,
but for the nameless millions
the star will never shine.
Still is the census taken
with people on the move;
new infants born in stables
are crying out for love.

There will be no tomorrows
for many a baby born.
Good Friday falls on Christmas
when life is sown as corn.
But Jesus Christ is risen
and comes again in bread
to still our deepest hunger
and raise us from the dead.

Our God becomes incarnate
in every human birth.
Created in God's image,
we must make peace on earth.
God will fulfil Love's purpose
and this shall be the sign:
we shall find Christ among us
as woman, child or man.

Fred Kaan (born 1929)
© 1968 Stainer & Bell Ltd
7.6.7.6.D.

We come uneasy, God, this festive season,
afraid that all may be just as before;
so hallow, help us use, each restive reason
that makes us want to see through tale and lore.

We come uneasy, longing to be able
to look beyond the symbols and the signs,
to find behind our carols and the bible
the living Word, as read between the lines.

We come uneasy, asking for your leading
to take our distance from the manger-scene
and go into our mainstreets for our reading
of all that can in people's eyes be seen.

We come, uneasy at the thought of knowing
the child who suffers, all who die too soon:
you, earthy-Christ, in human likeness growing
from cradle of the night to cross at noon.

We welcome you, uneasy at your coming,
but reassured that you have come to stay
to bind together your and our becoming
a sign of hope, a light to save the day.

Then free us from traditions that diminish
the glory of your Christmas to a farce;
make good our will, from yearly start to finish
to 'see this thing that (daily!) comes to pass'.
Fred Kaan (born 1929)
© 1981 Stainer & Bell Ltd
11.10.11.10.

We haven't come from far,
Like wise men did of old;
We can't bring Jesus myrrh,
Or frankincense, or gold:
* But here's a bouncing ball,
And here's a box of bricks,
And here's a woolly toy,
So every child can enjoy
Christmas!
Christmas!
Christmas!

We've come from very near,
Like shepherds did of old;
But we haven't got a fleece
For Jesus, if he's cold:
Chorus

* It is intended that other gifts shall be named to suit the circumstances.
Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1979 Stainer & Bell Ltd
Irregular

What shepherds saw, by stable light,
Turned out to be a homely sight:
A new-born Lamb, but such a one
No shepherds yet had looked upon.

How well they understood the cares
Of motherhood, so like to theirs:
The anxious hours before the dawn,
The joy that greets the newly-born.

How well they knew what sudden ills
Could threaten their Judean hills;
What perils wait, in every fold,
The young, the venturesome, the old.

Then let us all, who have a trust
To guard the flock, as shepherds must,
Be quick this Christmas to adore
The Lamb of God, and care the more.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1989 Stainer & Bell Ltd
L.M.

When a baby in your arms
grips your little finger tight,
but cannot tell you why,
or say your name,
remember Christmas,
a shining star above,
and tiny fingers,
clutching from the cradle,
holding you with love, eternal love.

When a baby in your arms
gives a yelling, bawling cry,
then wails a nameless need
you can't ignore,
remember Christmas,
a shining star above,
and hear the crying,
crying from the cradle,
calling you with love, eternal love.

When a baby in your arms
gazes deep into your eyes,
and you're the only face
that baby knows,
remember Christmas,
a shining star above,
and eyes a-gazing,
gazing from the cradle,
meeting you with love, eternal love.

Brian Wren (born 1936)
© 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd
SM

Where shall we lay him,
Helpless and small?
Here is this stall,
This humble stall:
He who is lowly shall not fall.

How shall we feed him,
So he shall rest?
Milk from the breast,
His mother's breast:
Nurtured by love is always best.

What shall we call him
Born this dark night?
Call him the Light,
Call him the Light!
He comes to give us back our sight.

Who then shall heed him,
In time to be?
His two or three,
His two or three:
All who obey his 'Follow me!'

What shall befall him,
Lying so still?
For good or ill,
For good or ill?
Only what lies in the Father's will.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1977 Stainer & Bell Ltd
5.4 4 4.8.

Who is it whistling on the hill
To keep himself awake?
Ben, the shepherd, it surely is,
Wishing the day would break.

Who is it whistling in the dark,
When all the flock is still?
Dan, the shepherd, it surely is,
Calling the dogs to heel.

Who is it whistling to his mates
And pointing to the sky?
Dave, the shepherd it surely is:
Glory to God on high!

Who is it whistling as they haste
To sleepy Bethlehem?
Three young shepherds, it surely is,
Come to adore the Lamb.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1973 Stainer & Bell Ltd
C.M.

Who is running up the street,
Wings of joy upon their feet?
One man, two men, three men running, running,
Wings of joy upon their feet.

Who is knocking? Let them speak!
It's a new-born child they seek!
One man, two men, three men knocking, knocking:
It's a new-born child they seek.

Who comes riding from afar,
Guided by a roving star?
One man, two men, three men riding, riding,
Guided by a roving star.

Who is knocking? Let them speak!
It's the King of kings they seek!
One man, two men, three men knocking, knocking:
It's the King of kings they seek.

On this Christmastide recall,
Shepherds, Wise Men, Christians all,
How we sought and found him, sought him, found him,
Jesus Christ, the Lord of all.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1989 Stainer & Bell Ltd
7 7.10.7.

Will you come and see the light from the stable door?
It is shining newly bright, though it shone before.
It will be your guiding star, it will show you who you are.
Will you hide, or decide to meet the light?

Will you step into the light that can free the slave?
It will stand for what is right, it will heal and save.
By the pyramids of greed there's a longing to be freed.
Will you hide, or decide to meet the light?

Will you tell about the light in the prison cell?
Though it's shackled out of sight, it is shining well.
When the truth is cut and bruised, and the innocent abused,
will you hide, or decide to meet the light?

Will you join the hope, alight in a young girl's eyes,
of the mighty put to flight by a baby's cries?
When the lowest and the least are the foremost at the feast,
will you hide, or decide to meet the light?

Will you travel by the light of the babe new born?
In the candle lit at night there's a gleam of dawn,
and the darkness all about is too dim to put it out:
will you hide, or decide to meet the light?

Brian Wren (born 1936)
© 1993 Stainer & Bell Ltd
12 12.14.10.

Winter's here, with falling snow:
Lullaby, my little man,
There's no sound or echo now
Where the children leapt and ran:
Lullaby, lullaby,
Where the children leapt and ran.

Light a lantern, hang it high:
Lullaby, my little son,
So that travellers passing by
Think of home and hasten on:
Lullaby, lullaby,
Think of home and hasten on.

Dark it is; but that one star
Lullaby, sing lullaby,
Knows where all the children are,
Though they in a manger lie:
Lullaby, lullaby,
Though they in a manger lie.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1975 Stainer & Bell Ltd
7.7.7.7.6.7.

With all fellow Christians who gather tonight
We wait in the darkness to welcome the Light;
For dark is the world at the dead of the year,
And dark are our churches till he shall appear.

In secular cities, whose glare is not light,
The revellers snatch at the pleasures of night;
In silence and darkness, where drifting is deep,
The dutiful shepherd takes care of his sheep.

How many this Christmas look up at the light,
And, blinded by evil, see nothing but night;
How many dismiss, as a tale that is told,
The love of the Shepherd, the warmth of his fold.

Then join in our carols this cold Christmas Eve,
For great is our joy if we truly believe
That Jesus was born in the dead of this night
To help us to live as the Children of Light.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd
11 11.11 11. (Anapaestic)

With all fellow Christians who gather tonight
We wait in the darkness to welcome the Light;
For dark is the world at the dead of the year,
And dark are our churches till he shall appear.

In secular cities, whose glare is not light,
The revellers snatch at the pleasures of night;
In silence and darkness, where drifting is deep,
The dutiful shepherd takes care of his sheep.

How many this Christmas look up at the light,
And, blinded by evil, see nothing but night;
How many dismiss, as a tale that is told,
The love of the Shepherd, the warmth of his fold.

Then join in our carols this cold Christmas Eve,
For great is our joy if we truly believe
That Jesus was born in the dead of this night
To help us to live as the Children of Light.

Fred Pratt Green 1903-2000
© 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd
11 11.11 11. (Anapaestic)

Woman bearing Jesus
Come to our town
Knocking in the evening
In search of a room:
Nothing but a stable
Can we spare,
You are very welcome
To spend the night there.

Shepherds on the hillside
Watch while we sleep
Spending lonely hours
Guarding your sheep.
Is it just a rumour
Peace is born?
Why do you come running
To wake us at dawn?

Starlit and well travelled
Kings from afar,
Will you find among us
The meaning of your star?
Is he such a mystery
Mary's son?
Why bring costly symbols
To visit his home?

Jesus son of Mary
Born in the night
Touch our winter faces
With your holy light.
Are there new beginnings
We can make?
Can we learn to live now
For each other's sake?

Geoffrey Ainger (born 1925)
© 1992 Stainer & Bell Ltd.
6.4.6.5.6.3.6.5.

You were a babe of mine.
I watched you born, and wept
with joy to see your sticky head.
I held you in my arms.
I watched you, awe-struck, as you slept.
I love you, Christ of God:
you were a babe of mine.

You were a boy of mine.
You wallowed in the sand.
You copied me at work, and played
with hammer, wood and nails.
You talked to me, and held my hand.
I love you, Christ of God:
you were a boy of mine.

You were a youth of mine.
Quite suddenly you grew,
and questioned all my words and ways.
I felt you breaking free.
I raged, admired, and feared for you.
I love you, Christ of God:
you were a youth of mine.

You were a son of mine,
full grown, my hope and pride.
You went your puzzling way, a man
so ready, fine and young:
life broke in me the day you died.
I love you, Christ of God:
you were a son of mine.

You are the life of all,
the Christ, the Chosen One.
You loved and gave yourself for me;
As I belong to you,
new worlds are born, new life begun.
I love you, Christ of God:
you are the life of all.

Brian Wren (born 1936)
© 1980, 1996 Stainer & Bell Ltd
6.6.8.6.8.6.6.

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