| Hymn: | Bethlehem Of Noblest Cities |
|---|---|
| Tune: | Stuttgart |
| Words: | Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-410) |
| Music: | Christian Friedrich Witt (1660-1717) |
Verse 1
Bethlehem, of noblest cities
None can once with thee compare;
Thou alone the Lord from Heaven
Didst for us incarnate bear.
Verse 2
Fairer than the sun at morning
Was the star that told His birth;
To the lands their God announcing,
Hid beneath a form of earth.
Verse 3
By its lambent beauty guided,
See, the eastern kings appear;
See them bend, their gifts to offer—
Gifts of incense, gold, and myrrh.
Verse 4
Offerings of mystic meaning!
Incense doth the God disclose;
Gold a royal child proclaimeth;
Myrrh a future tomb foreshows.
Verse 5
Holy Jesu! in Thy brightness
To the Gentile world displayed!
With the Father, and the Spirit,
Endless praise to Thee be paid.