Scripture Verse

She brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.Luke 2:7

Introduction

portrait
Harriet Kimball (1834–1917)

Words: Har­ri­et M. Kim­ball, Po­ems (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: Lit­tle, Brown, 1911), pag­es 109–10.

Music: Green­wood (Sweet­ser) Jo­seph E. Sweet­ser, A Col­lect­ion of Church Mu­sic (New York: John Wi­ley, 1849), num­ber 161 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Sweet­ser (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

Thou, the eter­nal Son
Though of Thy glo­ry shorn;
Thou, ve­ry God of ve­ry God
Though man of Ma­ry born—

Is there no room for Thee
Even in Beth­l’hem’s inn?
Dost Thou who com­est to Thine own
From them no wel­come win?

Dost Thou the bit­ter cross
So ea­ger­ly em­brace
For us, and we for Thee pre­pare
No poor­est dwell­ing place?

No room for Thee? No room
For love and sac­ri­fice
Such as no mor­tal could con­ceive
And none but Thou de­vise?

O sweet­est Je­sus, hear!
Though I am poor in­deed,
I know I can pro­vide a spot
To meet Thy low­ly need.

Such love as Thine must crave,
Above all oth­er things,
The love of those on whom ’tis spent,
And all that lov­ing brings.

For love is shel­ter, food,
A bed of down, a throne;
Its ve­ry breath obe­di­ence
To him whom it doth own.

Come, sweet­est Je­sus, then,
In this poor heart abide;
And I shall love Thee more and more
Till love is sa­tis­fied.