Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Micah 5:2
Words: William. J. Walls (1885–1975).
Music: Zerah Lowell Mason, 1837 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know when and where this hymn was first published, Walls’ full name, or where to get a good photo of him (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels)
To Judah’s rugged lofty land
Our God in mercy came
And raised His good and kindly hand
His righteous will to claim.
And raised His good and kindly hand
His righteous will to claim.
’Twas there He raised the glory light
To men and nations prove
That He is God, in holy might,
And reigns in truth and love.
That He is God, in holy might,
And reigns in trust and love.
In that sweet land we’ve heard so long
The hills do flood with fame;
Its roads are hope, its streams are song
The valleys spread His name.
Its roads are hope, its streams are song
The valleys spread His name.
No God as He was ever known
In earth or sea or sky;
In hearts of men He built His throne,
Rules nations from on high.
In hearts of men He built His throne,
Rules nations from on high.
To them the holy seers He sent
His might and truth to tell,
His will make known to them who’re bent
In sin’s dark ways to dwell.
His will make known to them who’re bent
In sin’s dark ways to dwell.
He gave His Son, our Lord, to die,
To walk in Him with men,
Hear childhood’s cry and mother’s sigh
And bread and courage give.
Hear childhood’s cry and mother’s sigh
And bread and courage give.
And through His bleeding heart make known
How we through sorrows go
But by His rise the third day morn
Our blest salvation show.
But by His rise the third day morn
Our blest salvation show.
By Calvary through Joseph’s tomb
Has come the world’s last hope
The birds so sing, the morn’s a-bloom
The hold of sin has broke.
The birds so sing, the morn’s a-bloom
The hold of sin has broke.
Ye angels from the sky come down
O’er every Bethlehem
Give every city love’s renown
Like old Jerusalem.
Give every city love’s renown
Like old Jerusalem.
There mankind who would not bow
To bold frustration’s bain
Shall share and know both high and low
Our Lord’s triumphant reign.
Shall share and know both high and low
Our Lord’s triumphant reign.