Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM O Little Town of Bethlehem had its birth in 1865. A few months after the American Civil War ended, Phillips Brooks, a young Philadelphia minister, took a trip to the Holy Land. On December 24th, he rode a horse five miles south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. That Christmas Eve, Brooks stood on top of a hill overlooking Bethlehem from the vantage point of those ancient shepherds. He saw the mouth of the cave where the shepherds rested at night. He gazed at the rolling hills that led to that ancient village. As the moon rose in the sky, looking down on the sleepy little town so unchanged from the night his Savior was born, a deep impression was branded forever into his memory. Three years later, while preparing services for the Christmas season, Brooks decided to write a new song for the children. Remembering the beautiful scene three years earlier in the Holy Land, he wrote: O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie. Above they deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. The next day, Phillips handed his finished poem to Lewis Redner, the church organist, and asked him to compose a tune. Redner quickly agreed but found he had no inspiration for a song, so he procrastinated. Still, no inspiration. He waited longer. Still, nothing. Now, it was Christmas Eve--the night before it was to be sung. Still, nothing. Redner was worried. He didn't want to let his good friend down, but nothing seemed to work. He finally fell asleep, only to wake up suddenly in the middle of the night with a tune cascading through his head. He scribbled it down on a piece of paper and went back to sleep. When he awoke the next morning, he put harmony to the tune and O Little Town of Bethlehem was born. Redner later described that melody as a gift from heaven.