O, Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas carols and I wondered who wrote it and what was the story behind it. I saw Wintley Phipps on CBN recently and he said it was a negro spiritual. That caught my attention since it doesn’t sound like the typical gospel song.

Enter Wikipedia. O Holy Night was written in 1847 by Adolph Adam to the French poem “Minuit, chrétiens” (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Chappeau.

Everyone knows the first verse and chorus:

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

But look closely at the second & third verses and the 2^nd chorus, which is frequently skipped, and you’ll see why it was adopted by the negro slaves as a Christmas spiritual. Note the text highlight by me in red:

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

It is a song of hope and hope is what the negro slaves in 1847 needed. Slavery wasn’t abolished in America until 1865 with the 13^th Amendment.

He Knows Our Need

Even today, He knows our need. He knows YOUR need.

As we go into 2012 with uncertainty, remember this promise from God:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ~Jeremiah 29:11-13

May you have a very prosperous New Year!

If you enjoyed this, you’ll love Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
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