O holy night - Carol Lyrics

O holy night! 
The stars are brightly shining 
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth! 
Long lay the world in sin and error pining 
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. 
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices 
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! 

Refrain:
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

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. 

Refrain

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.

Refrain

I was walking through Belfast International Airport, entering   W H Smith’s when I caught the words of this Carol being played over the airwaves. For a Christian, it is great to hear the message of Christ being played in public places. At this time of the year, amidst the mixed messages of the fairytale Christmas, the message of the birth of Christ and its true meaning still gets a fair hearing. 

As I read the lyrics of this Carol and pondered them I was struck again by the clarity of the message the writer injected into the words.

‘O holy night!’

It was a very special night when Jesus was born. Many debate the exact date of the birth of Christ but the fact remains that he was born. It was the night when God was manifest in flesh. This baby, born in Bethlehem was given one ancient name (among many), Emmanuel, God with us.  

Long lay the world in sin and error pining 

The reason for his birth is made clear in the announcement of the angel to the shepherds. ‘Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,’ Luke 2:11. 

Our hymn writer hit the nail on the head when he said ‘long lay the world in sin and error pining’. The sadness and sickness of a sin saturated world required a Saviour to come and rescue us. Thank God, He sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices 

There is a thrill of hope that every Christian possesses. It is the present enjoyment of peace and clear conscience and the future guarantee of heaven and that heaven promises - no death, tears, sickness, separation, injustice or pain.

Do you have this hope? 

What have you got in life that’s worth hanging on to? 

This world is a hopeless place offering nothing of long term value to souls - without Christ. 

As a result of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ there is an offer of hope. 

As a Christian I rejoice that Christ is my hope. Everything I need for this life and the next is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. One day I turned from my sin and self centred ways to Him and trusted Him to save me.

There is a great thrill of hope to be found through faith in Jesus Christ. The following verses from the Holy Bible highlight this wonderful truth:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

1 Peter 1:3

Being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life, 

Titus 3:7 

For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

Colossians 1:5

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 5:1-5

There is so much more that could be said about this Carol. I’ll leave it at the moment. My prayer is that the word of God and lyrics of this carol will be a great comfort and encouragement to you.