Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church ‎#540

540. There came a little Child to earth

1 There came a little child to earth
Long ago;
And the angels of God proclaimed His birth,
High and low.
Out on the night, so calm and still,
Their song was heard;
For they knew that the Child on Bethlehem’s hill
Was Christ the Lord.

2 Far away in the goodly land,
Fair and bright,
Children with crowns of glory stand,
Robed in white.
They sing, the Lord of that world so fair
A Child was born;
And that they might His crown of glory share,
Wore crown of thorn.

3 In mortal weakness, want and pain,
He came to die,
That the children of earth might in glory reign
With Him on high.
And evermore in robes so fair
And undefiled,
Those ransomed children His praise declare,
Who was a Child.

Text Information

• First Line: There came a little Child to earth
• Author: Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliott (1856)
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1917
• Topic: Hymns for Children

Tune Information

• Name: THERE CAME A LITTLE CHILD TO EARTH
• Composer: Frances R. Havergal (1836-1879)
• Meter: Irregular
• Key: D Major