Henry Beer, an elder of the Apostolic Christian Church, wrote the following Christmas hymn. It was first printed in his book My Garden of Verse. Titled “The Nativity,” it is No. 35 in Hymns of Faith, a Sunday School song book which Beer helped compile. The music is ascribed simply to “H.G.”
Beer began to minister at the church in Milford, Indiana circa 1931. Prior to this, about 1921, he translated some hymns from the Zion’s Harp hymn book from German into English. Afterward, he received the approval of the church to translate all the remaining hymns into English, which – with the help of several others – he accomplished.
Then came the Christ on earth;
The star so bright in deepest night
Foretold his blessed birth.
The angel’s throng with joyous song
Appeared to shepherd’s meek;
The angel’s word the shepherds heard
Then went they forth to seek.
2. The blessed Child so meek and mild
At Bethlehem they found;
In manger low, the cattle low
And sheep did gather round.
In swaddling clothes there to repose
And lying on the hay,
What glorious sight in that dark night
Where Christ the Saviour lay!
3. From lands afar led by the star
The wise men came to see
The Saviour King, rich gifts they bring
For Christ’s nativity.
This story sweet I would repeat
And praise him with my voice;
For he who finds Christ’s peace of mind
He cannot but rejoice.
Born in 1900 in Richland County, Ohio, Henry Beer was the son of Simon Beer and Kathryn Meister. He married Alice Getz in 1924. Beer died in 1983. He and his wife are buried at the Milford Cemetery in Milford, Kosciusko County, Indiana.
Beer wrote his last poem, “Farewell Thoughts,” about two weeks before his death.
And blessings of the by-gone years
The Spirit prompts me then to tell
The meaning of this last farewell.
My ship is nearing Jordan’s port
Where I shall cross the rivers,
There I shall leave this behind
And dwell in Canaan’s land forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment