We Three Kings

A few years ago I actually read through and pondered the words of this song. Since that time, this has become one of my favorites. In these five short versus, it tells of the true reason why Jesus Christ was born in the grimy confines of a stable. This is the real Reason for the Season. Not a baby that stays in a manger from year to year, but a King who was willing to die because of His love for an unworthy people. This song was written by Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr. in 1857 for a Christmas pageant at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.

 

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain

O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain