Star of Bethlehem

When marshall'd on the nightly plain

p. 40
Key G major
Singing key Eb major
Time 6/8
3 stanzas

Words

When marshall'd on the nightly plain,The glittering hosts bestud the sky,One star alone, of all the train,Can fix the sinner's wandering eye:Hark! hark! to God the chorus breaks,From ev'ry host, from ev'ry gem;But one alone, the Savior speaks,It is the star of Bethlehem.

Once on the raging seas I rode,The storm was loud, the night was dark,The ocean yawn'd, and rudely blow'dThe wind that toss'd my foundering bark.Deep horror then my vitals froze,Death struck—I ceased the tide to stem:When suddenly a star arose,It was the Star of Bethlehem.

It was my guide, my light, my all,It bade my dark foreboding cease;And thro' the storm and danger's thrall,It led me to the port of peace.Now safely moor'd—my perils o'er,I'll sing first in night's diadem,Forever and forevermore,The Star—the Star of Bethlehem.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: stanza 1 under the music on p. 40; stanzas 2–3 as verse on p. 41 (PDF 45) under the heading «Star of Bethlehem.» (added 2026-10-08: the first delivery missed them). Stanza 1 is laid out in three text lines under the two staves of systems 1–2 (lines 1–2 under the treble, line 3 under the bass) and one line under systems 3–4; the form is ‖: A :‖ B D.C., so the text runs: line 1 (first time), line 2 (second time), B, then line 3 on the D.C.