When Mother Love Makes All Things Bright

Above:  The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Andrea Mantegna

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1912), U.S. Congregationalist

Words (1895) by Tudor Jenks (1857-1922)

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1.  When  mother love makes all things bright,

When joy comes with the morning light;

When children gather round their tree,

Thou, Christmas Babe, we sing of thee.

2.  When manhood’s brows are bent in thought

To learn what men of old have taught,

When eager hands seek wisdom’s key,

Wise Temple Child, we learn of thee!

3.  When doubts assail, and perils fright,

When, groping blindly in the night,

We strive to read life’s mystery,

Man of the Mount, we turn to thee!

4.  When shadows of the valley fall,

When sin and death the soul appall,

One light we through the darkness see–

Christ on the Cross, we cry to thee!

5.  And when the world shall pass away,

And dawns at length the perfect day,

In glory shall our souls made free,

Thou God enthroned, then worship thee.