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JESUS CHRIST SDA HYMNAL (1985)

SDAH 137: We Three Kings

JESUS CHRIST >> BIRTH

SDAH 137

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

Text
Text

1
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 night,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to Thy perfect light.

2
Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign.

3
Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising all men raising,
Worship Him, God on high.

4
Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom:
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stonecold tomb.

5
Glorious now behold Him arise,
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Sounds through the earth and skies.

Hymn Info
Hymn Info


Biblical Reference
(a) Matt 2:1 (b) Matt 2:11 (c) Matt 2:11 (d) Matt 2:11 (e) Rev 19:1

Author
John H. Hopkins (1820-1891)

Year Published
1857

Hymn Tune
KINGS OF ORIENT

Metrical Number
8.8.8.6.Ref.

Arranged
John H. Hopkins, 1857

Theme
BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

Hymn Score

Piano Accompaniment

Notes

Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.

Both words and music of this Christmas carol were written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins and appeared in his Carols, Hymns, and Songs, 1863. Objection has been raised to the words in that the Wise Men are not called kings in the Bible, neither is their number given. However, the three gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh imply three givers. They possibly signify three aspects of our Lord’s life on earth, namely gold for kingship, frankincense for worship, and myrrh for sacrifice, representing Him respectively as king, priest, and lamb. 

Hopkins was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 28,1820, and educated at the University of Vermont, where he graduated in 1839.He spent time as a reporter and continued his study of law, gaining his M.A. in 1845. He then studied at the New York City General Theological Seminary and graduated in 1850. He was the first instructor there in church music, from 1855 to 1857. He founded the Church Journal of the Episcopal Church in 1853 and remained its editor until 1868. After he was ordained in 1872, he was rector of Trinity Church, Plattsburgh, New York, for four years. He then transferred to Christ Church, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In addition to his musical talent, he designed stained-glass windows. He died at Troy, New York, on August 14, 1891. 

By its name, the tune KINGS OF ORIENT recalls the seventh-century tradition that says that the gold was brought by the old man Melchior, the frankincense by the ruddy youth Kaspar, and the myrrh by the swarthy, dark-skinned Balthasar. The music for the stanzas is in the minor key, the refrain then modulating to the relative major key. 

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