Phillips Brooks was impressive physically and mentally and spiritually. He was very large standing 6’6” with a robust weight that complemented his size. As pastor he was able to sing as many as 200 hymns from memory. When he preached, the rate of his words was 250 per minute.
He spent Christmas of 1865 in Bethlehem. The sites and sound were impressive to him. He was at that time the pastor of Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. It is reported that he paced the floor working on a sermon that would be appropriate for Christmas. As he walked, his memory took him back to Bethlehem imagining the night that Jesus was born.
He laid aside the sermon that he was working on and instead took up a pen to write the words, “O Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.” It took no time at all for him to write all four verses flowing out of his mind and heart.
He approached the church organist, Lewis Redner, to help him write a tune that matched what he put on paper. The organist agreed. Days passed and he had no idea what to write. On Christmas Eve he awoke out of his sleep with the melody in his mind just as certain as that he would’ve studied it during the day.
The next morning, he taught the new carol to the children of the Sunday school. That was the first time O Little Town of Bethlehem was heard for Christmas in 1868. Brooks ministered for 25 more years remaining a bachelor but always had love for children. They returned his love and when he died in Boston in 1893 it is said that there was a little five-year-old girl who uttered the words, “How happy the Angels must be.” He left behind among so much efforts of his ministry the words of this tune that was still sing today.
Christian Writer 